Save Our History

Save Our History is The History Channel’s Emmy-award winning national campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Four times a year, The History Channel shows an original documentary highlighting an issue in historic preservation, accompanied by online educational materials. To learn more about the Save Our History campaign, visit www.historychannel.com/classroom.

USS Arizona

December 7th will always mark the anniversary of the “date which will live in infamy.” While President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words have long identified the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, its defining symbol continues to be the destruction of the U.S.S. Arizona. The sinking of the Arizona caused the greatest single loss of life in American naval history. The fact that the sunken ship is still clearly visible just below the water’s surface has only added to the power and mystery of the site. But time has begun to take its toll on the vessel, and deterioration has become a major cause for concern. In Save Our History: U.S.S. Arizona, interviews with survivors, historians, and those involved with current and future preservation efforts at the memorial are used to explore the history of the famous ship, its harbor, and the difficult task of preserving them both.

Subjects: American History, Environmental Science, World History, and Social Studies

Grades: Middle through High School

National History Standards: Save Our History: U.S.S. Arizona fulfills the following National History Standards: Historical Thinking 1 (Chronological Thinking), 2 (Historical Comprehension), 3 (Historical Analysis), 4 (Historical Research), 5 (Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making) for United States History, Era 8, Standards 3A and 3C.

PREVIEWING ACTIVITIES:

Vocabulary: Review the vocabulary with your students so that they can follow the key aspects of the documentary. It may also be useful to have the students write sentences using the vocabulary to be sure they are understood correctly.

Geography and Politics: In order for your students to properly understand the documentary, it is important that they have a basic understanding of the world in 1941. Be sure that they can identify the United States, Hawaii, and Japan on a map, as well as Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France. They should also understand U.S. roles in the Pacific and have some sense of why Japan would want to attack the United States. Explain American isolationism, as well as the Tripartite Pact and the relationship it created between Japan, Germany, and Italy.

Discussion Questions

  1. Why was Pearl Harbor so strategically important? Why did Roosevelt move the Arizona and her fleet there in the first place?

  2. How was the Arizona unique, both physically and historically, even before December 7, 1941?

  3. Why was the Arizona such an important symbol after its sinking?

  4. On December 8th, President Roosevelt addressed Congress and a declaration of war was approved almost unanimously. This has not happened again since 1941. What about Pearl Harbor caused the country to unite so strongly behind a war effort after being largely isolationist?

  5. What has made the original investigation of the wreckage so difficult and dangerous? How has modern science made this process more effective?

  6. What forces are contributing to the deterioration of the Arizona?

  7. Pearl Harbor is often looked at as a critical moment in our nation’s history. List some of the ways the country changed both politically and psychologically after this event.

  8. Even people who aren’t veterans, weren’t witnesses to the event, and in many cases, weren’t even born in 1941, often have very emotional responses to visiting the site. Why do you think this is? How and why has it become such a public memory?

  9. List some of the suggested ways to preserve the Arizona site and minimize its threat to the environment.
Extended Activities

  1. Please refer to www.historychannel.com/USSArizona for the extended activities.
Related Videos
Primary Sources
  • The National Park Service U.S.S. Arizona web site: http://www.nps.gov/usar/
  • The University of Arizona Library’s online exhibit of the U.S.S. Arizona: http://www.library.arizona.edu/images/USS_Arizona/USS_Arizona.shtml
  • A collection of U.S. Navy documents relating to Pearl Harbor: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/fac/PH/index.html
  • Jasper, Joy Waldron Waldron, James P. Delgado, Jim Adams. The USS Arizona: The Ship, Men, the Pearl Harbor Attack, and the Symbol That Aroused America. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001.
  • Prange, Gordon William; Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon. At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor; New York: Viking Penguin, 2001.

Air Dates

Classroom Materials