Unit 5: New Hampshire in the Modern World
1901 to 2000
New Hampshire Legislative Act 1945, Chapter 152, Section 1 took effect on May 10, officially adopting John Stark’s words, “Live Free or Die,” as the state motto. The timing was striking, if simply a coincidence, as it was just two days after Allied victory in Europe signaled the beginning of the end of World War II. New Hampshire had played a notable role in that conflict, from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s importance as an Atlantic submarine hub to hosting the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, which established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In that moment of global transition, invoking Stark’s words served as both a statement against tyranny and the foundation for a state identity that would endure for decades.
World War II was neither the first nor the last instance in which New Hampshire played a role in national and global affairs. The Russo-Japanese War formally ended with the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth, and a decade later the region saw significant mobilization during World War I. Depression-era New Deal programs, such as the Civilian Conversation Corps, took on natural resource rehabilitation projects across the state. Pease Air Force Base opened in Newington in the 1950s, adding to the Seacoast region’s significance in Cold War strategery. Derry’s Alan Shephard was part of the country’s first major move in the Space Race by becoming the first American to travel into outer space in 1961. Concord High School’s Christa McAuliffe was selected from a pool of thousands of applicants to continue space exploration in the 1980s by being the first Teacher in Space, a plan that ended in tragedy.
New Hampshire emerged as a major political proving ground in the 20th century. By 1920, the state had established its “first in the nation” presidential primary, drawing candidates every four years. The rapid expansion of automobiles and roadways that followed boosted the state’s economy and enabled campaigns to navigate its diverse political landscape. The development of U.S. Routes, and later the Interstate Highway System after World War II, reflected New Hampshire’s place within a nation of growing scale and influence. By the 1970s, one could travel by car from the sites of the earliest colonial settlements on the Seacoast to the industrial Merrimack Valley and on to the White Mountains in a matter of hours.
Advances in transportation and communication fueled the rapid spread of mass media across the 20th century, shaping and reflecting American popular culture. Throughout this period, New Hampshire both contributed to and was shaped by these trends. Its natural landscape continued to attract visitors seeking recreation, reinforcing its image as a rural escape from the urban Northeast, an identity echoed in works ranging from Our Town and Peyton Place to The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. This perception of isolation and independence also lent credibility to widely publicized UFO encounters such as the Exeter Incident and the Betty and Barney Hill case.
At the same time, New Hampshire played an active role in popular culture. Its world-class educational institutions across the state are complemented and supplemented by museums of all kinds which opened throughout the century. The state helped foster major musical movements, from Aerosmith’s early formation in Sunapee to Portsmouth’s connection to Boston’s punk scene, and inspired enduring creative works, from Bob Montana’s depiction of Meredith in the Archie comics to the creation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Dover in 1985.
The motto “Live Free or Die” is rooted in history but has informed the state’s identity. This combination of keeping one foot in the past and another reaching to the future has been replicated across the state’s history; politically, governmentally, socially and culturally. Although very small—only four states are smaller than New Hampshire in size, and nine in population—the Granite State has found a way to maintain a status in the United States as a bastion of freedom and authenticity, something owed to its unique past and dynamic people.
Inquiry 5.1 How did New Hampshire’s (theme) influence its position in national and world events in the 20th Century?
Inquiry 5.2 How will (response to Inquiry 5.1) continue inform the future of the state as the 21st century unfolds?
Class 1: Introduction to Unit 5
1) Return and go over Unit 4 Test
2) Organize class into theme groups
3) Introduce unit guide and inquiry questions
4) Vocabulary sort activity to build Terms and People to Know database.
Because of the size and scope of this unit, and considering the inquiry, it is advisable to organize your NH vocabulary terms under the topic areas used in most US and World History curricula:
Progressive Era and WWI (1900-1920)
The Interwar Years— Boom to Bust (1921-1941)
World War II (1941-1945)
Post-War Prosperity (1946-1963)
The Vietnam Era (1964-1974)
The Conservative Revolution (1970s-1980s)
The Dawning of the Information Age (1990s to present)
5) Set up Homework 5.1 and discuss predictions
Helpful secondary sources to introduce the unit:
Timeline of New Hampshire History, NH Historical Society
Class 2: Use Secondary Sources to learn Terms and People to Know and develop a response to the inquiry, How did New Hampshire’s (theme) influence its position in national and world events in the 20th Century?
Focus on building the secondary source column of the database/bibliography for the years 1900 to 1941. Students have become familiar with the many reliable secondary source sites on the web since unit 1:
1) As a class, peruse the NHHS Timeline, setting it to 1900 to 1941. Just under 40 entries should appear.
2) Regardless of the theme group they are in, divide the class into three groups. One group is responsible for identifying topics and events that affected the whole world, another group is focused on events connected to national trends, and the third group will look for things exclusive to NH.
Groups are bound to duplicate certain timeline entries as they work with this secondary source. The teacher should circulate during the exercise and help with brain storming, and then lead the final curation of the different categories.
Once the lists are refined and completed, an evaluation of certain qualities of the collection should take place.
Which of the three categories has the most items on its list? What does that tell you?
Are the timeline entries connected to national and world events simply NH reacting or joining in?
Did the way NH interacted with national and international patterns hinge on its identity?
(30-40 minutes)
3) Students should return to their regular theme groups. As a group, they should decide which of the events from the timeline they’d like to investigate further. Preference should be made to topics that involve Terms and People to Know from the list.
4) The class should work to populate the secondary source column with links and citations to usable, reliable resources such as essays, articles, maps, charts, video or audio.
(remainder of the class)
Class 3: Use Primary Sources to learn Terms and People to Know and develop a response to the inquiry, How did New Hampshire’s (theme) influence its position in national and world events in the 20th Century?
Students will combine their primary source analysis skills with creativity with this activity:
1) Place each of the terms and names from the first 45 years of the 20th century onto a slip of paper. Distribute them to students (you can have repeats).
2) Students are to use either LOC.gov or the NHHS.org site to locate a primary source that relates to their assigned term. (5-10 minutes)
3) Instead of analyzing it, students are to create a short story that involves the primary source, the term or name, and the overall topic in some way.
The time period and place(s) related to the primary source is the setting. The object or media that was selected can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of the story, or be present throughout.
Students should stay within reality for their short story.
They may simply write it in narrative form or illustrate it as a picture book or graphic novel.
The class will have most of the period to create their story. In the last few minutes of the class they are to exchange with a peer for editing and enjoyment.
The teacher may collect these and publish them into a class book, but it is not required.
Class 4: Demonstrate competency with homework and a quiz; Begin addressing second inquiry, How will (response to Inquiry 5.1) continue inform the future of the state as the 21st century unfolds?
A standard lesson plan for this class:
1) Students take their choice of quiz on reverse side of HW 5.1, and turn paper into teacher for grading (20 minutes)
2) Prepare HW 5.2 and set aside (5 minutes)
While this inquiry appears to have leaped ahead in topic by over 60 years, it actually sets up a study of the years following World War II through to the turn of the 21st Century. The events and decisions that took place after 1945 depict a cause and effect pattern that has created and continues to inform our world to this day.
3) View documentary; take notes on a SSE form
Suggested viewing: Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars (2017)
Or
NH PBS: Christa
The earlier of the two documentaries is a longer, more comprehensive documentary of Christa McAuliffe’s life and career. Born as part of the “Baby Boom,” Christa’s path in life found her regularly being engaged with some of the most recognizable themes and events of the second half of the 20th century, well before she was selected to be made a part of the reenergized Space Program in the 1980s.
The shorter of the two touches on some of these ideas, but mostly focuses on the statue dedicated to her that stands on the State House grounds. This is also a very helpful thing to view when answering this inquiry.
4) Students report out to groups (5 minutes), groups report out to the rest of the class (5-10 minutes)
The secondary source column of the database/bibliography should be updated with the video/audio citation by the end of the class (5 minutes)
Class 5: Use Secondary Sources to learn Terms and People to Know and develop a response to the inquiry, How will (response to Inquiry 5.1) continue inform the future of the state as the 21st century unfolds?
The opening exercise will be a similar exercise to what the students did during as class 2, but abbreviated and with a focus on the Highway Markers instead of the timeline. Before settling in and beginning the search for events and people from WWII on documented on highway signs, a brief conversation should be had about the 20th century nature of these historical markers.
These heavy metal signs are the result of both the fast-paced automobile age and the historical preservation movement, two trends that developed side by side. Students should take note of what kinds of roads most of the signage can be found on—high speed roads do not have them, for instance. They are also made out of materials that are not easily damaged or destroyed, which is unlike nearly any other kind of historical resource.
1) Students should browse the state highway markers for topics and events relevant to the period from World War II to the turn of the Century. How do they relate to their theme for Unit 5? The modern era? (15-20 minutes)
2) The second part of class incorporates the highway markers as well as other historic sites and cultural centers around the state.
Each theme group will put together a five- to seven-stop car trip around New Hampshire. The overall tour should convey how different people, places and events in modern NH History continue to inform their theme as the 21st Century goes on. The stops can be to historic highway markers, museums (many of which were established in the era), neighborhoods, buildings, etc.
The progression of the car tour should make geographic sense more than chronologic, and specific road names and street addresses ought to be used. A map of the tour stops needs to be included.
Each tour stop needs to have a brief explanation as to what the visitor will see and learn, as well as how it relates to the overall theme of tour.
(Students should budget their time and how elaborate their product will be based on time).
Class 6: Use Primary Sources to learn Terms and People to Know and develop a response to the inquiry, How will (response to Inquiry 5.1) continue inform the future of the state as the 21st century unfolds?
As the last primary source session of the course, this class-long activity will, in game form, test students’ research and analysis skills all while reviewing the vocabulary terms for the unit.
1) Distribute a different term or name from the entire unit 5 list to each student (some duplicates are okay). Students are not to share who or what their term is.
2) Each student will then use the known primary source repositories to locate an artifact related to the term. They are encouraged to broaden the kind of primary source beyond paper into video, audio, digital media, etc. They are to still keep what they find from their neighbors.
3) Students should analyze their selection using the questions on the left side of the PSA form. This will become necessary for the guessing game part of the activity.
4) Starting with a volunteer, a line of questioning will circulate around the room as the rest of the class tries to figure out the vocabulary term or name and the kind of primary source (ex: “Aerosmith” and “Concert T-shirt”). The students should try to deduce what each one is by asking normal “Twenty Questions” type inquiries to figure out the vocab term, and by using the PSA form questions to guess the variety of primary source.
The teacher can participate or facilitate, keeping score if they’d like. Bonus points on tests are often competed for with this game.
If any time is left, the class can not only add their primary source to the database, but map it as well. This can lead to an exit conversation about which part of New Hampshire seems to be the most prominent in the modern era and why.
Recommended primary sources repositories:
Class 7: Summative Assessment Day I: Graded Discussion and Project Design
1) Facilitate a graded discussion using student-made questions (30-40 minutes)
2) Assign group/class project. Give the students the remainder of the class period to work on it.
3) Students will turn in HW 5.2 at the end of class or have it checked while working on the project.
Class 8: Summative Assessment Day II: Project Presentation and Unit Test
1) Allow class members to put finishing touches on project(s)(15 minutes).
2) Share results (10 minutes)
3) Administer Unit Test (remainder of class)
The following links connect to secondary sources and primary source repositories created and maintained by other educators, historians, and institutions. I do not claim ownership of these materials. Instead, I share them as recommendations based on what has proven meaningful and effective in my own classroom experience. Teachers are invited to explore and adapt these resources to best meet their students’ needs, and encouraged to align with district expectations and protocols for using outside resources.
Website Timeline of New Hampshire History, NH Historical Society
Exploring this timeline is a great activity for classes 1, 2, and 5. Each entry has an easy-to-navigate list of facts regarding the entry, and many lead to primary sources.Website NH Historical Society Collections Catalogue
Staying with the NHHS site, this part of it can find usage on primary source investigation days. The advanced search feature helps keep results in the time frame you wish to stay in, and you can adjust the settings of what kinds of catalogue entries you want to see.
Website New Hampshire’s Historical Highway Markers
Similar to the Timeline found on the NHHS page, this easy-to-use site can help start the unit. Students can explore the signs by list or by map, recognizing different terms and names as well as recognizing where things took place and when.
Website / Video Collections NH PBS’s Granite State History Minute
In conjunction with the New Hampshire Historical Society and other interested institutions, NH PBS has produced a series of minute-long videos explaining topics in the state’s past. There are several about the topics from this unit to be found, and they work great for class starters or independent/small group secondary source research.
Primary Sources New Hampshire State Archives
The Secretary of State’s office oversees the State Archives and has several set aside specifically as teacher resources. There are many more, of course, stored physically in Concord, but the curated pieces offer easy access for you and your students.
VideoNH PBS: “Christa”
Made in 2024 to recognize the placing of Christa McAuliffe’s statue on the State House lawn, this half-hour long video tells the teacher’s story, legacy, and the design of the memorial itself.
Feature Film: Northwest Passage (1940)
Students can fill out a primary source analysis for the film about Rogers’s Rangers and the St. Francis Raid. It communicates much about the relationship forming in the modern era between Great Britain and the United States. The same can be done with other pieces of fiction set in New Hampshire and created in the 20th century: Peyton Place, Our Town, On Golden Pond.
Website/Articles/ Essays SeacoastNH.com
Noted Portsmouth historian J. Dennis Robinson’s web presence contains numerous articles and essays about Seacoast History.
Secondary and Primary Sources Betty & Barney Hill Exhibit, Portsmouth Historical Society
This website gives significant historical context surrounding the notoriety the Portsmouth couple received after their UFO abduction story went public.
Website Historic Houses section of Strawbery Banke Museum’s Website
Each house at Strawbery Banke is correct to a different time period in the neighborhood’s past. Some houses in the neighborhood that are interpreted to the time period you are studying now, namely the Shapley-Drisco House, The Shapiro House, and the Abbott Corner Store.