Unit 3: American Imperialism

Unit Three of A People’s Playlist: U.S. History with Music as a Primary Source includes four lessons that covers American Imperialism at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.

For an introduction activity, students will be introduced to the topic of American Imperialism through the analysis of a song and primary sources about the Panama Canal.

The first lesson is divided into two parts about the Spanish-American War and its impact on Cuba and Puerto Rico. Students will examine yellow journalism headlines to assess why the war started as well as amendments to analyze the impact it had on Cuba. In the second part of the lesson, students will view part of Bad Bunny’s “El Apagón” music video to discover how the results of the war are still impacting Puerto Rico in the 21st century.

In the second lesson, students will analyze how sensationalism, white supremacy, and propaganda were used to justify imperialism in the Philippines through the examination of images from the Filipino pop group ALAMAT’s music video “kasmala” and primary sources.

The third lesson focuses on the annexation of Hawaii through the exploration of the Joseph Kekuku and the steel guitar. Students will analyze the migration of the steel guitar to the continental United States and primary sources to survey the impact of annexation on native Hawaiians.

In the fourth lesson, students assume the role of history detectives to conduct an investigation into why the United States entered World War I and what occurred as a result of U.S. participation in the war. As part of their investigation, students will identify how Tin Pan Alley produced songs released during the war reflected the changing viewpoint of Americans toward the war.

The Unit concludes with an assessment that asks students to collaborate on the creation of a classroom podcast about American Imperialism. Students will be given guided instructions on what to include in their podcast episode and a rubric to assess their group’s work.