Why We Chose This Topic:
Due to a shared interest of World War II, we decided to focus our project on an important leader in this time period. We began researching leaders around Operation Overload (D-Day) since it was a defining event of World War II. While doing so, we came across the name George Marshall. We discovered that Marshall was supposed to be the original commander of the D-Day mission but gave up this spot to Dwight Eisenhower at the request of President Franklin Roosevelt. President Roosevelt said that he “could not sleep at night with Marshall out of DC”. We became very interested in George Marshall. After doing further research, we learned of his plan to save Europe from their suffering after the war. We came to greatly admire George Marshall. Besides being an excellent military commander and leader, George Marshall was also a good man at heart.
How We Conducted Our Research:
We divided up the project into three sections. These were the conditions that caused the Marshall Plan, George Marshall’s leadership pertaining to the Marshall Plan, and the Plan’s legacy. Each one specialized in one of these areas. To find information regarding the first section, research was mainly conducted using encyclopedias in the school library. To find information regarding the other two sections, research was mainly conducted using the internet. One of us created a note-taking document in Google docs in which we each had our own section. Whenever we did research, we would add our notes to this document. Also, we listed the sources used next to the notes taken.
How We Created and Designed the Website:
Our group wanted to present our research in a creative, fun method. We thought that if we made an exhibit, we would have to meet frequently as a group to create it. All were busy out of school and it was hard to coordinate schedules. We decided to make a website where we could edit the Weebly from our homes. When designing the website, we first divided it into sections of our research (refer to above section). Additionally, we added a section for our thesis so the user could clearly understand the purpose of our project. To make the website interesting and enjoyable, we chose pictures/timelines/video clips that dealt with the information we had taken in note form. We found as many visuals as possible. The information we could not communicate in visuals was summarized in note form. At the end, we wrote a short speech outlining our research to present to our class while showing them our website.
How Our Project Relates to the Theme:
George Marshall recognized that many people of his world (Europeans) were suffering after World War II. Under his leadership, the United States helped guide Europe to prosperity through Marshall’s plan. The Marshall plan had a lasting legacy on Europe. Through it, Europe became self-sufficient once more and its citizens much happier.
(498 words)
process_paper.pdf | |
File Size: | 4 kb |
File Type: |