Amelia Found? by Tom D. Crouch

The Second Industrial Revolution and the Progressive Era seem to come together as the backdrop for this article. The aeronautical industry is still very young in the 1920s and 1930s when Amelia makes her way in the world, but the airplanes had certainly improved dramatically since the days of the Wright Brothers and Kitty Hawk. The article could be used to introduce the plane from its infancy, through The Great War, to the eve of WWII. Students could also use the Earhart article to access the “New Woman” of the 1920s and 1930s. Several of the documents speak to the obstacles facing Miss Earhart and American women. In addition, America’s fascination with heroes and heroines, particularly during the Great Depression, could also be explored. A further connection could be made to American foreign policy, isolationism or interventionism, as her flights demonstrated just how small the world really was by the 1930s. 

Literature connection: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming, West with the Night by Beryl Markham