The Press Wars A WebQuest

An Investigation Of The Role Northern And Southern Newspapers Had In The Years Before And During The American Civil War Click Here For Teacher Information

The “Press Wars” Navigation Page Introduction Task Process Resources Evaluation Conclusion * On the next several slides, you can click on the icons you see above to bring you back to this “Navigation” page. LOOK!!

INTRODUCTION Civil War era newspapers did not create issues such as the debate over slavery, the threat of secession, or John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. These events, and many others, really DID happen. But...

INTRODUCTION Some historians argue that the WAY newspapers in the mid-nineteenth century reported events related to the Civil War “added fuel to the fire.” Reporters and editors often presented facts in ways that reflected their allegiance to either northern or southern views.

INTRODUCTION This activity will allow you to research several sites related to the press during the Civil War era, and to draw your own conclusions about the role of the press during this time period. Press the space bar to find out more about the battle of words fought through the Press Wars...

TASK Recently one of the leading experts on the American Civil War was visiting Gettysburg when he came across a valuable collection of old Civil War era newspapers. He noticed that the editors of many of these newspapers seemed to “take sides” when reporting stories. After reading some of the articles in these papers, he became curious about the role of newspapers during this time period.

TASK He began to wonder if newspaper editors and reporters always reported the news exactly as it happened, or if they “distorted” facts to support their northern or southern biases. He has asked your class to help him determine just how accurate Civil War era newspaper articles were when it came to reporting the facts (and nothing but the facts).

TASK After exploring various tips and hints which will give you some help on researching and organizing information, you will use at least FIVE (5) Internet sites to help you write a five-paragraph position paper that outlines your view of the roles and characteristics of Civil War era newspapers. Boy, that sounds really complicated! Don’t worry!! If you read on, you’ll see it’s not too bad.

PROCESS Over the course of the next few hours in this class, you will be doing several things. Please refer, as often as you need, to the outline below of the process you will be following while in the lab: I. Gather background information II. Establish tentative position for paper III. Research, Research, and more Research IV. Begin typing 5-paragraph position paper.

PROCESS 1. To help you get some background information on the role of newspapers during this time period, you will need to carefully read the FIRST THREE PARAGRAPHS of an article titled “Producing a Newspaper: ” To get that article, click on the icon below.

PROCESS Even though the article you just read refers specifically to the Revolutionary War, don’t let that confuse you. A lot of the traits or characteristics that newspapers developed around the Revolutionary War were still in place as the Civil War began.

PROCESS 2. Open Microsoft Word. Type your name and today’s date at the top of the page. Then, in complete sentences, answer the following question: Is there any evidence, in the reading, which shows that the views of a newspaper editor may shape what a reader believes? Be sure to give examples that support your answer.

PROCESS 3. Be sure to save this document to your Home Directory (the “H” Drive). Once you have saved it, print ONE copy for your teacher to have.

PROCESS GOOD… Now that you have done this, you have a starting point for your paper. This does not mean that your position cannot change throughout the course of your research. Regardless of whether or not your position changes, be sure to keep track of information you can use in your paper.

PROCESS Now that you have established a TENTATIVE position for this paper, you will need to do some research. Most of your time in the computer lab will be spent doing research.

RESOURCES Included in this section are some links to sites that you may use during your research. Some of them focus specifically on the press during the Civil War, and others are sites with general information about the war. You must be sure to consult AT LEAST 5 of these Internet sources for this project.

RESOURCES Also included in this section is a list of Dos and Don’ts for researching in the lab. Please click on the icon below to give yourself some sense of direction when it comes to research guidelines.

RESOURCES Sometimes researching on the Internet can be overwhelming. It can be difficult to keep track of all the resources you consult. This “Resources” section has two ideas you might want to try when taking notes for this paper.

RESOURCES One way you might want to try to organize your ideas is with a typed page of notes. Click on the newspaper icon below to see an example of how a student might set up a Microsoft Word document to help them take notes.

RESOURCES A lot of students like to use a program called “Inspiration” to help them organize notes and ideas. There are two links on this page to help you with Inspiration. Click on the CHECK MARK below to get some tips on how to use this program. Click on the WEB below to go to a sample page of Inspiration notes.

RESOURCES Okay…. Now that you have seen some tips that will (hopefully) enable you to research and take notes effectively, you are finally ready for the big time!! Click on the icon below to see a page of previewed Internet links. (Remember, you must have at least FIVE sources consulted for this paper.)

RESOURCES You should be on this screen if, and ONLY if, you are confident that you have finished your research. In fact, it is a good idea to have your teacher look over your page of notes before you begin writing your rough draft. Click on the icon below after, and ONLY after, your teacher has determined that your notes are complete and accurate.

RESOURCES Now that you are ready to begin your rough draft, you may need some help organizing your paper. For some writing help and tips, please click on the link below. The “Writing Help” sheet was set up to be used by the writer, and a peer-editor. If you need to, you may print out ONE copy of this sheet. I see the way to get writing help for this assignment way over there!!!

EVALUATION Your teacher will keep one main thought in mind as s/he grades your paper: “How well did this student answer (and support this answer) the following:” Evaluate the impact that the press had on the events prior to and during the American Civil War. Explain whether you believe the press shaped public opinion enough to hasten the start of the war. Support your response/belief.

EVALUATION Before you begin writing this paper, please click on the icon on the lower right to see a copy of the rubric your teacher will use when evaluating your final paper. This way to the rubric... I wish I had checked the rubric before I started writing. This paper is too hard to do because I am not sure what the teacher is looking for!!

CONCLUSION The purpose of this assignment was to find a way to get students to think critically about the role of the press in the years before and during the American Civil War. In your paper, you should have discussed the extent to which the press may have impacted public perception of issues surrounding the Civil War.

CONCLUSION The best students of history are not only able to identify and evaluate important events of the past. They are also able to relate historical themes to events that occur during modern times. In other words, good historians often can see similarities between events that happened years ago, and events that are fairly recent.

CONCLUSION There is little doubt that YOU are a good historian. Throughout this project, you were probably thinking of one or two modern-day examples in which the media played a large role in shaping public perception of a significant news event.

CONCLUSION To wrap up this project, you need to think about one major news event that has happened during your lifetime. Once you have that news event in mind, click on the icon below to see what your final assignment is... I wonder what the last assignment will be??!!

(Click your mouse twice!!) You have finished the hardest part of this assignment. Research isn’t easy, but the harder you work at it, the easier it is to create the final product!! Click here to go on to the next part: