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 PageIntroduction

Task

Process Resources

Evaluation

Conclusion

* On the next several slides, you can * On the next several slides, you can click on the icons you see above to click on the icons you see above to bring you back to this “Navigation” bring you back to this “Navigation” page.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’llsee 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: 1792 - 1892.” 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 overthere!!!

EVALUATIONYour 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

shapedpublic opinion enough to hasten the

start of the war. Support yourresponse/belief.

EVALUATIONBefore 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 becauseI 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: