Goal 4:
The Great West and the Rise of the Debtor (1860s-1896)—The learner will
evaluate the great westward movement and assess the impact of the agricultural revolution
on the nation.
“Western Newspaper”
1. Create a newspaper with articles based on actual events and information about life
in the West during the 1860s-1890s. Your end product should resemble an actual
newspaper/newsletter!
2. Your readers will be settlers, cowboys, miners, ranchers, and farmers. Use
information from chapter 13 of your textbook and pages 27--30 in your social
studies solutions.
3. Front Page: must have a title, a date (remember the time period), and editor (that
would be you), weather forecast and an index (shows what stuff is located where,
like weather p. 2). You will also have 2 articles and a picture on the front, see
below for article topics.
4. You MUST include a minimum of 6 articles in your newspaper. Be sure to include
a title for each article. Each article should be about 2 paragraphs (a paragraph is 5-7
sentences) The following topics must be covered:
 Life of the Plain Indians—what were the characteristics of their culture, how
did it differ from that of settlers, what animals did they depend on, what were
their beliefs? (408-409)
 Conflict with the Plain Indians—what were the major Indian battles, who was
involved, what affect did it have on the Plain Indians, the response to these
events (409-413)
 Ranching and the Life of a Cowboy—this should be more of a story that tells
about the life of a cowboy and what ranching, moving cattle, etc. was all
about (414-417)
 Life on the Great Plains—why did settlers move west, what hardships did
settlers face, describe life in the west, what new technologies aided in
settlement, what is the view of a settler (Sec. 2)
 Farmers and Populism—the problems faced by farmers, the Grange
movement, and describe the rise and fall of populism, what the populist
movement is all about, key people and organizations, etc. (425-428)
 The Election of 1896—silver v. gold standard, William Jennings Bryan v.
William McKinley, “Cross of Gold speech”, issues of the election, and
outcome (428-429)
5. Other items that must be included:
 Words of the West—the following vocabulary must be included assimilation,
dime novels, Interstate Commerce Act, Century of Dishonor, ghost town,
sod house, greenback, long drive, bimetallism, Farmer’s Alliance
 In the Know—the following must be covered Comstock Lode,
Transcontinental Railroad, Oklahoma Land Giveaway, Decline in Farming
 5 advertisements—one must be on the Omaha Platform (campaign of the
Populists), one must be a “Wanted Ad” the other 3 you can advertise
legislation, new technologies, gold/silver being found, etc. BE CREATIVE!
 3 pictures—one must be hand-drawn, remember that pictures must have
captions and be related to story they accompany
 Politics Section—include information on the following: Dawes Act,
Homestead Act, the Morrill Land Act, Wabash v. Illinois
 Extra Credit Opportunities—extra pictures, recipes of the west, additional
article, obituaries, etc.
6. Do not copy any information directly from the source—it must be in your own
words!! Be CREATIVE! No pencil written articles please! An article is a minimum
of 2 paragraphs (a paragraph is at least 5-7 sentences)!
7. Use colorful, enthusiastic language and correct grammar. Be sure to write in
complete, 11th grade level sentences.
8. Think about the basic elements of a newspaper—photographs, advertisements,
comics, sports page, recipes, obituaries, classified ads, and news stories. All items
must be of the correct time period. I will award extra points for going above and
beyond the requirement.
9. THIS IS A TEST GRADE ! Again, extra credit will be awarded for going above
and beyond the requirements.
10. You will have time in class all week to complete. The assignment is due on Friday
October 2nd at the beginning of class!