Civil War
Commemorative Newspaper
Overview
You will form groups representing the staffs of newspapers in various cities. Two
newspapers will represent the Southern point of view and two will represent the
Northern point of view. Your newspaper staff must research, write and edit a
“Commemorative Issue" about the concerns, events and people surrounding the Civil
War, also known as the War Between the States. The time period covered by this
commemorative issue will be 1850-1865.
Technical Specifics
 The entire newspaper is due on Thursday, 13 February 2014.
 Research will be conducted in class using laptops and on your own time. You will
have 6-8 class periods to spend on this project; the rest is to be completed outside
of class time.
 All articles must be typed, 12 point, single-spaced using the same font throughout
the newspaper.
 Column width must be the same throughout the newspaper.
 A minimum of half the articles/editorials must have graphics: maps,
photographs, illustrations from the time period!!!! Advertisements will not count
toward this total.
Newspaper Staff and Assignments:
1. Editor-in-Chief/Co-editors
Assignment: Your job is to write three to four articles (see below) and oversee the
production of the entire newspaper to include: assigning roles to each member of
the group, responsibility for the overall production of the paper and making sure that
everyone meets deadlines.
Editorial:
Did the war help or hurt the country?
Try to see things through the eyes of a citizen of the area you represent, the Confederacy
or the Union. Put your thoughts into a well-developed multi-paragraph editorial
supporting your position with facts and statistics from your research.
Fact-based Articles:
How did the role of women change during the time period?
Research the role of women in your assigned section of the country from 1850 - 1865.
What was expected of women? Were they educated? Did they have jobs? Did they have
a role in the war? Write a well-developed multi-paragraph article highlighting the
changes in women’s role in society during that time period.
How did the role of immigrants change during the time period?
Research the role of immigrants in your assigned section of the country from 18501865. Where did they come from? Where did they settle? Why did they come to
America and what did they do in America? Did they have a role in the war? Write a
multi-paragraph article revealing your findings about the changes in the life of
immigrants. A chart, graph, or map might make your article more interesting.
How did the role of people of color change during the time period?
Research the role of people of color in your assigned section of the country from 18501865. How many were there, where did they live, what did they do for a living, what
were their living conditions? Did they have a role in the war? Write a multi-paragraph
article revealing your findings.
2. War News Correspondent
Assignment: Your job as the war correspondent is to focus on the military aspect of
the war. Your responsibility is to investigate and report on major military battles that
either significantly changed the direction or affected the outcome of the war. Make sure
you consider the conflicts at the beginning and during the long span of the war, and not
just those leading up to the end of the conflict.
You will be writing five different articles. Choose five different battles and
describe each in a multi-paragraph article for the newspaper. You will need to explain
where the battle took place, when it took place and who was involved. In your opinion,
was the battle necessary and worth the casualties? What was the significance of the
battle? How did the battle help win or lose the war? You will also need to have a visual
to accompany each article. The visual you use could be a map or a drawing or a
photograph. Whatever format you choose, it must be appropriate and relevant to your
article. Try to bring the conflict to life for your reader by describing what the battle was
like from the soldiers’ point of view.
3. People Section
Assignment: You have the responsibility of producing a people section that not only
tells us the basic facts of the selected people's lives, but also brings out the human
interest side of their stories.
You will be writing five different articles. Choose five different people to
spotlight who made a significant contribution to life during the Civil War. Make sure
your research includes people of color, immigrants, and women. As you do your
research find out when they lived, where they were from, what they believed in, and
what role they played in the war. In your articles try to include some interesting details
that, in your opinion, reveal what kind of a person they were. Remember to reflect about
and evaluate these people from the viewpoint your newspaper represents, not just what
history has said about them. Each article should be a multi-paragraph column and have
a graphic that is appropriate and relevant to your information.
4. Political Section
Assignment: You are responsible for at least five articles. Political cartoons would be
helpful in telling your story.
What were important political issues (disagreements) before the war?
 What was the abolitionist movement? What did they want? Was the abolitionist
movement good for the country or not? Why? What effect did the Supreme Court
decision dealing with the slave Dred Scott have on the country? Was the Supreme
Court right? Why or why not?
 What were some of the compromises to keep the country together? Were the
compromises fair? Why or why not?
 What was "The Cause" Southerners talked about? Was it valid? Why or why not?
Were all states treated fairly by the Federal Government before the war? Why or
why not? Does a state have the right to nullify a Federal Government law that the
state thinks is wrong and unjust? Why or why not?
 What effect did John Brown's raids in Kansas and Harper's Ferry have? Was
John Brown correct in what he did? Why or why not?
 Was the Know-Nothing Movement good for the country or not? Why?
What were issues that came up during the war?
 What were the results of allowing People of color to serve in the Union Army?
Was this a good thing? Why or why not?
 What was the cause of Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation? Should
he have signed it? Why or why not?
 What was the result of the national election of 1864 for the Office of the President
of the United States? What message did the election results send? Do you agree
with the results? Why or why not?
5. On the Homefront
Assignment: You are responsible for 5-6 articles reporting on the day-to-day lives of
the citizens of your section of the country. How did their involvement in and feelings
about the war appear in the fine arts aspects of their lives? Write a column about each of
the topics - music, literature, art, fashion, and photography - to reveal the findings of
your research. Use illustrations and examples to enhance your reporting.
Suggested Topics:
Music
Compare and contrast songs of the North and the South. What kind of music did people
listen to during this time period? What were some of the most popular songs? What
instruments were used? How was music used in the war effort? How do the songs
reflect the time period? Read about and listen to songs of the era and write a column
answering the above questions about the role of music in the War. (Include examples.)
Literature
What role did the written word play in the war? How did it reflect life at the time? What
were people reading and writing? Read some poetry, letters, journals and other written
pieces of the time. Write a column about the written word and its place in society
during the War Between the States. (Include examples.)
Art
Who were the important artists of the time? What media did they use? How was war
expressed in art - paintings, drawings, cartoons, sculpture? Research this topic and
write a column about the types of art that were popular and how art was affected by the
War. (Include illustrations.)
Fashion
What did people wear during this period? What fabrics were used? Who and what
determined "style"? How did fashion differ from social class to social class? What did
the soldiers wear? Write a column on fashion of the era and its connection to the War.
(Include illustrations.)
Photography
The Civil War saw the growth of photography. What role did it play in the War? What
subjects were most photographed? Were there any famous photographers or
photographs? What technical advances helped the growth of photography? Write a
column about the use of photography in the War. (Include illustrations.)
Also write a column describing which of the above (music, literature, art, fashion and
photography) portrayed the period most accurately? Include examples and
illustrations.
6. Health and Technology
Assignment: You are responsible for five articles.
Suggested Articles
What role did the factories play in the time period? Where were most factories
located? How did the location of factories affect the number of immigrants in the state?
How did the location of factories affect the conduct and the outcome of the war?
What role did railroads and the telegraph have on warfare? How was the Civil
War different from past wars because of the railroad and the telegraph? Did the South
and North have equal access to railroads and telegraphs? If not, how did the differences
affect the conduct and the outcome of the war?
What role did new weapons have on warfare? What weapons were used in the
War Between the States? Were there any new weapons used successfully? How was the
civil war different from past wars because of the weapons? Did the weapons affect how
soldiers and sailors fought? If so, then how?
What were the medical and health practices of the period? What were medical
and health practices of the period. How did the practices affect the well being of people
who were injured? If a person were seriously, injured, describe the probable treatment
that the person would expect.
Which technological advance had the biggest impact on the time period?