CIVIL WAR NEWSPAPER
Newspaper teams should begin by deciding on the city from which they are publishing, a name and masthead. The newspaper should be issued on September 23, 1862 one week after the. You are going to have to figure out which battle this date refers to.
One group will represent a Southern newspaper and the other a Northern newspaper.
ROLES

• Editor-in-chief: responsible for the entire newspaper. The final word. He/She is the boss and make final executive decisions.
• Battlefront Editor: responsible for the content pertaining to the battles (content, accuracy)

• Politics Editor: responsible for content pertaining to the politics involved as a result of this battle (content, accuracy)

• Home front Editor: responsible for content pertaining to how the war affected the regular citizens (content, accuracy)

• Entertainment/Advertising Editor: responsible for content (content, accuracy, visual)

• Editorials: responsible for editorial content (content, accuracy, persuasiveness)

• Copy Editor: responsible for overall content (accuracy, spelling, grammar)

• Layout Editor: responsible for “look and feel” of the finished product. Other editors/journalists should provide Layout editor with visuals to accompany their stories.


WRITING ASSIGNMENTS WITH POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR ARTICLES
**For each article, you MUST cite at least 1 Primary Source**

Battlefront (2 articles)
• Events of the battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862
North: Lee forced to retreat after losing 1/3 of his men.
South: Lee attacks the North and inflicts worst casualties yet.


• Robert E. Lee
N: Traitor to his country
S. Greatest military genius of the age.

• George B. McClellan
N: Beloved by his men, organizational genius
S: Slow moving bungler
Politics (2 articles)
• Lincoln Issues Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
on September 22
North: A war to end slavery.
Negroes ready to enlist.
South: Lincoln breeds insurrection among loyal slaves as a
cynical war tactic.


• Foreign Affairs
N: On strength of Antietam and Emancipation Proclamation,
England veering away from recognizing the Confederacy
S: England will never do without our cotton.


• Abraham Lincoln, a biographical portrait and/or interview
N: Savior of the Union
S: Aggressor in an unnecessary war.


• Jefferson Davis, a biographical portrait and/or interview
N: Ineffective leader of a weak government
S: Brave leader of a new democracy
Homefront (2 articles)
• Casualty lists and portraits of fallen heroes
(These can be fictional on both sides)


• Homefront and Our Women
Work in hospitals, field and factories, charities, relief
societies on both sides.


• War Industries
N: Industrial strength of our factories and railroads
will help us win the war.
S: Effect of blockade, inflation taking its toll.


• African Americans in the war
N: Southern slaves desert plantations. Interview with
Frederick Douglass. Struggle to win right to fight
For the Union bearing fruit.
S: Slaves work in factories to aid the war effort.
Entertainment and Advertisements (2 articles)
• Reviews of books, latest songs, fundraising events,
concerts on both sides.


• Serialized story in the sentimental style of the day for
both sides


• Advertisements such as fashion, new inventions, medical
cures, etc.
Editorials (2 editorials)
• Significance of the battle
N: England backs down from recognizing the Confederacy
Emancipation Proclamation soon to be issued.
Lee’s army nearly destroyed
S: Lee inflicts heavy casualties in a daring attack on
North; he will return.
Another show of Northern ineptitude and lack of will.


• Why we must keep fighting
N: The Union and democracy must be saved
S: The right to form our own government

For research into some of these topics you may use the following collections of American Memory (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ ) and the other sites I have listed for you on our class website:
Frederick Douglass Papers
Abraham Lincoln Papers
Nineteenth Century Periodicals
Slave narratives
Civil War Images
Civil War Maps
Civil War Brady Studios
Sunday School Books
Advertising
Sheet Music (1850-1920)
Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War and Sheet Music
Note that the 19th century did not adhere to our standards of objectivity. Quite the contrary, florid rhetoric and overt partisanship were the norms. (See the opening page of the Civil War newspaper section of In the Valley of the Shadow) However students should be careful not to alter the facts, only the light in which they present them. For example, the North suffered greater casualties than the South at Antietam. But Lee lost one quarter of his army, percentage wise a much greater loss than the North suffered. How the facts are presented alters our perceptions of events.

GRADING

1.  See rubric