The Coming of the Civil War Discussion

You may choose any topic regarding the coming of the Civil War (The Antebellum Period is considered to be between 1848-1861. Please contact me if you need ideas or would like me to approve your idea). Once you have chosen your topic, you are to look up an article from the timeframe that the event happened. Students are required to cite a primary source (this is an original source from the time period) at the end of their post. After reading original representations of the event, look up at least one other article outside of your text books describing the event. This source can also be a primary source or a secondary source (any information written based upon primary documents – usually after the event); it also needs to be cited at the end of your post. Then, you need to write an article as if it was a newspaper article about the event. You can make this as creative as you would like. You can take on a southern or northern persona, or even an international reporter (if you do so, make sure you state this in your post). You can write as if you are writing an editorial, or simply reporting the news. Your article needs to be at least 500 words. At the end of your article, you need to name your sources in CMS bibliographic format and point out which one is a primary source. Test your links to make sure they will lead your readers to the appropriate articles. The best resources for finding a primary source can be found in the Ludden Library Databases America’s Historical Newspapers, 1690-2000 and U.S. History in Context. To enter these sites, go to the Ludden Library, click on the “databases” link, and then click on the link for “Social Sciences: History, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science.” Several helpful databases are listed. My intention in having you do this is to view primary sources from the time the event occurred. You may comment on other people’s posts, but you are not required to do so. However, you need to read them. After all of the posts are in, I will create a test based on the information the students provided in their articles and make a short 20 point test on the historical discussion. My intent in this assignment is to have students do original research on a topic that interests them, while also allowing for creative historic writing.