How Republicans Emerged During The Civil War
Prompt listed in the topic, please read all the attachment below: Project Instructions – Full details how the project should turn out Sources: Places to find everything, can use outside sources if needed
For our primary research project, we are going to do historical thinking by beginning with an historical interpretation/primary source and then placing that source within the local and larger context of the Civil War. We are using the term “historical source” rather carefully. The source that you must use should be a newspaper or periodical (magazine) from the Civil War Era.
There are two primary ways to proceed with this project.
Approach 1) As you review the reading materials (overview of the Civil War period) the first week or so, you may find a topic of interest that you can then try to find in newspapers and periodicals of the Civl War era.
Approach 2) You can explore the newspapers and periodicals of the era looking for interesting topics. You may stumble on something of interest while exploring. For example, you might find the following illustration by Thomas Nast. This could take you in many different directions. Any could make for a great final project.
1) You might explore what are the significance of the different images in the illustration?
2) How did Thomas Nast “participate” in the Civil War with his cartoons and illustrations?
3) What was the reaction to emancipation in the press and magazines in 1863?
4) How is “race” illustrated in a magazine like Harper’s or Atlantic Monthly?
Take time and explore the primary sources below (although you are not limited to these). You may end up focusing on fashion or you may get caught up in a report on “The Sanitary Condition of the Army“ that takes you into camp life for the average soldier and how camp life is depicted in newspapers and/or periodicals. Or you might be interested in food. Or a poem, “The True Herione,” about a mother sending her children off to war, may lead you to research life on the home front or Civil War poetry.
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A good guide to writing the essay can be found with both the Rubric and the PDF Writing Guide as well as you can find quality digital research resources both in attachments
Be aware that the Civil War is a very popular online topic. You will find a great deal of information online that is incomplete or incorrect (or simply mis-information and myth).
To avoid errors, use trusted sites such as the Library of Congress, the National Archives, official state archives, university libraries and archives nationally, and private organizations like the Civil War Trust, the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, etc.
Guidelines for Final Project
Clearly stated thesis in introduction.
Thesis that is logical given the evidence presented in paper.
Include a discussion of the secondary literature (historiography).
Have appropriate supporting evidence.
Clear path for the reader (good thesis and sub-points)
Properly quoted and cited sources.
Carefully edit your paper to eliminate common grammatical problems: spelling, word
Good Use of evidence from primary and secondary sources
choice, word usage, verb tense; and have minimized other stylistic issues such passive voice.
2500-5000 words
Don’t forget list of works cited at the end.
Use MLA, APA, or Chicago citation format for bibliography.
