The Task

You are to go back in time to the Spanish-American War and participate as journalists. Each member of your group will be a journalist for a newspaper. Together you need to create a newspaper representing this time period.

Suggestions for guiding your research:
1. Look for causes, key people, and important events of the Spanish-American War.
2. Research Yellow Journalism and how it was used to influence public opinion. Your Yellow Journalism article should not be easily distinguished as “Yellow Journalism” to someone who has not studied the topic.

Below are links you might want to use to find information.

Foreign Relations

Spanish General Arsenio Martínez Campos

Foreign relations was an important part of the Spanish-American War. Explore how the relationships between the U.S. and Spain changed throughout this war.

www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/chronology.html This is a chronology of what happened with the United States and Spain during the Spanish American War. Good for finding key figures.

memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/b?ammem/fsaall:LC-USW33-042486:collection=fsa

www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/ojeda.html

Science/Technology

Wounded soldiers being tended to on the battlefield

Science and technology are constantly changing based on the needs of society. Explore how advances in science (think medical) and technology were directly related to the Spanish-American War.

www.nmhm.washingtondc.museum/exhibits/past/Span_Am_WAr/span_am_war.html This website describes the Spanish-American War and the technology involved.

www3.eou.edu/hist06/TechnologyofWar.html This website describes the technology that was created and used during the Spanish-American War.

www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/library/historical/medical_history/yellow_fever/ This website describes the impact of Yellow Fever on the Spanish-American War.

www.michigan.gov/dmva/0,1607,7-126-2360_3003_3009-17032--,00.html This website describes the Spanish-American War, as well as the impact of disease during the war.

www.cwc.lsu.edu/cwc/other/stats/warcost.htm This website displays the lives lost during various wars that the United States has been involved in, and breaks them down by cause of death.

www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/ Library of Congress Spanish American War Page

History/Social Studies

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders

Explore the causes of the Spanish-American War, and the effects it had on the U.S., Spain, and other countries. Also look into how the war affected regular civilian citizens and what changes they had to make in their daily routines to adjust to wartime living.

www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/sawhtml/sawsp1.html - This website describes the Spanish-American War through motion pictures.

www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/- This website was created by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress and provides resources and documents about the Spanish-American War.

www.pbs.org/crucible/- This website offers a timeline of the major events before, during, and after the Spanish-American War. The website also includes photographs, sheet music, newspaper articles and headlines.

lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun10.html- This website provides daily facts surrounding the Spanish-American War.

alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/roughriders/jour.influencewar.html- This website provides information on how “yellow journalism” influenced the Spanish-American War and also, information on William Randolph Hearst and John Pulitzer.

www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/spanam/eve-pge.htm- This website provides information on the United States military and events surrounding the United States involvement in the Spanish-American War.

www.archives.gov/research/military/spanish-american-war.html- This website includes many primary sources pertaining to the Spanish-American War, including maps, manuscripts, photographs, etc.

accd.edu/pac/lrc/sp-am-war.htm- This website includes photos and other information about the Spanish-American War. It also, includes other reliable links.

Cultural

How did the war affect cultural works such as song writing, plays, and visual art? How did the arts help to promote the effectiveness of Yellow Journalism? These are just a few questions that can be explored in this area.

memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/ncdhtml/hasmhome.html

Yellow Journalism

Pay attention to the wording the writers used to influence public opinion.

www.pbs.org/crucible/headlines.html This website has several front pages of newspapers during this the Spanish-American War.

http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/roughriders/jour.home.html This website gives information on the beginning of Yellow Journalism and how it influenced the war.

Additional information can be found on the Library of Congress Website (www.loc.gov). To access this information:
1. Go to www.loc.gov
2. Click on “American Memory”
3. In the search box, type “Spanish-American War” or any other key words that pertain to the topic.

Use Microsoft Word to assemble your newspaper. Remember that this paper should represent a paper from the 1890’s, so use standard fonts. Keep the time period in mind while creating the paper. Also keep in mind what a newspaper looks like: headlines, columns, graphics to enhance the text, etc.