Walking into the Advanced Topics in American Studies classroom feels like stepping into a bustling 19th-century newsroom. Students hurry through last-minute edits, editors call for final drafts, and the air crackles with urgency. But the stories they're working on aren’t about a looming snowstorm or last weekend’s Super Bowl — they transport readers to a nation on the brink, where every article, editorial, and obituary reflects the deep divisions of the Civil War era.

For this immersive project, students became historical journalists tasked with producing four newspapers — two set in the decade before the Civil War and two from the war itself. Each time period featured both a Northern and a Southern publication, challenging students to adopt opposing perspectives. The goal wasn’t just to summarize history but to create articles, advertisements, and political cartoons that felt authentic to the era.

The newspapers covered pivotal events with gripping detail. Reports from the battlefield of Gettysburg and Shiloh placed readers in the chaos of war. Editorials debated the Dred Scott decision, the Election of 1860, and South Carolina’s secession. Obituaries of John Brown, Stonewall Jackson, and Josiah Anderson read strikingly different depending on the newspaper’s allegiance. Even the advertisements painted a vivid picture of the era — announcements for slave auctions, calls for abolitionist meetings, and recruitment notices for the Sea Island Experiment revealed the tensions shaping America’s future. 

“I enjoyed this assignment. Creating a variety of articles with different viewpoints on one common issue was something that I had not done often before,” said Jay Youm ’26, who served as editor for one of the publications. “I learned new writing styles, and it was great to contribute to the class newspapers.”

By the time the final editions went to print, students had done more than meet their deadlines. They’d brought history to life, one headline at a time.

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