Duties of the Investigative Reporter
As the Investigative Reporter, it is your responsibility to dig for the
truth and find out information connected to some major events that led up to
the Civil War. You will need to conduct some research surrounding several
topics and report that news to the readers of your magazine. You will need
to write an article over each event listed below and be sure to answer each
question that is being asked below.
As with any research report we need to make sure we cite our sources
and also that plagiarism is not acceptable.
Good Luck as you search for the truth to the following topics:
1. Kansas-Nebraska Act (Bleeding Kansas)
*What is the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
*How did it lead to what people consider to be 'Bleeding Kansas?'
*How did the act lead to an increase in tensions between abolitionists
and slave owners?
*When was the Act passed and who proposed it?
2. Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850
*What did each Compromise do to ease tensions between the North and
South?
*Be sure to explain the specifics of both Compromises.
3. South Carolina and Secession
*What is Secession?
*What were the reasons that South Carolina wanted to secede?
*Discuss the order of and who was involved in the secession from the
United States.
4. Election of 1860
*Discuss the impact of the Election of 1860 on the relationship between
slave states and free states.
*What role did the election play in sparking war between the North and
the South?
Any other important information that you find out about these topics that
you would like to include would also be welcomed and very informative
reading for your classmates. I would really enjoy reading any additional
research you were able to complete during your investigation.
Feel free to use any of the other resources found under the other role pages
to aid in your search.
Web Resources to Investigate
Library of Congress
Official Website of the White House
American Civil War.Com
Official Website of Civil War Home.com
Lincoln Archives
History Channel
History Place
PBS
Noodle Tools
Non-Web Based Resources
American Nation Social Studies Textbook
World Book Enclyopedia