If you have a proposal for a topic other than those shown below, let me know. I will try to get a loaner laptop reserved for you to check out. The editors of our local papers belonged to the same social class, and shared many of the political views, of the frontier humorists. Review accounts of crimes, disasters, and scandals in newspapers on file in the collections of the Library of VA and the The Making of America . Do not provide a catalog of grisly incidents, although you will want to refer to specific accounts that seem representative.
Advertisements reflect the desires and fears of the times.
Instead, look for patterns that reveal deeper cultural values. Except for Porter's Spirit of the Times , most antebellum papers did not publish literature that has survived in modern anthologies. In your essay, explain the relationship of this piece to other works from the frontier. Your audience here would be readers of an anthology of materials to come from our class.