I chose my topic because have been fascinated with the “Newsies” ever since third grade when I had to perform songs from the musical for school. My fascination was rekindled when I had the opportunity to see the musical live at Capitol Theatre and as soon as I heard the National History Day theme this year would be “Taking a Stand in History”, I looked for ways I could relate the stand the newsboys took against the two biggest paper companies of New York in 1899, to this year's theme.
I started my research by browsing different pages on the internet, trying to find the similarities and differences between the movie/musical and the real life events. I ended up finding that they are very different stories. The newsboys' stand had an even greater impact in the real life event compared to what was described in the play. Next I visited the online Library of Congress to find newspaper articles about the strike of the newsies for primary sources and more information on how the newsboys decided to strike as well as the perspective of the newspaper companies that were boycotted.
I selected my presentation category because I have participated in the National History contest before with a website, I felt most comfortable doing a website and confident that using the website to display sections of newspapers I could get the relevance of my topic across to any viewers. After constructing my site, I asked for feedback from my friends, family members, and teachers to decide how I could improve my project more and more with each edit.
My project relates to the National History Day theme "Taking a Stand in History" because the newboys' strike of 1899 is an example of how kids can stand up for what they believe in and get dramatic results. The newsboys felt that it was unfair how The Evening Journal and The New York World did not lower their prices like the other papers after the Spanish-American war. The boys got together and boycotted these popular newspapers by refusing to buy or sell them, as well as encouraging the public to do the same. The newsies also halted paper deliveries, blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, until the papers agreed to compromise with them. The success of them taking a stand set an example for future strikes such as the Butte, Montana Newsboys Strike of 1914 and continues to inspire people to stand up for what they believe is fair and just.
I started my research by browsing different pages on the internet, trying to find the similarities and differences between the movie/musical and the real life events. I ended up finding that they are very different stories. The newsboys' stand had an even greater impact in the real life event compared to what was described in the play. Next I visited the online Library of Congress to find newspaper articles about the strike of the newsies for primary sources and more information on how the newsboys decided to strike as well as the perspective of the newspaper companies that were boycotted.
I selected my presentation category because I have participated in the National History contest before with a website, I felt most comfortable doing a website and confident that using the website to display sections of newspapers I could get the relevance of my topic across to any viewers. After constructing my site, I asked for feedback from my friends, family members, and teachers to decide how I could improve my project more and more with each edit.
My project relates to the National History Day theme "Taking a Stand in History" because the newboys' strike of 1899 is an example of how kids can stand up for what they believe in and get dramatic results. The newsboys felt that it was unfair how The Evening Journal and The New York World did not lower their prices like the other papers after the Spanish-American war. The boys got together and boycotted these popular newspapers by refusing to buy or sell them, as well as encouraging the public to do the same. The newsies also halted paper deliveries, blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, until the papers agreed to compromise with them. The success of them taking a stand set an example for future strikes such as the Butte, Montana Newsboys Strike of 1914 and continues to inspire people to stand up for what they believe is fair and just.