Primary or Secondary Source?
Primary Sources Defined First hand or eye-witness account Created at the time of the event or very soon after Rare and often one of a kind Offer an inside view of an event May be a document or a physical object
Types of Primary Sources ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS (excerpts or translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama, novels, music, art RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings
Primary Source Example: A Wood Engraving Market Scene in Macon, Georgia (African American Peddlers) Wood engraving of sketch by A.R. Waud. Illus. in: Harper's Weekly, 1867 July 13, p. 437 Library of Congress LC-USZ62-55173
Primary Source Example : A Panoramic Map Macon, Ga. county seat of Bibb County 1887 H. Wellge, sk. Beck & Pauli Lith. Co. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division (g3924m pm001270)
Primary Source Example : A Photograph 488 Macon, Ga. Lewis W. Hine 1-19-1909. Bibb Mill No. 1 Library of Congress National Child Labor Committee Collection LC-DIG-nclc-01581
Primary Source Example : Magazine Illustration Title: [Georgia cracker types] Creator(s) Kemble, E. W. (Edward Windsor), 1861-1933, artist Date Created/Published: 1891 Feb. [publication date] Three bust-length studies of mill workers in Georgia. Published as illustration in: "The Georgia Cracker in the Cotton Mills." Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, February, 1891.
Primary Source Example: An Interview Bea, The Washwoman February 1, 1939 Sarah Hill (Negro) 157 Church Street Athens, Georgia American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940
Secondary Sources Defined A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event either by time or location. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them.
Types of Secondary Sources Textbook Magazine articles Histories Commentaires Encyclopedia (Wikipedia) America’s Library Today In History