click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Interactive Skills for Students How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Why Learn This Skill?  People who study history examine pieces of evidence to reconstruct events.  Some types of evidence are written, visual, or physical artifacts. They are called primary sources.  Analyzing primary sources can increase your understanding of historical people, events, or places.

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Learn It! To analyze primary sources, follow these steps:  Identify the author or creator of the source.  Determine when and where the source was written, illustrated, or created.  Read the document or study the illustration or artifact. Try to answer the following questions:  What is the primary source?  Who created it?  Where is it from?  When was it created?  What information does the source reveal?

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! Read the text. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! Then, determine what this primary source is. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! Then, determine what this primary source is. An Inaugural Address is another name for the speech given by a president after he takes the oath of office. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! Next, identify the author of the source. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

In this source, the author is identified at the end of How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! Next, identify the author of the source. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961 In this source, the author is identified at the end of the excerpt.

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! Next, determine when the source was created. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

In this source, the date is also cited. How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! Next, determine when the source was created. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961 In this source, the date is also cited.

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn from the source? Use your skills at making inferences to help you. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

Apply It! How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! To whom is President Kennedy speaking? And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

Apply It! How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! To whom is President Kennedy speaking? Americans and people around the world And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

Apply It! How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What is he asking Americans to do? And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

Apply It! How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What is he asking Americans to do? He is challenging Americans to ask what they can do for their country, instead of asking what the country [government] can do for them. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

Apply It! How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What is Kennedy asking of his “fellow citizens of the world”? He is asking that people around the world ask how they can work with the United States for the cause of freedom. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. —President John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

The Primary Source Says How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn about Kennedy’s values from this document? The Primary Source Says What It Means

The Primary Source Says How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn about Kennedy’s values from this document? The Primary Source Says What It Means Kennedy addressed Americans as well as people around the world.

The Primary Source Says How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn about Kennedy’s values from this document? The Primary Source Says What It Means Kennedy addressed Americans as well as people around the world. He believes his comments will be important for people in other countries to hear. This suggests that the United States had some influence around the world.

The Primary Source Says How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn about Kennedy’s values from this document? The Primary Source Says What It Means Kennedy addressed Americans as well as people around the world. He believes his comments will be important for people in other countries to hear. This suggests that the United States had some influence around the world. Kennedy called on people to “ask what they can do for their country.”

The Primary Source Says How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn about Kennedy’s values from this document? The Primary Source Says What It Means Kennedy addressed both Americans and people around the world He believes his comments will be important for people in other countries to hear. This suggests that the United States had some influence around the world. Kennedy called on people to “ask what they can do for their country.” Kennedy valued service to others.

The Primary Source Says How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn about Kennedy’s values from this document? The Primary Source Says What It Means Kennedy addressed Americans as well as people around the world. He believes his comments will be important for people in other countries to hear. This suggests that the United States had some influence around the world. Kennedy called on people to “ask what they can do for their country.” Kennedy valued service to others. Kennedy used the phrase “my fellow citizens of the world.”

The Primary Source Says How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn about Kennedy’s values from this document? The Primary Source Says What It Means Kennedy addressed Americans as well as people around the world. He believes his comments will be important for people in other countries to hear. This suggests that the United States had some influence around the world. Kennedy called on people to “ask what they can do for their country.” Kennedy valued service to others. Kennedy used the phrase “my fellow citizens of the world.” Kennedy wanted to express a sense of global unity.

The Primary Source Says How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn about Kennedy’s values from this document? The Primary Source Says What It Means Kennedy addressed Americans as well as people around the world. He believes his comments will be important for people in other countries to hear. This suggests that the United States had some influence around the world. Kennedy called on people to “ask what they can do for their country.” Kennedy valued service to others. Kennedy used the phrase “my fellow citizens of the world.” Kennedy wanted to express a sense of global unity. Kennedy asked people around the world to consider what they could do for the “freedom of man.”

The Primary Source Says How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! What can you learn about Kennedy’s values from this document? The Primary Source Says What It Means Kennedy addressed Americans as well as people around the world. He believes his comments will be important for people in other countries to hear. This suggests that the United States had some influence around the world. Kennedy called on people to “ask what they can do for their country.” Kennedy valued service to others. Kennedy used the phrase “my fellow citizens of the world.” Kennedy wanted to express a sense of global unity. Kennedy asked people around the world to consider what they could do for the “freedom of man.” Kennedy may have believed that human freedom was threatened. He also believed that people around the world should help the U.S. protect freedom.

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Apply It! Summarize the information in the primary source. President Kennedy used his Inaugural Address to speak to Americans as well as people around the world. In his speech he seems to value service to others as well as working with people around the world for the cause of freedom.

click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation How to Analyze Primary Sources click your mouse or hit enter to advance animation Remember  Primary sources are written, visual, or physical pieces of evidence from the past.  Historians use primary sources to gather information about the past.  Learning how to analyze primary sources will help you in social studies as well as other subjects.