PRIMARY SOURCES IN HISTORY By Ben Amata

What do historians do?

“Historians, however, make a serious and systematic attempt to explain the past and attempt to use the knowledge they gain to help explain human nature and contemporary affairs.” Benjamin, J. Student’s Guide to History p. 1

Definitions

Evidence: Anything within the range of the historian’s experience-document, opinion, monument, artifact, tradition, and so on-that can be used as a basis for statements about the past; often called “sources.” Ritter, S. Dictionary of Historical Concepts Ref D 13 R49 1986 p.143

Sources are artifacts that have been left by the past. They exist either as relics, what we might call “remains,” or as the test- imonies of witnesses of the past. Howell, M & Preveinier, W. From Reliable Sources: an introduction to Historical Methods D 16 .H713 2001 p. 17

Primary sources record the actual words of someone who participated in or witnessed the events described or someone who got his or her information from participants. Benjamin, J. Student’s Guide to History D 16.3 .B4 2001 p. 6.

Secondary sources record the findings of someone who did not observe the event but who investigated primary evidence. Benjamin, J. Student’s Guide to History p. 9.

Yale University Library Primary Sources Research Colloquium: “A primary source is firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. The nature and value of the source cannot be determined without reference to the topic and questions it is meant to answer. The same document or other piece of evidence may be a primary source in one investigation and secondary in another. The search for primary sources does not, therefore, automatically include or exclude any category of records or documents.” Craver, K. Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills In History D 16.2 .C79 1999 p. 15

Written Transmissions Books Journals Letters Annals Dissertations Public records Census data Eyewitness accounts Scripture Inscriptions Newspapers Diaries Chronicles Government documents Personal or institutional papers Genealogies Manuscripts Laws Scrolls Period literature and poetry From Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History Craver, Kathleen, D 16.2 .C79 1999, p.18

Oral Transmissions Speeches Anecdotes Sagas Oral histories Music Interviews (not videotaped) Ballads Legends Telephone conversations Recordings (tape & records) Myths From Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History Craver, Kathleen, D 16.2 .C79 1999, p.19

Visually Transmitted Sculpture Photographs Portraits Maps Cartoons Coins Videotapes Films Posters Engravings Models & dioramas Woodcuts Architecture Etchings Relics Historical paintings Artifacts Computer generated graphics From Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History Craver, Kathleen, D 16.2 .C79 1999, p.19

Electronically Transmitted Faxes Electronic mail Machine readable databases [Web pages] From Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History Craver Kathleen, D 16.2 .C79 1999, p.19

All Things Considered Authenticity Reliability Disagreement

Helpful Resources History - Methodology History - Research D 16’s

Selected Titles Databases in Historical Research D 16.12 H37 1996 Image as Artifact: the historical analysis of film and television D 16.18 .I45 1990 Newspapers as Tools for Historians D 16 T22 Photographs and Local History D 16.155 O45 Public History: essays from the field D 16.163 P84 1999 Research in Archives: the use of unpublished primary sources D 16 .B87 1969

Locating Primary Sources

Selected Relevant LC Subject Subheadings Personal narratives Correspondence Sources

Examples Slavery - United States - Personal narratives Hamilton Alexander 1757-1804 Correspondence Women – England - History – Sources Women’s Worlds in Seventeenth-century England: a sourcebook HQ 1599 .E5 W73 2000

Other Subheadings Manuscripts Archives Papers Newspapers Pictorial Works Cartoons

Examples Presidents United States Manuscripts African Americans -- California -- Newspapers Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973 – Pictorial works World War, 1914-1918 -- United States – Caricatures and Cartoons

CSUS Microfilm History web page – CSUS Primary Resources American Periodicals 1741-1900 CSUS Historical Directory of Periodicals Newspapers: Sacramento Bee 1857- [indexed 1895-1935 Sacramento Bee Historical Index] Sacramento Union 1851 - 1906, 1968 - 1994:(1/15). [not indexed] Sacramento Observer 1973- [not indexed] New York Times 1857- [indexed 1851- ] London Times 1788 [indexed 1785- ] Early English Books 1471-1700 [indexed] 1475 - 1640 reels 1-1979 1641 - 1700 reels 1-1786

Government Documents Indexes Large Sets American State Papers U.S. Foreign Relations Congressional Record Public Papers of the Presidents British Parliamentary Papers United Nations (1946-1981 Microcard; 1982 – present microfiche; selectively on the web)

World Wide Web Archives Historical Books American Memory and Making of America Cataloged Web Sites: BUBLINK, INFOMINE, SCOUT REPORT BUBLINK History Internet Classics Archive

The End