Introduction to Primary Sources Definitions and Examples

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources Accounts written after the fact by historians. Interpretations of history based on an analysis of primary sources. Formats: Books Journal articles Dissertations

Primary Sources: Definitions “historical raw materials” “the leavings, the shards, the remnants of people who once lived and don't live anymore” “is material -- a document or other evidence -- that was created during the period or the event”

Historians & Primary Sources Primary sources are the evidence used by historians in their analysis/interpretation of the past, in their creation of secondary sources Secondary sources carefully cite the evidence in footnotes. Primary sources help us make personal connections with the past.

Written primary sources Public/published Newspapers Magazines Books Published during time Written later by participants (memoirs) Gov’t reports

Written primary sources Private Letters Diaries Can later be published in book, microfilm, web formats Unpublished material found in manuscript archives

Unwritten primary sources Graphical photographs posters art maps films Artifacts buildings furniture clothing memorials music

Analysis primary sources Time and Place Rule The closer in time and place a source and its creator are to an event, the better the source Direct traces  contemporary accounts by firsthand observers/participants  accounts of the events created later by first hand observers/participants Battle  filmed coverage of the battle / same day interviews with participants / diary entries by participants / news coverage of the battle /  memoirs of participants published years later

Analysis of primary sources Bias Rule Every source is biased in some way Evidence must be read or viewed skeptically and critically Creator’s point of view and motives must be considered Each piece of evidence must be compared with other evidence