Primary Sources in Social Studies

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Primary Sources in Social Studies

• The Civil War Ends

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What is a primary source?

• An original document or the description of an
  event or time period by a person who witnessed it
  or lived at the time.

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Examples of Primary Sources

• an eyewitness account
• a description, written at the time
• artwork or photographs of an event
• legal documents
• business records
• an original sound recording

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An eyewitness account of an event

• newspaper or magazine stories
• autobiographies
• photographs
• artwork depicting the event

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• Who were the key figures?

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• President Abraham Lincoln
• Brady Collection, 1864

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• Jefferson Davis, President, C.S.A.
• 1865

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• General Ulysses S. Grant
• 1865

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• General Robert E. Lee. C.S.A.
• between 1860 and 1865

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• Where did the surrender take place?

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• Appomattox Court House, Virginia
• 1865

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• McLean House, Where Lee signed Capitulation
  papers, ca. 1865

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A first hand account of an historical period

• letters and manuscripts
• personal journals and diaries
• autobiographies
• interviews

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• April 9th
• Genl Lee has surrendered to Genl Grant with his
  whole Army!! Mr Lincoln has returned to
  Washington as in fine Spirits at the prospect of
  a speedy peace. It is thought that Johnson and
  the other rebel Genls will give up now that Lee
  has surrendered.
• Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft
• April 9,1865

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Something written or created around the time of
the event

• legal documents (wills, property, birth and death
  records)
• business and accounts records (contracts)
• newspaper or magazine articles

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• First Announcement of Lees Surrender
• Philadelphia, April 9th, 1865

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• The true peace commissioners
• Lithograph, 1864

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• Jefferson Davis
• Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, 1861

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A sound recording from a specific time

• a recording of a speech
• a recorded interview
• recorded music

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What is a secondary source?

• An account (or artwork) created by someone who
  was not present at the time.
• The writer or artist researched the event and
  then wrote about it.
• The information might be based on several
  sources (primary and secondary).

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Examples of Secondary Sources

• nonfiction information books
• reference book articles (encyclopedias)
• biographies
• textbooks
• artwork that depicts an historical event that
  happened long ago

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Why are primary sources important?

• They help us to better understand the event or
  time period.
• They allow us to see an individuals response to
  an event or time (different perspectives).
• They bring history alive.

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Are primary sources objective?

• Primary sources are not always objective.
• They may be subjective and sometimes biased.
• They might describe someones personal feelings
  about an event or time in history.

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Where can we find primary sources?

• On the internet Library of Congress
• digital collections documents, photographs,
  manuscripts, artwork
• sound recordings
• In libraries
• Published journals, diaries, autobiographies