Analyzing Multiple Accounts of the Same Event

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Analyzing Multiple Accounts of the Same Event

• Putting together all the pieces

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Think of a time when you have been in a situation
with a friend and when you talk about it later,
your friend has a different summary ( or account)
of the situation.Share with the class.
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Your version, or account, of the situation may be
different than another persons, because you
noticed different things. You have different
perspectives. The same thing happens in the news
and in history. There are first-hand accounts in
informational text, and there are second-hand
accounts.
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A firsthand account of an event or topic is
based on an authors personal experience.
Diaries, autobiographies, and letters are
considered to be firsthand accounts. The authors
perspective with regard to the event or topic may
be influenced by his or her feelings about it.
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A secondhand account of an event or topic is
based on an authors research, rather than
personal experience. Encyclopedia entries,
biographies, and textbooks are considered to be
secondhand accounts. The authors perspective
with regard to the event or topic is usually
neutral. The author simply states facts about it.
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Take a look at the following accounts. Read each
one, and discuss with a partner if it is a
firsthand account or a secondhand account. Be
ready to share your answers. Be able to cite
evidence from the text that supports your answer.
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Indentured Servants Early settlers in the
American colonies had a lot of land but not
enough people to work on it. So, beginning in the
decade after the settlement of Jamestown,
Virginia, in 1607, many men and women came to the
colonies to live as indentured servants. In
exchange for their passage overseas and room and
board, these men and women agreed to work for a
period of between four and seven years. Then they
would be considered free. Until then, they had to
fulfill their contracts by working very hard.
Their lives were harsh and restricted. People who
tried to run away could be punished by having
their contracts extended. If they survived the
hard labor, however, indentured servants received
freedom packages which sometimes included at
least 25 acres of land.  
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What type of account was it?
Secondhand!
How do you know?

• The author of this passage was not an indentured
  servant and has no personal experience with
  indentured servitude.
• Instead, the author uses researched information
  to tell about indentured servants.
• The authors purpose for writing is to inform
  readers.
• The authors perspective with regard to
  indentured servitude is neutral. The author
  states facts about both the drawbacks and the
  potential outcomes of being an indentured
  servant.

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Adapted from a letter by Richard Frethorne, an
Indentured Servant Virginia,
1623Loving and Kind Father and Mother,There
is nothing here to comfort me. Since I left the
ship, all I have eaten is watery porridge and
peas. There is not enough meat or poultry to be
had I havent seen any deer around, and I am
working too hard to hunt for fowl. Early until
late I work and work, awarded for my labor with
yet more porridge. Four men have to share a
meager serving of bread, so its little wonder
that so many have fallen ill.Not only am I
hungry, I hardly have any clothing. My cloak was
even stolen by a man whom I believe sold it for
food. Fortunately, Mr. Jackson in Jamestown is
kind to me and has given me some fish, but I am
still miserable and hungry. I want nothing more
than to go home. I do beg you, good Father, to
release me from my great grief. I know you would
cry if you saw my pathetic state. Give my love to
all my friends and family. The answer to this
letter will mean life or death for me please,
Father, send for me as soon as possible.Richard
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What type of account was it?
Firsthand!
How do you know?

• The author of this letter is a young man named
  Richard Frethorne. He is telling about his
  personal experiences of living in Virginia as an
  indentured servant.
• The authors purpose for writing is to persuade
  his parents to let him come home.
• The authors perspective with regard to
  indentured servitude is negative. His experience
  as an indentured servant has been very harsh. He
  is trying to convince his parents to send for him
  by showing just how harsh it has been.

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Adapted from an advertisement in the
Virginia Gazette, Parks from November 12,
1736A white servant boy named John
Turner, belonging to Mr. Darby Skinner of
Hampton, was sent to Williamsburg and has not
returned. It is suspected that he has run away.
He had on a blue jacket and trousers and had with
him a small bay horse. . .Whoever will bring the
boy and horse to Mr. Darby Skinner shall have a
reasonable reward, over and above what the law
allows. CreditVirginia Gazette (Parks),
Williamsburg, November 12, 1736.
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What type of account was it?
Firsthand!
How do you know?

• The author of this newspaper advertisement is a
  man named Darby Skinner. He is telling about how
  his servant, John Turner, ran away.
• The authors purpose is to persuade anyone who
  might find John Turner to bring the boy and the
  horse back to Hampton.
• The authors perspective with regard to
  indentured servitude is unsympathetic. According
  to Darby Skinner, John Turner belongs to him just
  as much as the horse does. Skinner feels that
  Turner owes him a debt, and he is trying to
  convince others to find Turner by offering a
  reward.

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All three passages are written on the same topic,
yet they probably affected you, the reader, in
different ways. Discuss with a partner the
similarities and differences between the three
accounts. Talk about the effectiveness of each.
Lets try a few more.
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Lewis and Clarks Trip In the early 1800s,
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took their
famous trip through the West. Lewis and Clark
crossed the Rockies and reached the Pacific
Ocean. Along the way, they made maps and kept
recordsof animals and plants they saw. A
Shoshone woman named Sacagawea accompanied Lewis
and Clark and their group. She was very helpful
in getting the explorers safely through Native
American territory and across the mountains.
Lewis and Clark saw the Rocky Mountains for
the first time, from a distance, on May 26, 1805.
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What type of account was it?
Secondhand!
How do you know?
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Passage from Meriwether Lewiss journal, May 26,
1805these points of the Rocky Mountains were
covered with snow and the sun shone on it in such
manner as to give me the most plain and
satisfactory view.Lewis also notedthe joy I
. . . felt in the first moments in which I gazed
on them.
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What type of account was it?
Firsthand!
How do you know?
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Summary of an original journal entry kept by a
member of Lewis and Clarks group, May 428,
1805 By now Lewis and Clark were growing ever
more anxious to catch sight of the Rockies, the
mountain barrier they knew they would have to
cross. In the last week of May, Lewis saw the
mountains for the first time.He was filled with
joy, immediately tempered by a realization of the
challenge that lay ahead. The captains were
eager to reach the Rockies, but progress was slow
along the frequently bending river, which was now
shallow and filled with jutting rocks.
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What type of account was it?
Firsthand!
How do you know?
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Think of the authors perspective in each of
these accounts. In each account, is the authors
perspective positive, negative, or neutral? Refer
to specific lines in the text that support your
answer.
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Do you think it is important to read firsthand
and secondhand accounts when learning about
history or news? Why or why not? Give at least
three reasons for your answer.