Introduction to the Study of History
Reading a Primary Source
Primary sources are the raw materials from which histories are made. Reading and evaluating such sources is a difficult but also exhilarating task. They also afford a rare opportunity for the historian to come into direct contact with the past. By giving the historian this "access," the primary source helps him/her to experience the past imaginatively, an essential step toward the recreation of it using the content of the primary source.
Suggested questions for the evaluation of primary sources:
1. What kind of source is it?
A Formal Treatise, such as Adolf Hitler' Mein Kampf;
A Contemporary Formal History, such as Eusebius' Life of Constantine;
A Public Record (records of government and of
business
operation and administration; records
of legislative debates; judicial cases and
decisions;
statutes, laws, and proclamations; and public
letters or statements made by statesmen,
politicians,
and executives), such as diplomatic
documents relating to the outbreak of war;
Private Letters and Journals, such as the diary of a president;
Literary Sources, such as a novel or a poem;
Nonverbal Sources (including art, architecture, music, photography, and so on);
2. Is the source/document genuine? How do you know? Is the
source/document
original or is it a
reprint? What is the physical condition of the
source?
Does this give you clues as to its intended
use? its interpretation? What does its physical
condition tell you the past?
3. What is its date of origin? Is it contemporary with the events it
relates to? More distant in time?
How distant?
4. Who is the author? Did the author have firsthand information
available?
If not, what is the source
of his/her information? Is the author reliable?
What is the relationship of the author to the event
recorded?
5. Who is the audience? How do you know? If the source was delivered, how was it done?
6. Read through the entire document quickly; from this overview you
should have a sense of the
whole source, an appreciation of its importance
for your study, and an inkling of the problems
that remain to be overcome before the source can
be used. Are their biases that need to be taken
into account (in the source or in you as a reader)?
7. Read the document carefully, isolating the content you can
immediately
understand. Remember
that sources/documents were created/written by
particular
men or women for a specific purpose.
You must accordingly be able to identify the time
period, the author, the reason for writing and/or
creation, and the audience; you should also be able
to ascertain the impact of the source/
document on the audience.
Identify:
Time and place;
Author;
Audience;
Personalities and roles
(be able to identify every person
mentioned in the document and his/her role);
Meaning and Purpose of the
source/document;
Content (be sure you
understand
all words and
phrases, especially those that might have meant
something different for the author);
Allusions (events, etc.
the author takes for granted
the audience will understand);
Assumptions and/or Bias.
8. Do the contents of the document/sources seem reasonable or
probable,
given what you already
know or common sense?
9. Are there other documents/sources that provide corroborating
testimony
or information? Place
the source/document in the context of the other
documents you are studying and answer any
questions that might arise: Does the source/document
confirm what other sources or documents
have told you? Does it contradict them? etc.
10. Also place the document in the larger historical context of the
events you are studying. How
does your interpretation of the document fit in
with what others have said or written (in secondary
sources)?
As you conduct this study, also note any of the above that you can not immediately identify; each of these will have to be looked up in a reliable reference work.
Once you have completed these steps, you are ready to use your source/document.
Reading a Primary Source
The accompanying written and visual primary sources deal with the encounter between American militia and British troops at Lexington Green in April 1775. Your assignment is to analyze them and to write (at least) a two-page history of this event. In your essay, tell what happened, why it happened, and why the event is important. Before you write your history, answer the following questions in writing and be prepared to discuss them and your reconstruction of this event in class. Also construct a time line and attempt to diagram the event. Answer Questions 1-7 for any four of the documents and construct the time line (Question 8). (Review Rampolla, 6-24)1. What kind of source is each document? Are these sources genuine? How might you establish their authenticity?
2. What is the date of each document? Where and under what circumstances did it originate? Of what importance for a historian is this information?
3. Who is the author/speaker in each document? What do we or what should we know about each of these persons? Are these authors/speakers reliable? What is the audience for each document? Of what importance is this knowledge for a historian’s analysis of the document?
4. What is the content of each document? Is the content biased? How should the historians compensate for such bias? How might the historian as a reader of these documents be biased?
5. Is the content of each document reasonable or probable?
6. Do the documents corroborate each other? In what way? Do they contradict each other? In what way? Give specific examples.
7. What additional or specialized information is needed to read and understand each document? Be specific and make a list. Where might such information be found?
8. Construct a time line for your reconstruction of the encounter at Lexington.
9. Write a two-page narrative of this encounter, documenting your main points with references to the primary sources. In your essay you are to explain what happened on Lexington Grenn, why the encounter turned violent, and why this event is important.
This page is maintained by Robert W. Brown
Rev. 4.I.2008