Primary and Secondary Sources Notes and Examples Primary

Primary and Secondary Sources Notes and Examples

Primary Sources • primary source- a document or object which was written or created during the time a particular event occurred – provides an inside or firsthand view of a particular event or time period – typically only includes one point-of-view – often rare, one-of-a-kind – examples- diary entries, speeches, government records, autobiographies, poetry, newspaper articles, furniture, clothing

Secondary Sources • secondary source- source that was created ` after an event or time period and interprets or analyzes primary sources – can (but not always) provide a more fair account of the event because it can include more than one point of view, or may include information that was unavailable at the time of the event – usually has many copies – examples- textbooks, biographies, magazine articles, encyclopedias

Determining the Type of Source • look for dates, materials used, and other clues to help determine whether the source is primary or secondary • some sources, such as magazine articles, paintings, poems, etc. , can be either primary or secondary sources depending on when they were created – primary source- a magazine article that reports the details of a recent event – secondary source- a magazine article written long after an event that uses a variety of sources to analyze/interpret the event

Primary or Secondary? You decide!

Washington Crossing the Delaware Artist- Emanuel Leutze, 1851

The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863

Mount Rushmore, 1941

Australopithecus Skeleton “Lucy” • discovered in 1974 • estimated age- 3. 2 million years

Plane Wreckage from 9/11/01 Attacks Found wedged between two buildings in April 2013