Documents
Why read primary sources and original documents?
Primary sources are more than laws and proclamations. They include relics, letters, diaries, newspapers, maps, music, art, physical objects, autobiographies and other artifacts – produced at specific times in history by people living in a wide array of diverse cultures.
Primary sources take us on journeys through time and the experiences of people who lived before us, the world in which they lived, and the challenges they faced. Unlike secondary sources which remove from us from the fullness of the context of history and often serve as commentaries on past events, primary sources help to immerse us more deeply into the past and how its future was defined.
Among numerous resources providing online access to primary sources are the National Archives; the Avalon Project at Yale University; the Library of Congress; and the Center for the Study of the American Constitution
When reading primary sources, consider the following:
- What is the historical context? What was happening during that time period?
- What was the purpose of the creator of the primary source?
- What powerful ideas are expressed?
- Who might have opposing ideas and where will you find those ideas expressed?
- Are you able to view the primary source in its own time rather than viewing it through the lens of our own time?
- Why was the source important in its time and what is its relevance in our own time?