What Are Primary Sources?

What Are Primary Sources? — page 1 — What are Primary sourCes A primary source is a work that gives original information It comes from a time being studied or from a person who was involved in the events being studied Some primary sources supply facts about a subject Other primary sources express the views of people who experienced events A secondary source does not give original information Newspaper articles can be used as primary sources if they show what was happening in the world at a certain time 4

What Are Primary Sources? — page 2 — It interprets or summarizes information from primary sources Textbooks biographies encyclopedias and dictionaries are normally secondary sources A book about the American Revolution that was written in the 2000s is a secondary source A journal that a soldier kept during the American Revolution is a primary source Compare and Contrast 5 Art like this wall painting in an Egyptian tomb is a primary source for studying ancient Egypt Sometimes the way a source is used determines if it counts as primary or secondary An article from the 1950s about Pocahontas isn’t a primary source about her because she lived in the early 1600s But it could be a primary source about how people in the 1950s viewed Native Americans How are primary and secondary sources alike How are they different

What Are Primary Sources? — page 3 — Published sourCes Some primary sources are published documents Publication is the printing of multiple copies of a document to be sold or distributed to people Newspapers and magazines are published documents Articles in newspapers and magazines can be primary or secondary sources If the author writes about seeing an event or gives an opinion about an event the article is probably a primary source Newspapers are published regularly They offer stories about local national and international news 6

What Are Primary Sources? — page 4 — Vocabulary Documents are written or printed papers giving information about or proof of something Broadsides and pamphlets are primary sources that were commonly published in the past A broadside is a single large sheet of paper with printing on one side In the days before TV radio and the internet broadsides were among the quickest ways to spread information For example during the American Revolution colonists passed around broadsides of the Declaration of Independence Pamphlets are brief booklets that promote a specific view or provide information Pamphlets were among the first printed materials John Dunlap printed the first broadsides of the Declaration of Independence on July 4 1776 7

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