The Front of the bus (1955)

Primary Sources

Primary sources are sources that come from the time period which you are studying. They consist of actual documents, letters, diaries, newspaper articles (from the time period itself), and other relevant firsthand accounts and eyewitness reports. Historians use these documents to learn more about the time period, as well as to gain insights and different perspectives. As most people have heard, there are two sides to every story. In history, we find that there are often many more sides than that. Each person might view an event differently, depending on where he or she comes from and the experiences they have had. This is why primary sources are so valuable to historians. They can also be misleading, too. How do we know that the person writing the account isn’t lying, or stretching the truth to achieve his or her own ends? There is always bias involved. This is why the job of the historian is such a difficult one. If you have only one source, you only have one piece of the puzzle.
When writing your paper:
Read the Introduction on page XXIX – XXXII. Think about why the editor of this book chose these pieces of history to represent major events that have occurred. After reading the introduction, read your assigned sources. Think about them in terms of the introduction, and include some insights regarding that when your write your paper.
Use the example that I gave you on how to do a primary source. Be sure to include the title of the article as your title, and then in your first paragraph you need to tell me who wrote your document (if known) and provide a little background information. In your second paragraph you need to summarize the article, and in your third paragraph you need to include your views on the article, taking into account the introduction that you read and applying some of the ideas therein.
When you have finished typing your paper, save it to your computer or a flash drive. Upload your paper to one of the three primary source folders that are located under the Assessments tab and in the Dropbox. ONLY LOAD ONE PAPER INTO EACH FOLDER. You will submit a typed, double-spaced ¾ – 1 ½ page for each primary source.

Last Completed Projects