DEFINITIONS

Primary SourceConnected to an event by time or participation.

They include any historical evidence that

comes to us directly from the time period or event we are studying.

Secondary SourceThe writer is not an

eyewitness to or a participant in the event.

Usually published books or articles by

authors who base their interpretation on

primary sources. 

EXAMPLES

Primary Source• Diaries• Autobiographies• Government records• Photographs• Interviews with participants• Manuscript collections• Newspapers from the era• Letters• Music of the time period• Artifacts

Secondary Source• Biographies• History textbooks• Documentaries• Interviews with scholars• Books about the topic written

by historians• Articles about the topic• Most web sites

SOURCES SUPER QUIZ!

FRESHMAN LEVEL

Susan B. Anthony

1 - FRESHMAN

• Letter from SBA encouraging support for woman’s suffrage, found in a book of Anthony’s letters

2 - FRESHMAN

• The text of the 19th Amendment, found on the national archives website

3 - FRESHMAN

• Your United States History textbook

4 - FRESHMAN

• A book you found in the library, written by a historian about the woman’s suffrage movement, published in 2006

5 - FRESHMAN

• A photograph you found in the archives showing women protesting for the right to vote from the early 1900s

6 - FRESHMAN

• A website describing the events of Susan B. Anthony’s Life, written by Scholastic Book Company

7 - FRESHMAN

• Government documents you found in a library, which are from the time of the passage of the 19th amendment

8 - FRESHMAN

• A pamphlet you found on the Internet, which was published in the early 1900s warning people about the dangers of giving women the right to vote.

GRADUATE

World War II

1 - GRADUATE

• An interview you did with a historian about the role of the Nazi Party in World War II

2 - GRADUATE

• An English translation of Mein Kampf, which you found online

3 - GRADUATE

• A YouTube video of Hitler delivering a complete speech during World War II

4 - GRADUATE

• A copy of the Lend-Lease Act, reprinted in your U.S. history textbook

5 - GRADUATE

• A photograph of Adolf Hitler that you found in a book by a historian

6 - GRADUATE

• The reminiscences of a World War II general, which you found on Google Books

7 - GRADUATE

• An interview with the grandson of Harry Truman, talking about his grandfather’s decision to drop the bomb

8 - GRADUATE

• Newspaper articles announcing the end of World War II, which you found in an online database

PHD

The Great Depression

1 - PHD

• A quote said by FDR in 1932, which you found at BrainyQuote.com: "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people."

2 - PHD

• A newspaper article written in 1955 reflecting on what life was like in Minneapolis during the Great Depression

3 - PHD

• A newspaper article written late October 1929 by a Minneapolis newspaper discussing what was happening on Wall Street, which would eventually be known as the Great Depression

4 - PHD

• A guided tour of a Civilian Conservation Corps Camp in Minnesota

5 - PHD

• A recording of a classical music piece by Mozart, which you used as background music in your documentary about the Great Depression

6 - PHD

• Ken Burn’s “The Dust Bowl” documentary, which you rented from the library

7 - PHD

• The fictional book, “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, published in 1939

8 - PHD

• A historical journal article about farmers during the Great Depression, which appeared in a 1985 publication called the “America: History and Life”

ANNOTATIONS

• Describe how source was useful• Clarify classification