Recording the American Experience

ImagineLiving in a world with no electronic mediaThis was the basic condition of life more than

400 years ago, when people from very different parts of the world first interacted with each other in America

Records of these interactions still exist and provide insights into the past

What are historical narratives?Accounts of real-life historical experiences,

given either by a person who experienced those events or by someone who has studied or observed them.

They are key historical documents, existing as our principal record of events

Two Basic FormsPrimary Sources: documents, such as letters, diaries, journals,

and autobiographies, that present direct, firsthand knowledge of a subject

Secondary Sources: histories and biographies that present

indirect, secondhand knowledge

In Colonial TimesNative Americans: recorded information for thousands of years

through picture symbols and oral languageEuropeans: reported news of their explorations and

settlement through survivors’ tales and adventure stories written in the form of letters and journals; the use of vivid, sensory details make these narratives come to life