What Is a Primary Source?
A primary source is an account created by someone who participated in or witnessed an event. Primary sources can include diaries, letters, speeches, drawings, photographs, cartoons, newspapers, yearbooks, posters, signs, and memoirs.
These two documents, part of the North Carolina State
Archives, are examples of primary sources. The item on the left is Special
Order 191, a strategic plan that General Robert E. Lee issued in September
1862 that was later lost. To the right is a brief but powerful message
from Colonel Isaac Avery of Burke County to his father:
Major: Tell my Father I died with my face to the enemy. I. E. Avery
Click on the documents for larger images and more information.
Why Are Primary Sources Important?
Primary sources reveal personal information rarely contained in books and articles of the time. They offer students a direct link to the lives of people in the past. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, students encounter important historical concepts and develop valuable analytical skills by using primary sources.
Students sometimes see history as a series of facts, dates, and events, usually packaged as a textbook. As they use primary sources, they begin to view textbooks as historical interpretations. They realize that any account of an event, no matter how impartial the presentation, is essentially subjective.
Photographs as Primary Sources
Like other kinds of documentary artwork, photographs tell us much about the past. Beyond showing what something or someone looked like, they reveal the values of the photographer, the subject, the time period, and even the community.
For example, formal family portraits often reflected the ideals or tastes of the time. Examine a family portrait. Is the setting plain or fancy? Does the backdrop have an exotic scene painted on it? What props are used? What kind of clothing are the subjects wearing?
The angle of a photograph gives clues to what the photographer or subject wanted to convey. Buildings or people were often photographed from below rather than straight on. This view transmitted the subconscious message that the subjects were important. Conversely, subjects could be photographed from above to emphasize their insignificance.
This image of an unidentified dead Confederate soldier conveys powerfully
the war's impact and brutality. Photo courtesy of the Office of Archives
and History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.
We can use photographs to examine the construction, architecture, and decoration of buildings at certain moments in their histories. Photographs also document trends and styles—from clothing to hair fashions to cars—across the decades.
Photographers faced certain ethical questions. Is it acceptable to stage a photograph and present it as an authentic scene? Is it appropriate to ask a subject to dress in a manner that conveys a message even when that message is not accurate? When documenting a battle scene, should one help a person in distress or photograph the scene and move on? The choices a photographer made reflected the values and ethics of the individual, period, or community.
Artifacts as Primary Sources
Since the mid-1960s, historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists have slowly changed the field of history from the “great men, great deeds” approach to one that focuses on the everyday lives of all Americans. As part of this change, researchers now consider historical artifacts, landscapes, clothing, and buildings as relevant sources of historical information. There are many reasons for introducing students to the study of material objects as well as documents. Because analyzing objects is self-generated discovery, students develop confidence in observing, analyzing and drawing conclusions while learning about history. The many significant aspects of objects can also stimulate active classroom discussion and debate. Objects can be more honest than written or oral sources. Objects can provide reliable clues as to how they were created, who created them, and why they were/are important. For example, historians once believed that slaves in American had relatively few possessions, and what they did have were merely castoffs from owners and overseers. Analyses of slave quarters by archaeologists, however, reveal that slaves purchased some things for themselves, recycled castoffs from owners, and made household objects from available materials. Handmade objects sometimes reflected African design motifs. These findings helped change the role of slaves as consumers from passive to active.
Studying objects provides valuable information about how things were made. In many old homes, wood beams, window styles, and nail types give clues about the kinds of tools used to build structures. Ceramics often have special marks from the kiln or from an artisan’s tools. This information is important in learning about technology, individual skills, and the values of a particular culture.
Objects can teach us about the “forgotten” people in history. For a long time historians used mainly written records (diaries, inventories, journals) to learn about the past. People who existed before written records were virtually left out of history. Also, the majority of Americans could not or did not write down their experiences. Slaves, new immigrants, women, and the poor were some of these people. Although they did not leave behind many written records, they did leave physical evidence of how they lived, what they did, and who they were. Archaeologists, prehistorians, historians, and natural historians often work together now to learn more about how these people lived based on the objects they made and used.
Fanny Waddell of Nash County made and used this pincushion circa 1863-1865.
Her choice of fabric shows her patriotism to the Confederate cause and
is representative of what artifacts can reveal about an individual, region,
and period in history. The item also relates something about the user's
daily life, as sewing was an important activity during the Civil War.
Learning about history through artifacts stimulates the visual and tactile senses. When students touch history and see the visual evidence of human existence, history takes on new importance. Using material culture in the classroom also helps students define their own cultural identity as well as their place in history.
Primary Sources in the Classroom
Primary sources simply used to supplement textbook lessons can greatly benefit students. But with a little planning and creativity, you can make primary sources an important asset in the classroom. Use primary sources, especially in class discussion and writing assignments, to spark debates (formal and informal), initiate role-playing activities, and challenge material in secondary sources.
Teach your students to locate primary sources on their own. Introduce them to special collections in libraries, historical societies, universities, museums, and state archives. If the class or individual students can’t visit these special collections in person, many primary sources can be viewed on microfiche in libraries, reproduced in books, and, increasingly, on the Internet.
African American Odyssey
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/aohome.html
A Library of Congress site that offers primary sources important to African
American history.
The American Civil War Home Page
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/warweb.html#graphic
Links to many Civil War Web sites, including primary sources in the "Images
of Wartime," "Documentary Records," and "Rosters and Regimental Histories"
sections (as well scattered throughout the remaining subdivisions).
AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American History
http://www.vlib.us/amdocs/
Links to many important digitized American documents, from 1492 to 1917.
American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital
Library
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ammemhome.html
Over 7 million digital primary sources from the Library of Congress.
American Women's History: A Research Guide: Digital Collections
of Primary Sources
http://www.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women/wh-digcoll.html
An extensive list of digitized American women's history primary sources.
Digital History
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
Primary and secondary sources on American history including documents,
maps, images, audio archives of speeches and lectures by historians, an
interactive timeline, virtual exhibitions, and ideas for teachers and
students.
Documenting the American South
http://docsouth.unc.edu/
A digitized collection of sources on Southern history, literature, and
culture from the colonial period through WWI from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
History Matters: Many Pasts
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/manypasts/
This feature from George Madison University contains 1,000 primary documents
in text, image, and audio about the experiences of ordinary Americans
throughout U.S. history.
Lesson Framework
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/fw.html
Information on using primary sources in lesson plans.
NC ECHO: Exploring Cultural Heritage Online
http://www.ncecho.org/
A project that highlights digitized special collections of North Carolina's
libraries, archives, museums, historic sites, and other cultural institutions.
Primary Sources and Activities
http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/teaching_with_documents.html
A site from the National Archives and Records Administration that provides
primary documents and teaching activities for major events in United States
history.
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html
A comparison of primary and secondary sources.
Smithsonian: History and Culture
http://www.si.edu/history_and_culture/
Online exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution tell history through
artifacts.
Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/primary.html
An explanation of the types of primary sources.