Zoom In Inquiry Thermometer and magnifying glass. Setup of thermometer and magnifying glass. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Children at the FSA (Farm Security Administration) Camelback Farms inspect the photographer's camera, Phoenix, Arizona Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. How might primary sources help us become better writers? Examine primary source clues carefully. Determine what you see and what questions you might ask to get the “big picture.”

What do you see? What do you think you know about this document?

What additional elements do you see? What kind of information could this type of document contain?

Why do you think this document was created?

Make a hypothesis about who may have written this document. a)Abraham Lincoln b) Martin Luther King, Jr. c) Amelia Earhart d) Henry Ford What clues support your guess?

General Correspondence: Earhart, Amelia, The Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers at the Library of Congress Library of Congress, Manuscript Division

Describe Ms. Earhart’s tone and voice in this letter. What was her purpose for writing this letter? What questions did this correspondence leave you with?

Amelia Earhart ( ?) was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, a feat she completed in In this friendly letter, Ms. Earhart was writing to a fellow aviator, the very famous and well-respected Orville Wright, to celebrate the introduction of the Hudson Motor Company’s Essex Terraplane car. In 1932, Mr. Wright was no longer flying; he was working on his aviation inventions. So he was very interested in automobiles both for their technological innovations and as a form of transportation This small, powerful car with a steel frame was built to exacting standards, which is probably why Orville purchased such a vehicle for himself. Source: The Orville and Wilbur Wright Papers, COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS: Aviation Colleagues, Library of Congress

Understanding the Big Picture What do letters, diaries, and journals tell us about history?

Study these primary sources. Determine if they contribute to our understanding of history. The Thomas Jefferson Papers Series 10. Addenda to the Thomas Jefferson Papers, Diary of Mr. Mazzei's Affair, April 5, 1790 The Library of Congress The Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers Letter from Alexander Graham Bell to Helen Keller, March 23, Transcription (Series: General Correspondence, Folder: Helen Keller, , undated)Transcription The Library of Congress Betty Herndon Maury Diary entry, June 3, 1861, Library of Congress Manuscript Division Diary entry