Primary and Secondary Sources 20 th Century History BBS

Primary Source Primary sources are first-hand accounts of an event, a life, a moment in time. They are in their original form usually without explanation or interpretation. These sources are original records of the political, economic, artistic, scientific, social, and intellectual thoughts and achievement of specific historical periods.

Examples of Primary Sources Primary sources are not just documents and written records. There are many different kinds of primary sources, including: first-person accounts, documents, physical artifacts, scientific data that has been collected but not interpreted. Audio: oral histories or memoirs, interviews, music Images: photographs, videos, film, fine art Objects: clothing, tools, pottery, gravestones, inventions, weapons, memorabilia Statistics: census data, population statistics, weather records Text: letters, diaries, original documents, legal agreements, treaties, maps, laws, advertisements, recipes, genealogical information, lectures

Secondary Source Secondary sources are often written some time after an event happened by people who were not present when the event occurred. These sources can be documents, texts, images, and objects about an event created by someone who typically referenced the primary sources for their information.

Examples of Secondary Sources Books Journal Articles Textbooks Reference Sources