1. Primary Sources in Social Studies
The Civil War Ends

2. What is a primary source?
An original document or the description of an event or time period by a person who witnessed it or lived at the time.

3. Examples of Primary Sources
an eyewitness account
a description, written at the time
artwork or photographs of an event
legal documents
business records
an original sound recording

4. An eyewitness account of an event
newspaper or magazine stories
autobiographies
photographs
artwork depicting the event

5. Who were the key figures?

6. President Abraham Lincoln
Brady Collection, 1864

7. Jefferson Davis, President, C.S.A.
1865

8. General Ulysses S. Grant
1865

9. General Robert E. Lee. C.S.A.
[between 1860 and 1865]

10. Where did the surrender take place?

11. Appomattox Court House, Virginia
1865

12. McLean House, Where Lee signed Capitulation papers, ca. 1865

13. A first hand account of an historical period
letters and manuscripts
personal journals and diaries
autobiographies
interviews

14. April 9th
Genl Lee has surrendered to Genl Grant with his whole Army!! Mr Lincoln has returned to Washington as in fine Spirits at the prospect of a speedy peace. It is thought that Johnson and the other rebel Genls will give up now that Lee has surrendered.
Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft
April 9,1865

15. Something written or created around the time of the event
legal documents (wills, property, birth and death records)
business and accounts records (contracts)
newspaper or magazine articles

16. First Announcement of Lee’s Surrender
Philadelphia, April 9th, 1865

17. The true peace commissioners
Lithograph, 1864

18. Jefferson Davis
Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, 1861

19. A sound recording from a specific time
a recording of a speech
a recorded interview
recorded music

20. What is a secondary source?
An account (or artwork) created by someone who was not present at the time.
The writer or artist researched the event and then wrote about it.
The information might be based on several sources (primary and secondary).

21. Examples of Secondary Sources
nonfiction information books
reference book articles (encyclopedias)
biographies
textbooks
artwork that depicts an historical event that happened long ago

22. Why are primary sources important?
They help us to better understand the event or time period.
They allow us to see an individual’s response to an event or time (different perspectives).
They bring history alive.

23. Are primary sources objective?
Primary sources are not always objective.
They may be subjective and sometimes biased.
They might describe someone’s personal feelings about an event or time in history.

24. Where can we find primary sources?
On the internet: Library of Congress
digital collections: documents, photographs, manuscripts, artwork
sound recordings
In libraries:
Published journals, diaries, autobiographies

25.        
Brady National Photographic Art Gallery (Washington, D.C.), photographer. (1864). Abraham Lincoln, three-quarter length portrait, standing, facing left. Library of Congress: American Memory, Selected Civil War Photographs.
Brady, M. B. (1861). Jefferson Davis, first president of the new Southern Confederacy / photographed by Brady. Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs, Miscellaneous Items in High Demand.
Cameron, J. (1864). The true peace commissioners. Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs, Cartoon Prints, American .
Gutekunst, F. (1865). Ulysses S. Grant, Lieutenant-General, U.S.A. / F. Gutekunst, [...] Philada. Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs.
Kilburn Brothers (ca. 1865). House where Gen Lee signed Capitulation papers. [Stereograph]. Library of Congress: American Memory, American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project,
Library of Congress. (n.d.). Washington during the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft,  Library of Congress: American Memory, Washington During the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft,

26.        
O'Sullivan, T. H. (1865). [Appomattox Court House, Va. Federal soldiers at the courthouse]. Library of Congress: American Memory, Selected Civil War Photographs.
Unknown. ( ). Jefferson Davis. Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs, Brady Handy Collection.
Unknown. ( ). Gen. Robert E. Lee, C.S.A. Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs, Civil War Photographs .
Unknown. (1865). Extra. Surrender of Lee and 30,000 men. Peace in 6 days. [Philadelphia, April 9th, 1865]. . Library of Congress: American Memory, An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera.