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Why read primary sources and original documents?
Primary sources are more than laws and proclamations. 包括文物, 信, 日记, 报纸, 地图, 音乐, 艺术, 物理对象, autobiographies and other 艺术ifacts – produced at specific times in history by people living in a wide array of diverse cultures.
Primary sources take us on journeys through time and the experiences of people who lived before us, 他们生活的世界, 以及他们所面临的挑战. Unlike secondary sources which remove from us from the fullness of the context of history and often serve as commentaries on past events, primary sources help to immerse us more deeply into the past and how its future was defined.
Among numerous resources providing online access to primary sources are the 国家档案馆; the 阿瓦隆的项目 at Yale University; the 美国国会图书馆; and the Center for the Study of the American 宪法
When reading primary sources, consider the following:
- 历史背景是什么? What was happening during that time period?
- What was the purpose of the creator of the primary source?
- 表达了多么有力的思想啊?
- Who might have opposing ideas and where will you find those ideas ex新闻ed?
- Are you able to view the primary source in its own time rather than viewing it through the lens of our own time?
- Why was the source important in its time and what is its relevance in our own time?