What is a primary source? What is a secondary source?
 

Primary sources were written or produced in the time period. They are eyewitness accounts. They can be documents related to specific events. They can be later recollections by participants in an event.

Secondary sources are usually published books or articles by an author who makes a personal interpretation about a topic based on primary sources.
Examples:

Diaries

Autobiographies

Interviews

Letters

Newspapers

Objects

Music

Film Footage

 

Biographies

Encyclopedias

Textbooks

Books about the subject

Articles about the subject

 
 
Examples from websites:
Minnesota Historical Society
American Memory
 
 
 
 
 
 
Assignment:  
Find 2 examples of a primary source at one of the above websites.