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Where History Comes From: Primary and Secondary Sources · How historians distinguish primary from secondary sources and evaluate the reliability of evidence (sourcing). · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.9

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Where History Comes From: Primary and Secondary Sources

with Atlas

Atlas the explorer sits at a wide wooden table in a sunlit archive, reading an old handwritten letter with a magnifying glass, then flipping open a modern history textbook, pencil in hand, marking the differences between them.

Define a primary source as evidence created during the time or period being studied.
Define a secondary source as a later interpretation of past events.
Classify six real examples as primary or secondary sources.
Explain why historians use both kinds of sources together as evidence.

Key terms

primary source: Evidence created during the time period being studied
secondary source: A later work that interprets earlier primary evidence
evidence: The clues from the past historians use to rebuild it
interpretation: An explanation of what evidence suggests happened

The One Question Test

The simplest way to classify a source is to ask, 'Was this created during the time being studied?' If yes, it is primary — a diary, a photograph, a tax record, even a clay pot made back then. If it was created afterward to explain or interpret that time, it is secondary — a textbook chapter, a documentary, or an encyclopedia article. That single question handles almost every case you will meet.

Why Both Matter

Neither kind of source is automatically better. Primary sources give direct, firsthand evidence straight from the period, but they can be limited or one-sided. Secondary sources gather many primary clues and connect them into a bigger picture, but they were written later. Historians read both and check them against each other, using each to strengthen and test the other.

Worked examples

Decide whether a letter written in 1850 about a flood is primary or secondary.

Apply the test: was this created during the time being studied?
The flood happened in 1850 and the letter was written in 1850 by someone who saw it.
Since it was created during the event, classify it accordingly.

Answer: It is a primary source, because it was created during the time of the flood by a person who witnessed it.

Hi, I'm Atlas, and history is a kind of detective work. We can't travel back in time, so we rebuild the past from the things people left behind. We sort that evidence into two groups. A PRIMARY source was created DURING the time or period being studied. It does not have to be made by an eyewitness — a clay pot shaped by an ancient potter counts because it was made back then, not because the potter witnessed a specific event. Other examples include a diary written during a journey, a photograph taken at a historical event, a king's tax record, or a recorded interview with someone who lived through a war. A SECONDARY source comes LATER, when someone studies the primary sources and explains what they think happened. A textbook chapter, a documentary, or an encyclopedia article are secondary sources. They gather many clues and connect them, but they were created after the period under study. Neither kind is 'better.' Historians read primary sources for direct evidence and secondary sources for the bigger picture, then check them against each other. A quick test: ask 'Was this created during the time being studied?' If yes, it's primary. If it was made afterward to explain or interpret that time, it's secondary. If you ever feel stuck, that one question will point you in the right direction.

Activity

Sort each item into the Primary box or the Secondary box using Atlas's question: Was it created during the time being studied?

Practice

Sort a documentary and a soldier's diary into primary or secondary.

Explain why historians use both primary and secondary sources together.

Common mistakes to avoid

Older sources are always primaryAge does not decide it; what matters is being created during the time studied.
Secondary sources are more accurateNeither type is automatically better; historians check both against each other.

Check your understanding

Which of these is a primary source about a flood that happened in 1850?

What makes a source a SECONDARY source?

A student says, 'A source is primary only if it is very old.' Why is this wrong?

Why do historians use both primary AND secondary sources?

Recap

A primary source is created during the period being studied, while a secondary source interprets that period later. Neither is better: historians use primary sources for direct evidence and secondary sources for the bigger picture, checking each against the other.

Reflect

Think about which sources from today would become primary evidence about your own life.