The Primary Source Review will involve doing some independent research about the nature of primary sources and then identifying and describing two primary sources on the topic you’ve selected earlier this semester to work with. This will be the same topic you used for the Secondary Source Review (email me to approve your topic if there was a problem with the topic for that assignment). The topic must focus on American history and it must not be so recent that it would be considered a “current event” (something from the last two years).  Use the Research Guide for our class https://researchguides.fsw.edu/AMH2020  (Links to an external site.)

Let me know if you have any questions and remember that you can ask a librarian for help if you get stuck!

Part 1: Briefly answer the following questions. Include the question numbers in your responses. 

1. What are primary sources? 

2. Give two examples of databases that you could use to find primary sources for historical research in the FSW library.  Use the library guide. 

3. Give two examples of specific primary sources you’ve found using the databases from question 2.  Use MLA citations for both. 

Part 2: Include the research question for your topic. Add more detail to your question if the question in the Secondary Source Review was too broad/too vague or not about American history. 

Find two primary sources that could help you answer your question from the FSW library or our class textbook (look at the bottom of the page for each chapter). Provide the following information for each and include the numbers below in your responses so it’s clear that you have an answer for each prompt.

1. Full citation in MLA (Google for how to cite a primary source in MLA if you are unsure how to do this). 

2. What is this source? (speech? letter? newspaper article? diary? etc.)

3. Who wrote it?

4. Who was the intended audience? 

5. Provide a 150 word explanation of how the information in the source addresses your research question.  Use your own words.