This is a blog I used when I was a school librarian. There are articles here that are useful for our Social Studies, especially the articles on Primary Sources!
Primary Sources and the Civil War
Early American Artist Edward Hicks
Click on the title of the article you want to read, or click on the titles in the menu list.
This blog has references and review for some of the primary source materials available in the Library of Congress digital collections and elsewhere on the topic of the Civil War. Please help each other out at the computer and work together. For Civil War related materials in the Library of Congress, search in the American History and Culture collection and in the Prints and Photographs collection.
I found a few interesting things. See if you can find a picture of a family living in a camp with the soldiers.
Remember, you can find the Library of Congress digital collections by clicking on one of the ‘springs’ at the bottom of the page in the dashboard.
Here is a link to a page from the National Archives site: The Civil War and Reconstruction. This is a list of primary source documents by topic. Click on two or three of these links and see what you find. Take a few minutes to look at both the Library of Congress and at the National Archives site. Take a good look at a few of the items on each of these pages.
Ms. Reece
These are some images of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. It is the largest library in the world and is contained in three buildings. This is the main building and the entrance, named the Grand Hall.
The Grand Hall, Library of Congress.
Here are some pictures showing some of the details.
And that is just the entry way. There are lots of displays, but no cameras were allowed so I couldn’t take any pictures of the exhibits. There is also an incredible reading room. That is where all the books and documents are kept.
This last view was taken through the window looking into the reading room. Cameras are not allowed inside. Library aides bring you the books you want to see which you request by their author, title and call number. The Library of Congress does not check out books, they can only be read in the reading room.
There are lots of historical exhibits on display and many online resources for the public.
A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.
That definition of a primary source is from a Princeton University website on doing research. (Because I used their information, I am giving them credit, an attribution, I am sharing where the information was found.)
What does that definition of primary sources mean? It means if you or I or anyone writes in their diary, sends a letter, an email or even a text, if it can be saved, it might end up being a primary source. It also depends on the question I have or what I am researching. If I am studying what it is like to be a student in an Anchorage elementary school, any of your homework, writing, artwork or tests would be primary sources. We could also look at our school newsletters, pictures, videos of school activities, or yearbooks.
A primary source also might be a piece of art, a machine, or something else someone made. This is how Princeton University explains different types of primary sources:
Some types of primary sources include:
The most common forms of primary sources are probably writings and photographs.
If we are talking about the early days of American History, one of our primary sources could be an early draft of the Declaration of Independence. When we look at this document, we see that Thomas Jefferson crossed out some things and did rewrites on parts of the Declaration. We can see digital image of one of the drafts on the Library of Congress site. I have linked it here – Draft, Declaration of Independence. Or, if I am studying women’s roles during the Civil War, I might look for pictures or letters. For now, I will use a picture as an example. This link is to picture I found from the Library of Congress site and would be a primary source for a topic about women at the time of the Civil War: Camp of 31st Pennsylvania Infantry. You can click on the picture on the page to see it better. This picture seems to show us that families lived in at least one military camp with the soldiers. What else can you see that tells you something about the lives of the people in the picture? If my question is about what women did during the Civil War, how would this picture help me answer this question? Hint – what do you think is in her basket?
In school we often use SECONDARY SOURCES, Princeton describes them this way:
A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. Some types of secondary sources include:
Examples of secondary sources include:
I hope this information will help you in your research and that you will seek out primary sources whenever you can.
Ms. Reece
This is a very interesting Museum and I know some of you are very interested in AIRPLANES!
Here is the website for this museum. Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
At this link you can see objects that are on display in the Museum. Browse Objects
Follow this link, and you will find images of planets.
Tonight, Tuesday evening, there will be a talk at this museum with two fighter pilots from the Viet Nam War. One of the pilots flew for the United States and the other one flew for Viet Nam. Though the Vietnamese plane was shot down, the pilot survived. Years later, these two pilots met and are now friends. I hope to meet them and send you pictures from their talk.
Have a great day! Ms. Reece