Historical (primary) documents are a key source of evidence for historians and are used as clues to unlock the past. In this assignment you will pick at least one primary document from chapters 7-14 in Major Problems in American History and, in a 2-3 page essay (double spaced, standard font and margins) explain how an historian might use the document as evidence to learn about the past. If you choose to write about more than one (which I encourage you to do) you will need to explain the relationship between the two documents. In addition to briefly summarizing what the document(s) are about, you should be sure to address the following questions. Who is the author (if known)? When was it written? Who is the intended audience? What is the context of the document (what is going on in America at the time)? Just responding to these questions is not, however, enough to earn you full credit. You must clearly explain how an historian might use these answers as evidence. The goal here is to have you “think like a historian.”

For example, if you selected to write about John Adams and Abigail Adams’s correspondence and [petition from slave] (which you can’t because it from chapter 4) you could use them to illustrate debates over the meaning of equality, changing attitudes towards women, the first emancipation movement, etc.

This essay does not require outside research but you should use the textbook to help situate the document. You do not need citations but you must use quotation marks whenever you are using someone else’s words. If you do, however, decide to do any further research you do need to make that clear.