Historians rely on two types of sources to understand history: primary sources which are first-hand accounts created during the period being studied, and secondary sources which provide analysis and interpretation of primary sources. Primary sources offer an inside perspective, while secondary sources are one step removed from the original event and include textbooks. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is an example of a primary source.

1. How do we know what we know about times long past?
A good historian knows that information comes from a
variety of source.

2. There are two
kinds of sources:
A Primary
Source
and
A Secondary
Source

3.  A primary source is a first
hand account such as a
document, speech, or
other sort of evidence
written, created or
otherwise produced
during the time under
study.
 Primary sources offer an
inside view of a
particular event.

4.  Secondary sources
provide interpretation
and analysis of primary
sources.
 Secondary sources are
one step removed from
the original event or
"horse's mouth.“ A
textbook is a secondary
source.

5. Rev. Martin
Luther King’s
“I have a
dream” speech
is an example
of a
Primary
source.

6.  A Secondary source would be an
analysis of the event.
 “The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs
and Freedom, whose pinnacle was King's
speech, was part of a new strand of
political protest, the mass
demonstration, which was soon picked
up and used to great effect in student
revolts worldwide.”

7. Thanks!