HIS 1302
Name: [INSERT NAME HERE]

Primary Source Assignment

15% of course grade

choose ONE of the following sources that I have assigned from the American Perspectives reader:

· “Testimony of Benjamin Singleton (1880),” pp. 61-66

· “The History of the Standard Oil Company: The Oil War of 1872,” pp. 33-48

· “Albert Beveridge Defends U.S. Imperialism (1900),” pp. 247-250

· “How the Other Half Lives (1890), pp. 158-164

· “Excerpts from The Jungle (1906),” pp. 185-190

Then, using the primary source analysis process discussed in the video, read the source and answer the following questions thoroughly. Please use this sheet and TYPE your answers.

· What is the title of the source? Who wrote it? What type of source is it?

[INSERT ANSWER HERE]

· Based on what we’ve covered in class, what did you ALREADY know about the time period before you read the source?

[INSERT ANSWER HERE]

· Give a 5 to 10 sentence summary of the source.

[INSERT ANSWER HERE]

· What are THREE new things you learned about the time period from the source?

[INSERT ANSWER HERE]

· Evaluate the veracity and usefulness of the source. Are there any problems with it? Are there any biases in either the source or the author? Do those problems affect how useful the source is? Do you find it to be a trustworthy source overall?

[INSERT ANSWER HERE]

· How can a historian USE this source? (Be specific—don’t just tell me that “it tells us more about what happened in the past”)

[INSERT ANSWER HERE]