United States History Student Edition

Analyzing Sources Historical sources may contain both facts and opinions. A fact is information that can be proved or observed, such as the date an event occurred or the name of a person. An opinion, on the other hand, is a personal belief or conclusion. We often hear facts and opinions mixed in daily conversation—in advertising, in political debate, and in historical sources. Although some opinions can be supported by facts, in an argument, opinions alone are not reliable. Sources such as letters, diaries, and speeches express the personal experiences and views of the person writing them. That means they state what a person thinks about another person or event. As a result, historians must be able to separate facts from opinions in these sources. In other words, they must separate facts about what happened from people’s opinions about what happened. This skill is important because it helps historians decide whether a historical source can be trusted. Opinions may be signaled by a writer using phrases such as “I think” or “I feel.” Opinions also can be identified by statements that evaluate or judge a historical figure or event. “George Washington was a great leader” is an opinion because it expresses the writer’s view of Washington. “George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States” is a fact Historians often must sift through a lot of information as they study an event or period. As a result, they must determine whether or not each piece of evidence is relevant . Focusing on what is relevant means selecting only the data that helps answer their research questions. Relevant information applies directly to those questions. For example, if you are researching family life in the colonial era, information about marriage and children would be relevant information. A description of colonial government or trade would not be relevant because it does not explain family life at that time. Is It Important? In deciding whether information is relevant, historians also must figure out what information is source any written work or object that can be used to gather information relevant having a significant connection to the issue or idea that can be proven. Is It Relevant?

essential, or important, and what is incidental, or unimportant. The fact that George Washington was tall may or may not have had any effect on his military prowess during the American Revolution. However, the fact that he had played an important role during the French and Indian War likely affected his military skills. 7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING 1. Analyzing Why is it important for historians to distinguish fact from opinion? 2. Explaining You have been given a letter written by someone in the past to use in your research. What types of questions would you ask to determine which statements in the letter are facts and which are opinions? Examining the Evidence GUIDING QUESTION What types of evidence do historians use to understand the past? Another important task of the historian is to determine whether information in a source is verifiable. This means the historian must check to see if the information can be proved by other evidence already known to be truthful. Evidence is something that shows proof or indicates that something is true. Evidence could be in the form of material objects, such as a soldier’s uniform or artifacts from the past. evidence something that shows proof of truth

Historians can draw conclusions about people’s lives by examining artifacts, such as this gin, a manually driven machine used to process cotton, an important crop in the Southern United States. Analyzing Visuals What can you tell about the United States based on this artifact?

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