AI Tutor
Imagine you are hiking through the hills of West Virginia and find a rusty metal lunchbox with a miner's brass badge from 1921. Did you just find a piece of trash, or a time machine?
To a historian, that rusty lunchbox is a clue that tells a true story about someone who actually lived in the past.

Clues vs. Retellings

A primary source is an original object or document created during the exact time under study by someone who was there. A secondary source is information created later by someone who did not experience the event firsthand.
Primary sources provide direct evidence, such as a Civil War soldier's diary, photographs of miners by Lewis Hine, or the 1863 West Virginia State Constitution. Secondary sources interpret those clues later, such as a textbook or an encyclopedia entry on the Wheeling Conventions.
Can two people see the exact same event and tell completely opposite stories?

Perspective and Context

Every source comes from a specific perspective, which is the author's personal point of view shaped by their job, beliefs, and background. To understand that perspective, we have to look at context—the time, place, and conditions surrounding the event.
Let's investigate two real newspaper headlines written during the 1921 West Virginia mine wars at Blair Mountain, when thousands of miners marched for their rights.
The coal company owner saw the march as a dangerous riot because it threatened his profits. The miner saw the exact same march as a brave fight for fair pay and safer work.
Historians detect these viewpoints through close reading—evaluating an author's specific language, tone, symbols, and claims.