The Importance of Primary Sources

Primary sources are incredibly important in the writing of any legitimate history paper. Primary sources are sources from the time period and historic event took place and offer insight into what the culture, political system, economy, or government was like. It is important when writing a history paper or book to get as many primary sources as possible to gain a better understanding of the time period that is being written about. When analyzing an event the primary sources will be useful evidence in the point the historian is trying to make. For example, I am writing about FDR and his court-packing scheme (although I will not refer to it by that name in my paper to maintain a level of objectivity) so I have been looking through court cases from the Supreme Court (in order to understand why FDR instigated the scheme in the first place), newspaper clippings (in order to understand the public’s reaction to FDR’s plan), speeches and radio addresses (in order to understand FDR’s reasons for the plan), and letters (in order to understand the private thoughts of the major players in the event). Primary sources are a vital component of any successful historical piece.