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Document Analysis

Document Analysis. HAPP. Primary Sources: Analyzing Evidence - Content and Sources. Skill Two: Sourcing and Situation (2) 2.A Identify a source’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience

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Document Analysis

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  1. Document Analysis HAPP

  2. Primary Sources: Analyzing Evidence - Content and Sources Skill Two: Sourcing and Situation (2) 2.A Identify a source’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience 2.B Explain the point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience of a source 2.C Explain the significance of a source’s point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience

  3. Historical Context • When and where was the document produced? • What contemporaneous events might have affected the author’s viewpoint? • How does the context affect the reliability of a source or message? Each document was created at a specific moment in time and in a specific place. Identifying this time and place helps us understand purpose, but in order to understand the context, we need to go beyond simple identification. When a historian talks about context, he or she is referring to specific historical processes and events that can explain both the author’s reasons for writing the document and the ways in which contemporaries understood the document Consider:Star Wars Intro

  4. Historical Context Historical Example: On Feb. 15. 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court. How would we place this document in the context of the women’s rights movement?

  5. Historical Context • The law passed through the singular efforts of Belva Ann Lockwood, who lobbied Congress for five years to get it passed. • When Lockwood completed her studies at National University Law School (now George Washington Law School), the school refused to grant her a diploma because she was female. • Earlier, in 1870, Ada Kepley became the first American woman to graduate from law school. Although she had a diploma from the Union College of Law (now Northwestern), the state of Illinois denied her a license to practice law. That law wasn’t overturned until 1881. Not one to be defeated, Kepley went on to earn a Ph.D. as well. • In 1872, the year before Belva Lockwood finished law school, Susan B. Anthony was arrested in New York for voting—illegally, of course—in that year’s presidential election. • It would be another 40 years after Hayes signed this bill for ratification of the 19th Amendment that guaranteed women the right to vote. • Women wouldn’t be admitted to Harvard Law School until 1950. • The first woman wouldn’t be nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court until 1981. • Of the 112 justices who have sat on the Supreme Court, 108 have been men. • According to the American Bar Association, only 34 percent of all attorneys in the United States are women (as of 2014).

  6. Audience • Who was the source created for? • How might the audience have affected the content of the source? • How might the audience have affected the reliability of the source? Every document is created with an audience in mind, even if that audience is oneself. When creating a document, authors make decisions based on what they think the audience already knows and what they want the audience to know and believe. In doing so, the author might leave certain information out, emphasize some points rather than others, or adopt a specific tone or point of view. Understanding who the audience was presumed to be and what impact the author wished to have on them, helps us better understand the content and purpose of a document.

  7. Audience Consider: • Would you tell your parents all of the things you tell your good friends? • Would President Roosevelt say the same thing to his advisors in a White House meeting that he would say to the American public in a speech?

  8. Intended Audience Gone Wrong

  9. Point of View • What was the author’s point of view? • Does the author’s point of view undermine the explicit purpose of the source? • How can you tell, if you can tell, what other beliefs the author might hold? All sources have a purpose, which the author is usually aware of. However, he or she may not be aware of how his or her point of view shapes a document. Factors that may shape point of view include aspects of the creator’s identity (e.g., gender, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation), his or her relation to the event (e.g., actor, bystander, critic), and the distance in time between the event and the document’s creation.

  10. Point of View Example: Jack is the besthigh school football player in the state Which POV would you trust the most? Least? • his mom • the West Seneca Bee • Nick Saban, head football coach at Alabama

  11. Purpose • Why did the author create the source? • Why was the document created at this time? • Why has it survived to the present? • How does its purpose affect its reliability or usefulness? When an author creates a source — whether it is a diary entry, a political treaty, or a painting — he or she has a purpose in mind: to record the events of the day, to end a war, to paint an image that a patron would want to purchase, etc. This purpose might involve convincing another person, controlling the actions of many people, or serving as a reminder to oneself. As time goes by, the purpose of the document may affect whether or not it is preserved. Documents deemed unimportant or controversial often do not survive. Understanding purpose helps historians understand historical processes, as each document not only tells us about the past but is also the result of an action taken by one or more people in the past.

  12. Purpose Consider: • Why would Andrew Jackson says, “[Supreme Court] John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it" in 1832? • Why would Joseph Keppler draw the pro-immigrationcartoon "Looking Backward" in 1893?

  13. Other Factors C - Content • What point(s) is the document trying to make? • What does the document not say (i.e., does it selectively include and/or exclude information)? • What of its content is usable by a historian? A – Authorship – IMPORTANT FOR CITING • Who wrote the document, and what is his or her relationship to the historical event being addressed? • What was the author’s position in society? • Do I know anything about this person beyond what is provided in the source that would affect the reliability of the document? F/M – Format/Medium –IMPORTANT FOR CITING • What is the format of the source: text, image, art, newspaper article, letter, cartoon, lyrics, op-ed, etc? • What is the intent of the medium? • Does the source’s format or genre (novel, romantic poetry, Impressionist painting, census, military map) add meaning to what the source explicitly states? L - Limitations • What does the document not tell me? • What might have limited the knowledge of the author (e.g., social status or position, education)? • What other kinds of sources might fill in the content gaps? • What other documents might offer alternatives to the author’s point of view? • What other documents might help to better understand the author’s own point of view?

  14. Practice Document Analysis Key Question: Evaluate differences in the attitudes Spanish leaders had towards Native Americans. Analyze the documents from Las Casas, and de Sepulveda listing a HAPP for each. Can work in a group, but everyone should have the analysis for homework. Can work in groups. Everyone writes their own individual paragraphs.

  15. Evaluate differences in the attitudes Spanish leaders had towards Native Americans. Write a paragraph addressing the task. 1. First sentence is thesis/topic sentence. Define the point you will be proving. 2. Present information and analysis: • Explain viewpoint of Spanish leader using documents. • Clearly analyze how viewpoints were similar or different 3. When analyzing the document – a) summarize the content b) explain the HAPP c) make sure to answer the question, don’t just summarize the document • Bartolome de Las Casas said ... (doc 1). His purpose in writing was to… This was different from …. • …according to Juan de Sepulveda (doc 2). The historical context of his statement was …… This was similar to … • NO DIRECT QUOTES – YOU ANALYZE AND PARAPHRASE 4. Conclude paragraph by reiterating point. Think of each paragraph as a sandwich: Topic Sentence (bread), argument/info (peanut butter & jelly), Reiteration of Point (bread).

  16. Evaluate differences in the attitudes Spanish leaders had towards Native Americans. Scoring • Thesis – 1 Point • Argument – 1 Point • Uses 2 documents to prove argument – 1 Point • Cannot just summarize document, must be part of argument • Presents 1 HAPP for 2 document to help prove argument – 1 Point • Cannot just summarize HAPP, must be part of argument 4/4 = 100% 3/4 = 90% 2/4 = 80% 1/4 = 70 % 0/4 = 60 %

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