Questioning Historical Sources
Before trusting a historical source, ask: who made this, when, and why? — the answers shape how much weight the source should carry
What a learner can do afterwards
- Wineburg sourcing heuristic
- Teaching Historical Thinking Using Primary Sources (Library of Congress)
The lesson
You know that two people can tell different stories about the same event. That happens because every historical source, a letter, photograph, diary, or news article, was made by a real person with their own reasons. Before you trust what a source says, ask three questions: Who made it? When was it made? Why was it made?
A poster from 1943 says 'Buy war bonds, help win the war!' Who made it? The government. Why? To convince people to give money for the war. The poster tells you what the government wanted people to believe, but it does not tell you how the war was really going.
Your answers change how much weight you give a source. A diary written by a soldier the night after a battle carries that soldier's real fear and confusion in the moment. A history book written 100 years later compares many sources and can get closer to the full picture. Neither source is useless, but each one carries the mark of who made it.
Before you trust a source, ask who made it and why. If the maker wanted you to feel or believe something, read the source more carefully.
Who made it, when, and why: those answers tell you how much to trust a historical source.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.