Primary Sources

Today - we will discuss SOAPSTONE and look at primary sources.

1st we need to go over your homework.

SOAP the Document:  Making Primary Source Documents 
Come Clean! 
 
Source 

Who wrote the document?  

What is the author’s background/point of view?  

Whose point of view, given the topic, is 
missing?  

Do you consider the source a reliable one on this topic?  Why/why not? 

Occasion  

When was the document written?  

What does the date of the document tell you about its content? 

What other historical events were going on during this time? 

Audience  

To whom is the author writing?  

What type of document is this (diary entry, personal letter, public speech, 
etc.)?    

Does the private/public nature of the document inform you about its content 
(is the author sharing private thoughts, making a public pronouncement, 
etc.)? 

Purpose 
Why was the document written?  What is the purpose of the document?  

What is the document saying?  

Tone

What is the attitude of the speaker?

You will need to answer the above for the following primary sources:

Letter to Luis de Santangel (ALL)
Selections of the Journals of Christopher Columbus (AP students)
Selections of the Short Account of the Destruction of the Indes (AP students)

 for a larger version of this map go HERE