Analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources to ask and research historical questions about the Western Hemisphere (including North America, South America, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean).

Analyzing and Interpreting Primary and Secondary Sources About the Western Hemisphere

tter hidden in your attic. It is written by a teenager who lived 200 years ago in your town. Beside the letter, you also find a brand‑new history book that explains what life was like back then. Which one tells you more about the past—the letter or the book? The truth is: both are valuable, but in different ways. Learning how to use each type is one of the most important skills in studying history.

In this lesson, you learn how to analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources, and how to use them to ask and research historical questions about the Western Hemisphere—North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.

What Is the Western Hemisphere?

The Western Hemisphere is the half of the Earth that lies mostly west of the Prime Meridian (0° longitude) and east of 180° longitude. It includes:

• North America – for example, the United States, Canada, Mexico
• Central America – for example, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica
• Caribbean islands – for example, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico
• South America – for example, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Colombia

The Western Hemisphere is full of powerful stories: ancient civilizations like the Maya and Inca, the Columbian Exchange, slavery and resistance, independence revolutions, and modern movements for rights and equality.

The map in [Figure 1] shows the Western Hemisphere shaded and labeled with its main regions so you can see how all these areas fit together.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources: What Is the Difference?

To study these stories, historians do not just “remember” the past—they investigate it using sources.

Primary sources are like front‑row seats to history. They are created by people who lived during the time you are studying.

Secondary sources are like carefully made documentaries or textbooks. They are created later, by people who study and explain the past.

Primary Sources: Voices from the Time

Primary sources can include:

• Letters and diaries – a soldier’s letter from the American Revolution or a diary from a teenager in modern Brazil
• Official documents – the Mexican Constitution, a treaty between countries, or a law about slavery
• Newspapers from that time – articles about a revolution, an election, or a hurricane in the Caribbean
• Artifacts – tools, clothing, pottery, coins, or weapons
• Photographs and videos – photos of civil rights marches in the United States or videos of protests in Chile
• Art and music – murals, songs, or dances that express people’s feelings and beliefs
• Oral histories – interviews and stories told by people who experienced events

Example (North America): A letter written in 1863 by an enslaved person in the United States describing life on a plantation is a primary source.

Example (Caribbean): A 1792 newspaper from Haiti reporting on a slave revolt is a primary source.

Example (South America): A speech given by Simón Bolívar during the independence wars is a primary source.

Secondary Sources: Explanations About the Past

Secondary sources are created after events, by people who were not direct witnesses. These sources use many primary sources to build a bigger picture.

Secondary sources can include:

• Textbooks describing the history of Latin America
• Documentaries about the Maya or Inca
• History books written by scholars
• Articles on history websites that explain events, such as the Cuban Revolution
• Biographies of important people like Toussaint Louverture or Frida Kahlo (when written after their lives using other evidence)

Example: A modern book called “The History of the Haitian Revolution” that uses old letters, maps, and documents is a secondary source.

Why Historians Use Both Types

Using only one type of source is like hearing only one part of a story.

• Primary sources show what people felt, saw, and believed at the time.
• Secondary sources help you understand the big picture, connecting many primary sources together.

Historians switch between them, like switching camera angles in a movie, to better understand what really happened.

Asking Strong Historical Questions

Before you dive into sources, you need a good question. Strong historical questions about the Western Hemisphere are:

• About the past (not the future)
• Specific (not too huge and vague)
• Researchable using sources

Some question starters:

• “Why did...?”
• “How did...?”
• “What were the causes of...?”
• “What were the effects of...?”
• “How did life change for...?”

Examples of strong questions about the Western Hemisphere:

• “How did the arrival of Europeans change the lives of Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean?”
• “What role did enslaved Africans play in the economy of colonial Brazil?”
• “How did the Mexican Revolution affect land ownership in Mexico?”
• “How did the Inca Empire manage to control such a large area in South America?”

The question you ask guides what kinds of sources you look for and how you read them.

How to Analyze a Primary Source

When you study a primary source, you are like a detective examining a clue. The chart in [Figure 2] shows the main steps historians use to analyze primary sources.

Step 1: Observe

Look closely:

• What do you notice first?
• Are there dates, names, or places?
• What details stand out?

Step 2: Identify the Source

• What type of source is it? (letter, photo, law, speech, etc.)
• Who created it?
• When and where was it created?
• Who was the intended audience?

Example: A political poster from Cuba in 1961 is a poster (type), made by the government (creator), in Cuba (place) in 1961 (time), and meant to convince Cuban citizens (audience).

Step 3: Understand the Historical Context

Context means what is happening around the time of the source.

• What major events were going on? (war, revolution, colonization, election, economic crisis)
• What was life like for different groups of people?

Step 4: Detect Point of View and Bias

Every person has a point of view based on their experiences, position, and beliefs.

• What does the creator want you to think?
• What might they be for or against?
• What might they leave out on purpose?

Example: A letter from a Spanish colonist in Central America might praise Spanish rule and ignore the suffering of Indigenous people. That does not mean it is useless—but you must recognize its bias.

Step 5: Ask What It Says—and What It Does Not Say

• What information does the source give you?
• What questions does it leave unanswered?
• Whose voices are missing (for example, women, Indigenous people, enslaved people, children)?

Step 6: Connect to Other Sources

One source is a clue, not the whole case.

• Does this source agree or disagree with other sources?
• Does it show a different side of the story?

Example: A Primary Source from the Caribbean

Imagine you are studying the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), the successful rebellion of enslaved people in the French colony of Saint‑Domingue (now Haiti).

You find a primary source: a letter written in 1792 by a French plantation owner describing attacks by enslaved people who are fighting for freedom.

You might:

• Observe: notice words like “rebellion,” “violence,” “fear.”
• Identify: it is a letter from a white plantation owner to a friend.
• Context: France is going through its own revolution; enslaved people in Saint‑Domingue are fighting for liberty.
• Point of view: the writer is worried about losing power and wealth; they may describe the rebels as “dangerous” or “wild.”
• Missing voices: the letter does not show the point of view of the enslaved people fighting to be free.
• Connect: you compare this letter with a speech by Toussaint Louverture (a leader of the Haitian Revolution) and with a modern history article about the revolution.

How to Analyze a Secondary Source

Secondary sources do not just repeat primary sources; they interpret them. Here is how to read them carefully:

• Identify the main idea: What claim is the author making about the past?
• Look for evidence: What examples, quotes, or data does the author use?
• Check the date and author: When was this written, and by whom? Are they a historian, journalist, or student?
• Notice how they use primary sources: Do they quote letters, show maps, or describe artifacts?
• Watch for bias: Are they favoring one country or group? Ignoring others?

Example (North America): A modern article arguing that the Canadian government treated Indigenous peoples unfairly in residential schools uses evidence: survivor testimonies, government documents, and photos. You ask: Is the evidence strong? Does the author include different perspectives? What is their main message?

Using Sources to Ask New Questions

Sometimes, reading a source actually gives you more questions. That is a good thing—historians do not just answer questions; they discover new ones.

Example (Central America): You read a textbook section about the Maya civilization. It says the Maya built advanced cities and had a complex writing system. Then you see a photo of a Maya calendar stone and drawings of glyphs in that same book. These are based on primary sources like carvings and codices.

New questions you might ask:

• “How did Maya astronomy connect to their religion?”
• “Who got to learn to write Maya glyphs?”
• “What happened to Maya cities when the Spanish arrived?”

Now you can search for primary sources (like photos of glyphs or ruins) and secondary sources (like books or documentaries) that might answer these questions.

Comparing Sources: Who Says What?

One powerful skill is comparing what different sources say about the same event.

Example (South America – Encounter Between Spanish and Inca):

• Source A (Primary): A letter from a Spanish conquistador describing meeting the Inca ruler Atahualpa. He says the Spanish brought “civilization and Christianity.”
• Source B (Primary): An Indigenous account recorded later, telling how the Spanish captured Atahualpa and demanded gold.
• Source C (Secondary): A modern history book chapter explaining how European diseases, weapons, and alliances helped the Spanish conquer the Inca Empire.

When you compare these:

• Notice that the Spanish writer might see the conquest as positive.
• The Indigenous account might focus on loss, violence, and betrayal.
• The modern historian might look at both sides and add scientific information about disease.

By comparing, you get a fuller, more honest picture of what happened.

Timeline: Using Sources to Understand Change Over Time

Another way to use sources is to place them on a timeline so you can see change over time. The timeline sketch in [Figure 3] displays a few major events in Western Hemisphere history and the kinds of sources that help us study them.

Example Timeline (Simplified):

• Before 1492: Indigenous civilizations such as the Maya, Aztec, and Inca
  Sources: ruins, pottery, codices, oral traditions, modern archaeology books
• 1492–1600s: European exploration and colonization
  Sources: explorers’ journals, maps, Indigenous accounts, modern histories
• 1500s–1800s: Atlantic slave trade and plantation economies
  Sources: ship records, sale documents, enslaved people’s narratives, modern studies
• Late 1700s–1800s: Independence movements in the Americas (United States, Haiti, Mexico, South America)
  Sources: declarations of independence, speeches, revolutionary newspapers, biographies
• 1900s–present: Civil rights movements, revolutions, migrations
  Sources: photos, news footage, government reports, social media posts, documentaries

Placing sources on a timeline helps you see how ideas, borders, and people’s lives change over centuries.

Checking Reliability and Using Multiple Sources

Not all sources are equally trustworthy or complete. To think like a historian, you should:

• Cross‑check information using more than one source.
• Consider the creator: What is their background? What might they gain or lose by telling the story in a certain way?
• Beware of stereotypes or language that treats a group of people as all the same.
• Look for missing groups: Are women, children, Indigenous people, or poor people left out?

Example (United States – Civil Rights): If a 1960s news article from a white‑owned newspaper calls civil rights protesters “troublemakers,” but a photograph shows peaceful marchers holding signs, and a modern book describes their goals for equality, you should:

• Recognize the news article’s bias.
• Use the photo and modern book to balance your understanding.
• Ask: What did the protesters themselves say? Then you might look for speeches or interviews with leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. or local activists.

Digital Sources and Today’s Western Hemisphere

Today, a lot of information about the Western Hemisphere is online: websites, videos, social media posts, digital archives. Many of these are modern primary sources, especially if they are created by people who are directly involved in an event.

Examples of modern primary sources:

• A video recorded by a person in Puerto Rico during a hurricane
• A tweet from a politician announcing a new law in Mexico
• A photo taken by a protester in Chile during a demonstration

Examples of digital secondary sources:

• An online article analyzing why deforestation is happening in the Amazon
• A YouTube video essay explaining the Mexican Revolution
• An interactive map showing migration from Central America to the United States

You still need to ask the same questions: Who made this? When? Why? What is their evidence? Are they leaving anything out?

Putting It All Together: Becoming a Young Historian

When you analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources about the Western Hemisphere, you are doing real historical work. Here is how all the pieces connect:

• You start with a question about people, events, or changes in the Western Hemisphere.
• You collect sources, both primary and secondary, from different regions (North America, South America, Central America, Caribbean).
• You analyze each source: observe, identify, understand context, detect point of view, and compare with others.
• You look for patterns: causes and effects, change over time, similarities and differences between places or groups.
• You build your own explanation (your claim) about what happened and why, using evidence from multiple sources.

Summary of Key Points ⭐

1. The Western Hemisphere includes North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, and has a rich, complex history.

2. Primary sources are created during the time you are studying (letters, diaries, photos, laws, artifacts, interviews). They offer direct, first‑hand evidence.

3. Secondary sources are created later (textbooks, documentaries, history articles). They interpret and explain the past using many primary sources.

4. Good historical questions are specific, about the past, and researchable. They guide which sources you look for and how you read them.

5. To analyze primary sources, you observe closely, identify the type and creator, understand the historical context, detect point of view and bias, and compare with other sources.

6. To analyze secondary sources, you identify the main idea, examine the evidence, and notice how the author uses primary sources and what perspective they bring.

7. Comparing multiple sources—especially from different groups or regions in the Western Hemisphere—helps you see a fuller, more accurate picture of the past.

8. Timelines and careful questioning let you see how events and people’s lives changed over time, from ancient civilizations to modern movements.

9. Digital sources can also be primary or secondary, and you should examine them just as carefully for author, purpose, and bias.

10. By practicing these skills, you become a young historian, able to ask powerful questions and build your own evidence‑based understanding of the Western Hemisphere’s history.