Corroboration
What is corroboration?
Having multiple sources with the same information.
What is contextualization?
Looking at all the details that help us understand what is happening in a story/event/place and why it is important.
What is authority?
Determining if a source is reliable or not
What is the structure of a source?
Type of source
What is the origin of a source?
Where a source comes from?
Two sources describe the same battle, but one says it happened in 1775 and the other says 1776. Do they corroborate each other?
No
A person stands, holding a metal object. Do we have enough context to understand what is happening?
No! We need more information to get the full picture.
What is a strength of this source?
Historical Question: What was like like for German soldiers fighting in World War I (1914-1918)?
Source: Frank Van Pelt was a soldier in the trenches for Germany during World War I
First person point of view, he was there and experienced the war as a soldier
What is the structure of the source?
Pioneer’s Diary (1850)
Diary
What is the origin of the source
Source: Cotton Mather, “Memorable Providences relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions,” from A Discourse on Witchcraft, (Boston, 1689), pp. 4-9. Cotton Mather was one of the most influential religious leaders in America at the time.
Cotton Mather
1689
You read a colonist’s letter complaining about taxes and a British official’s report defending them.Would these corroborate each other?
No
A Boston newspaper in 1765 reports that colonists are angry because they must pay a tax on printed materials.
Question:
Which historical context BEST helps explain why the Stamp Act was passed?
A. Britain needed money after fighting the French and Indian War
B. Colonists wanted cheaper paper
C. Britain was trying to end slavery in the colonies
D. Colonists had never paid any taxes before
A
What is a weakness of this source?
Historical Question: Was a 1933 labor strike in a New Jersey factory effective in getting better conditions for workers?
Source: An interview from 1994 with a worker who helped lead the strike in 1933.
The interview took place 61 years after the event, the memory of the worker may have faded
What was the structure of the source?
Soldier's Letter to Home (1945)
Letter
What is the origin of the source?
Document C: A Stamp Act Collector’s Letter (Modified) John Hughes, a stamp tax collector in Philadelphia, wrote this letter to his bosses in London. January 13, 1766
John Hughes
1766
What sources corroborate each other?
Source A: A diary entry from a colonist saying many settlers died from disease and hunger.
Source B: A painting from 1611 showing healthy colonists farming in a field.
Source C: A report from John Smith describing “a time of great starvation.”
A + C
Source:
A diary entry describes colonists at Jamestown eating roots and bark to survive.
Which context BEST explains this situation?
A. Colonists were too focused on finding gold instead of farming
B. Colonists refused to trade with Native Americans for religious reasons
C. The colony had too many skilled farmers
D. England banned farming in America
A
What is a strength of this source?
Historical Question: What role did John Adams play in the American Revolution?
Source: A 2009 television mini-series about John Adams’s life and political career. The show was based on an award-winning book by historian David McCullough.
Information comes from a historian
What is the structure of the source?
A 2009 television mini-series about John Adams’s life and political career. The show was based on an award-winning book by historian David McCullough.
What is the origin of this source?
Document B: From a London Newspaper (Modified) Will Alfred wrote this public letter to Secretary Henry Seymour Conway on January 27, 1766
Will Alfred
1766
Morty reads two articles about the recent destruction of a town. One source claims that ancient crab people destroyed the town, while the other source claims Godzilla walked through and squished everything. Are these sources corroborated?
No! They are not corroborated because they have different information about the same event!
Source:
A court record shows many colonists accusing neighbors of being witches during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692
Which context BEST explains why this happened in 1692?
A. The colony had scientific evidence of witches
B. Fear, economic stress, and strict Puritan beliefs increased tensions in the community
C. Colonists wanted to attract new settlers
D. Women had full political rights at this time
B
What is the weakness of this source?
Question: What was the Union Army’s strategy at the Battle of Antietam?
Source: A diary entry from a low-ranking Union soldier describing the battle.
The diary is from a low-ranking soldier who may not have had access to knowledge of the war strategy
What is the structure of the source?
Fragments of a poem from ancient Mesopotamia that tells the adventurous tales of a heroic king.
Poem
What is the origin of this source?
Document A: B.W.’s Public Letter (Modified) This public letter appeared on the front page of The Boston-Gazette and Country Journal, a colonial newspaper, on October 7, 1765. The author’s name was printed as “B.W.”
BW
1765