Primary source exercise Wk2

This week I'd like you to think about the credibility of primary sources. Just because a document was produced by someone who was an eyewitness to events, that doesn't necessarily mean we should take it at face value.

You might want to look again at the handout from last week's Primary Source Exercise -- the introduction to primary sources

. In particular, reread the Bias Rule and the Questions for Analyzing Sources. They'll help you think about the documents.

..............................................

Read the documents provided -- four short accounts of the Sand Creek Massacre, an attack by the U.S. Army on an encampment of the Cheyenne, a Native American tribe, in Colorado in 1864. The commander of the troops was Col. John Chivington; the leader of the Cheyenne was Chief Black Kettle, who had sought peaceful relations with the United States. Three of the documents come from a Congressional investigation into the attack. After the documents is a short essay question worth 10 points.

If you would like to have more information on this event, you may check this web page:

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-sandcreek/ (Links to an external site.)

The documents and questions will appear when you click the "take the quiz" button below. That won't commit you to finishing the quiz in this session. You may navigate away and come back later, but unlike the chapter quizzes you may only "submit" once.