IXL - Identify primary and secondary sources (U.S. History practice)

Historians use different kinds of sources to study the past. Primary sources are usually firsthand accounts or objects from the time period a historian is studying. Secondary sources are secondhand accounts created after the time period.

Imagine that you are a historian interested in the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806). Read the description of the source. Then follow the instructions below.

A documentary from the 1990s about the Lewis and Clark Expedition provides in-depth analysis of the expedition's origins, events, and impacts. The director is an expert on the time period.

Click to correct any errors in the text.

The documentary is a primary source because it was made by someone who participated in the original expedition .

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