Objectively evaluate a variety of historical sources (primary & secondary) for their credibility, position, and perspective. (History Outcome 1)
Objectively evaluate a variety of historical sources (primary & secondary) for their credibility, position, and perspective. (History Outcome 1)
Order Description
It is a fall morning in 1993. Driver Albert is involved in a car wreck with Driver Brenda and her Passenger Charles. Business Owner David calls 911 to report the
accident. Police Officer Evans, an EMT crew, and an ambulance arrive at the scene within five minutes. Passenger Charles is taken to City Hospital with a serious but
stable injury. A local TV station news truck arrives on the scene about an hour later and records footage of the aftermath for the noon news broadcast.
Officer Evans conducts an accident investigation. She takes photographs, field interviews Albert, Brenda, and Charles, fills out a traffic diagram, and submits a final
accident report to the police records office. The EMT team files a report on the treatment given to Passenger Charles before he is taken to City Hospital.
The local newspaper accesses the police dispatches and mentions the accident’s location and time in the next morning’s issue.
Driver Albert reports the accident to his car insurance company, Acme Insurance. Acme’s Claims Examiner Foster obtains the police records and Passenger Charles’s EMT
and hospital reports. He tape-records Driver Albert’s account of the accident. He also photographs Albert’s car and takes notes of its condition. A local mechanic
provides a repair estimate; the car is deemed a total loss. Claims Examiner Foster submits his report to Acme’s records office. Albert’s car is towed to a salvage
yard.
In a reflection paper of approximately 750 words (about 3 pages), write an essay considering the following points in turn:
Which sources of evidence presented here count as primary sources, and which as secondary? Why do you classify them as such?
If you were writing a historical account of the accident from the present day, which sources would be most useful as evidence?
What other sources, not specifically mentioned here, might shed light on the accident or its circumstances?
What records or sources pertaining to the accident (including those not specifically mentioned here) might have “hidden traces” or “unwitting evidence” about something
other than the accident itself? Explain.
If you only had the sources listed in the scenario, and your friend h