Critical Thinking Assignment | Online Assignment

Document Analysis Assignment
There are many different ways to interpret a primary source document, and a multitude of ways to be creative in the process. In some instances, this might involve telling a story; in other cases it might involve a commentary on the language employed in the document; and in other cases that interpretation might emerge from an attempt to assess motivation, intent, or purpose. Never will simply describing what happened be sufficient as an historical interpretation of a document.
In short, historians are always trying to discover both the meaning and the significance of a piece of historical evidence. Since that evidence usually consists of written documents, these document analysis papers should also seek to find a balance between exposing meaning and significance of the evidence. By meaning, we are trying to reconstitute what that document might have meant (or how it might have been understood) by the historical actors in that era. By significance, we attempt to relate how that evidence contributes to a particular interpretation of past.
For this assignment you will need to use one of the ONLINE databases listed below:
Online Databases

-The Arabella Chapman Project (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Last Seen
-Documenting Runaway Slaves (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
-Emmett Till Project (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
-Goin’ North (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
-Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
-O Say Can You See (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
-Race & Slavery Petitions Project (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
-Runaway Slaves in Britain (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
-Texas Runaway Slave Project (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
-Visualizing Emancipation (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
-Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
In order to earn the full points for this assignment, you must: (The questions are listed below)
1. Select up to three primary source documents from any of the databases listed above. Example: if you use the runaway database, then write about three of the ads you found
Submit a 500 word essay (about 2 double spaced pages), 12pt Times New Roman font essay where you answer the questions listed above and include
Your essay must be cited and referenced using Chicago Style.
Please upload your assignment to the corresponding Blackboard dropbox.
What exactly is the document (e.g., diary, king’s decree, opera score, bureaucratic memorandum, parliamentary minutes, newspaper article, peace treaty)? What is the date of the document?
Do a little bit of research and write about a one of the events covered in your source.
Who is the intended audience for the document?
How does the document reflect the time it was written or created? What does it say about events underway at that time?
What sort of biases or blind spots might the author have?
What does the document leave out that you might have expected it to discuss?
Overall, how does this document contribute to your understanding of this historical period? What other information might help me better understand the significance of this document?