Running head: Seminar 1 Source Evaluation 1

Seminar 1: Source Evaluation

Lila S. Huff
Baker College

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Seminar 1: Source Evaluation
Often times an historian wants to answer the why questions so that they can provide the
facts of what has happened in the past. Bias is a very difficult concept for an historian but it is
critical to ensure that the history is documented accurately. To more fully understand the past, the
source that will be reviewed below are two passages from a letter to Miss Bartlett from Eliza
Lucas Pinckney.
Eliza Lucas Pinckney to Miss Bartlett
The passages that was written to Miss Bartlett and was created by a typical wealthy
plantation woman by the name of Eliza Lucas Pinckney. Pinckney was a daughter of a wealthy
planter, widower and energetic mother (DuBois & Dumenil, 2016) . This was a piece that was
created as a personal letter to a friend, Miss Bartlett, and not intended for a large audience but to
be a private correspondence between friends. However, due to past history Eliza Lucas Pinckney
expected Miss Bartlett to share the letter with her aunt and uncle.
Eliza Lucas Pinckney intent of writing these passages was to tell her friend, Miss
Bartlett, about some of the initiatives she was working on. Starting with what a typical day
looked like in her life. The work she was doing on her fathers plantation. Her intentions of
teaching two black girls to read so they can teach the other negro children. And a scheme to give
part of her crops to charity. Eliza Lucas Pinckney is recollecting her daily events and retelling
her daily events shortly after they happen.
Source underlying values. In the passages to her friend Miss Bartlett, Eliza Lucas
Pinckney indicates she cares about giving back to those that are less fortunate. On two separate
occasions she mentions a scheme that if executed would benefit others. First, she tells Miss
Bartlett that she is teaching two black girls to read with the intent of those little girls becoming

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school mistresses for the rest of the Negro children. This would indicate she is wants her slaves
to be somewhat educated. In another passage, she tells her friend about another scheme where
she intends to give two-thirds of the crops to charity.
Audience underlying values. These passages indicate that Miss Bartlett and Eliza Lucas
Pinckney had similar interest. Pinckney was sure to let her friend know what she was doing to
advance the cause. She also tells her that she will tell her more about her scheme at a later time.
The two passages in the letter to Miss Bartlett express how Pinckney felt about her role
on the Plantations that her father owned. She took it as an opportunity to give back to those that
were not as fortunate as she. She wanted the slaves to learn to read and wanted to share the crops
to the less fortunate.

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Works Cited
DuBois, E. C., & Dumenil, L. (2016). Through Women's Eyes - An American History with
Documents (Fourth ed.). (J. r. Greenstein, Ed.) Bedford/St. Martin's.