Chapter 2

Historical Sources, External and Internal Criticisms and Importance of Primary Sources in History

Hello our dear students! How's your day? Hope you're feeling great today. Anyway, this chapter
tackles the different sources in line with the historical subject matter as being studied by the historian and
the methodology or methodologies they used for analyzing the historical evidences.

The learning objectives for today are the following:

1. To know about the historical sources and the external and internal criticism
2. To apply the knowledge on how to examine and assess critically the value of primary sources and
historical evidences

Historical Sources
The most important research tool for the historian is the historical sources. In general, the historical
sources can be classified between primary and secondary sources. Primary source provides direct or
firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of art. Primary sources include historical and
legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results of experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing,
audio and video recordings, speeches, and art objects. Interviews, surveys, fieldwork, and Internet
communications via email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups are also primary sources. In the natural and
social sciences, primary sources are often empirical studies—research where an experiment was
performed or a direct observation was made. The results of empirical studies are typically found in scholarly
articles or papers delivered at conferences. Whereas, the Secondary sources describe, discuss, interpret,
comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. Secondary source materials
can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly
journals that discuss or evaluate someone else's original research.

External and Internal Criticism

Both primary and secondary sources are useful in writing and learning history. However, historians
and students should be critical in scrutinizing these historical sources to avoid deception and to come up
with the historical truth. The historian and students should be able to conduct an external and internal
criticism of the source, especially the primary sources which can age in centuries. External criticism refers
to the genuineness of the documents a researcher uses in a historical study. Examples of the things that
will be examined when conducting external criticism of a document include the quality of the paper, the type
of the ink, and the language and words used in the material, among others.
On the other hand, internal criticism refers to the accuracy of the contents of a document. It looks
at the content of the source and examines the circumstance of its production. Internal criticism looks at the
truthfulness and factuality of the evidence by looking at the author of the source, its context, the agenda
behind its creation, the knowledge which informed it, and its intended purpose, among others. For example,
Japanese reports and declarations during the period of the war should not be taken as a historical fact
hastily. Internal criticism entails that the historian acknowledge and analyze how such reports can be
manipulated to be used as war propaganda. Validating historical sources is important because the use of
unverified, falsified, and Untruthful historical sources can lead to equally false conclusions. Without
thorough criticisms of historical evidences, historical deceptions and lies will be highly probable.
According to Candelaria and Alporha (2018), the most scandalous cases of deception in Philippine
history is the hoax Code of Kalantiaw. The code was a set of rules contained in an epic, Maragtas, which
was allegedly written by a certain Datu Kalantiaw. The document was sold to the National Library and was
regarded as an important precolonial document until 1968, when American historian William Henry Scott
debunked the authenticity of the code due to anachronism and lack of evidence to prove that the code
existed in the pre-colonial Philippine society. Ferdinand Marcos also claimed that he was a decorated
World War II soldier who led a guerrilla unit called Ang Maharlika. This was widely believed by students of
history and• Marcos had war medals to show. This claim, ' however, was disproven when historians
counterchecked Marcos's claims with the war records of the United States. These cases prove how
deceptions can propagate without rigorous historical research.

The Importance of Primary Sources in History

Documents like diaries, letters, drawings, and memoirs written by those who participated in or
witnessed the events of the past tell us something that even the best-written article or book cannot convey.
The use of primary sources exposes students to important historical concepts. First, students become
aware that all written history reflects an author's interpretation of past events. Therefore, as students read a
historical account, they can recognize its subjective nature. Second, through primary sources the students
directly touch the lives of people in the past. Further, as students use primary sources, they develop
important analytical skills.
As mentioned above, to many students, history is seen as a series of facts, dates, and events
usually packaged as a textbook. The use of primary sources can change this view. As students use primary
sources they begin to view their textbook as only one historical interpretation and its author as an
interpreter of evidence, not as a purveyor of truth. For example, as students read personal letters of Rizal to
his friends and fellow propagandists and expatriates, or as they read and analyzed the literary works written
by Rizal, they weigh the significance of these sources against such generalizations as that provided by the
textbook authors. Students begin to understand that such generalizations represent an interpretation of
past events, but not necessarily the only interpretation. They become aware that the text has a point of
view that does not make it incorrect but that does render it subject to question. Primary sources force
students to realize that any account of an event, no matter how impartially presented it appears to be, is
essentially subjective.
As students read eyewitness accounts of events like People Power I or videos of the Impeachment
trial of ousted President Estrada or letters to congressmen expressing concern about issues on voting
every election and then attempt to summarize their findings, they become aware of the subjective nature of
their conclusions. The disagreements among students in interpreting these documents are not unlike those
among historians. Through primary sources students confront two essential facts in studying history. First,
the record of historical events reflects the personal, social, political, or economic points of view of the
participants. Second, students bring to the sources their own biases, created by their own personal
situations and the social environments in which they live. As students use these sources, they realize that
history exists through interpretation--and tentative interpretation at that.
Primary sources fascinate students because they are real and they are personal; history is
humanized through them. Using original sources, students touch the lives of the people about whom history
is written. They participate in human emotions and in the values and attitudes of the past. By reading a
series of public opinion surveys from World War II, for example, students confront the language of the
person interviewed and his or her fears about shortages, as well as the interviewer's reactions recorded
after the interview. These human expressions provide history with color and excitement and link students
directly to its cast of characters.
Interpreting historical sources helps students to analyze and evaluate contemporary sources--
newspaper reports, television and radio programs, and advertising. By using primary sources, students
learn to recognize how a point of view and a bias affect evidence, what contradictions and other limitations
exist within a given source, and to what extent sources are reliable. Essential among these skills is the
ability to understand and make appropriate use of many sources of information. Development of these skills
is important not only to historical research but also to a citizenship where people are able to evaluate the
information needed to maintain a free society.
Perhaps best of all, by using primary sources, students will participate in the process of history.
They will debate with teachers and classmates about the interpretation of the sources. They will challenge
others' conclusions and seek out evidence to support their own. The classroom will become a lively arena
in which students test and apply important analytical skills.
To introduce your students to primary sources, you might begin with materials that they themselves
possess, such as birth certificates, social security cards, passports, or drivers' licenses. What do these
sources tell us about the individuals and the society in which they live? How might these sources be used
by historians? Consider how school, employment, medical, and family records could be used to develop
generalizations about twentieth-century student life.
Beyond personal records, there are a variety of other sources available. Where can you locate
documentation on your neighborhood or community? Your sources can be both governmental and private:
Philippine Statistics Authority census figures, newspapers, local government files, personal diaries, and
interviews with longtime residents. In most cities and towns, local historical groups, preservation societies,
and museums serve as excellent starting points for classes locating documentary materials about local
communities. On the local level, historical societies, archives, and museums are valuable depositories for
useful primary materials. Many of these agencies offer specific programs for high school students, and
many would welcome suggestions for joint projects.

Sources:
Candelaria, J.P. and Alporha, V.C. (2018). Readings in Philippine History. Quezon City: Rex Bookstore Inc.
https://www.archives.gov/education/history-in-the-raw.html