Reading and Interpreting Historical Documents

Learning Objectives

Read and understand complicated historical documents
Translate complex documents into language that is more easily understood by modern audiences

Making Sense of Complex Documents

You should be familiar with how to analyze primary sources by now, but the language used in these documents can often be dense, complicated, and unfamiliar. The H.A.P.P.Y. Analysis method, which you practiced earlier in the course, is helpful but even with that analysis, you will need to develop some techniques for analyzing the complex language you may encounter in many historical documents. In this section, you’ll learn some tips for annotating that will help you understand documents that are written in unfamiliar language or prose. Being able to “translate” these documents into more modern English will help you understand the power of the documents, what their arguments are, and the role they played in U.S. History.

Breaking the reading process down into three distinct segments makes it easier to understand each step of the process. Our three segments are before reading, during reading, and after reading. Each segment has specific tasks you can do that will help you understand what you are reading and assist you in interpreting what you are reading. Often these tasks will require that you read a sentence or paragraph more than once to ensure you understand what is being said. This is ok! It takes a lot of practice to become accustomed to reading complicated documents written long ago. Be patient with yourself!

Before Reading

What are you trying to do?

In this step, determine why you need the particular document you are using and what you need to get out of it in order for it to be helpful. This is the start of your journey, and you need to start it with the end in mind. Some questions to ask yourself:

What do I need to be able to do with the information in this text?
What level of information do I need? Do I need specific details? Is a summary sufficient?
If I am reading for an exam or an assignment, what do I need to know about what the document says? Do I need specific information or a general outline?
What kinds of questions do I want to answer?

For example, if the document is presented as part of a document-based question where you are reading the document to answer a specific question, such as “What events led to the War of 1812?” then you will be looking for evidence of things that led to the war. If you are reading the document as part of a research project, you’ll be searching for information that supports or refutes your thesis statement or research question.

Begin the H.A.P.P.Y. Analysis

In this step, you will start to use the H.A.P.P.Y. Analysis method to make sure you have all of the context and information you need to make sense of the document. Knowing the context and intended audience can be critical for understanding the arguments a document is trying to make. A full H.A.P.P.Y. Analysis may not always be necessary when you are reading a document, but there are key components such as understanding who the speaker is, why the document was written, and who it was written for, that should be considered every time you look at a new document.

Example: The Sedition Act of 1798

Let’s take a look at this paragraph from the Sedition Act of 1798.

That if any persons shall unlawfully combine or conspire together, with intent to oppose any measure or measures of the government of the United States, which are or shall be directed by proper authority, or to impede the operation of any law of the United States, or to intimidate or prevent any person holding a place or office in or under the government of the United States, from undertaking, performing or executing his trust or duty; And with such intent counselling &c. insurrections, riots, &c.and if any person or persons, with intent as aforesaid, shall counsel, advise or attempt to procure any insurrection, riot, unlawful assembly, or combination, whether such conspiracy, threatening, counsel, advice, or attempt shall have the proposed effect or not, he or they shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and on conviction, before any court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof; shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, and by imprisonment during a term not less than six months nor exceeding five years; and further, at the discretion of the court may be holden to find sureties for his good behaviour in such sum, and for such time, as the said court may direct.

Historical Context

Audience

Purpose

Point of View

Y (Significance)?:

During Reading

Ask questions

Approach the text with curiosity. After all, if a document is important enough to have been preserved for centuries, it probably has some importance. Asking questions like, “does this argument make sense?” can lead you to important answers that will help you understand and use the document more effectively. Asking questions can also help you clarify the meaning of the document.

Example: The Sedition Act of 1798

Since we’ve done the H.A.P.P.Y analysis, we know the context, the authors, and the audience. Here are some more questions we might ask as we read the Sedition Act of 1798:

What is the act trying to do?
What does sedition actually mean?
Who does the act apply to?

Mark what you don’t understand

Not everything is going to be immediately understandable, and that’s ok, but it makes it extra important to mark sections or sentences you don’t understand so you can do further research on them. Once you’ve marked that part of the document, consider what would help you understand it better. Was there a word that tripped you up? Was the sentence long, making it hard to break down? Once you know what you need to understand it, you can move forward much more easily.

Example: Mark for understanding

Once you start to read this paragraph, you will notice that it is one long sentence. That’s going to make it a bit harder to understand. However, the sentence makes plentiful use of semicolons, so let’s mark those to help us visually break it down:

Annotate

To annotate is to make notes or comments on sentences, paragraphs, or segments. These notes or comments can be a quick summary, or your interpretation of what it means. Annotating can help you see the main points and better understand the argument.

Example: Annotation

We’ve already broken down the document into smaller components, which will help us understand. Now let’s annotate it. Annotation consists of making notes in and next to the document to help clarify. You may circle or highlight words, ask questions, summarize, or record your reaction to the reading. For this example, let’s summarize each fragment of the passage:

No getting together and working to stop politicians, civil servants, or the U.S. government from doing its work. Can’t publicly oppose the government.

And with such intent counselling &c. insurrections, riots, &c.and if any person or persons, with intent as aforesaid, shall counsel, advise or attempt to procure any insurrection, riot, unlawful assembly, or combination, whether such conspiracy, threatening, counsel, advice, or attempt shall have the proposed effect or not, he or they shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and on conviction, before any court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof;

If they oppose to U.S., or advise others to do it, they are guilty of a high misdemeanor, or sedition.

shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, and by imprisonment during a term not less than six months nor exceeding five years; and further, at the discretion of the court may be holden to find sureties for his good behaviour in such sum, and for such time, as the said court may direct.

Punished by a fine or prison, decided by court.

Dictionaries are your friend

Language evolves, so documents written long ago may use different words than we would today. They may also use words differently. Dictionaries like the Oxford English Dictionary trace the history of words, making it easier to see what a word might mean in a different context. In addition, there are time period-specific dictionaries online that can help you in your search, like this dictionary from 1828.

Example: Look It Up

Are there any words in the passage that you’re not familiar with or are unsure about their meaning? What about insurrection? Using the resources from above, we can see that insurrection as used in this act probably means:

“A rising against civil or political authority; the open and active opposition of a number of persons to the execution of a law in a city or state.”

That helps clarify what this act is trying to prevent!

Try It

Section 2:1 of the Constitution says:

“The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.”

Look up the word “several” in these dictionaries:

Then answer the following questions in a short paragraph:

Slow down, read it again, read it aloud

If you are accustomed to comprehending what you read quickly, it may be hard to slow down in order to really understand, but you will find that this will greatly enhance your ability to comprehend. Take it sentence by sentence and make sure you understand what each sentence says before moving on to the next one.

Slowing down and reading each sentence individually may require that you sometimes have to read a sentence again in order to really understand it. If this doesn’t work, try reading it aloud, as hearing ourselves say the word can bring about different comprehension.

Ask yourself: what’s the main point?

Since you already have the context of the document from your H.A.P.P.Y. Analysis, you should have a good idea of what the main point of the document is. If you need to break it down further, look for related words, concepts, and ideas in each paragraph and segment. This will help you put them together and determine what the main idea is.

This process, sometimes called synthesis, includes stopping while reading the document to make sure you understand what is being said. You may need to go back and read it again in order to really start to synthesize the information.

Example: Synthesis

Synthesis means pulling together our annotated notes from each section. Our simple synthesis of the Sedition Act of 1798 reads like this:

People cannot get together and work to stop politicians, civil servants, or the U.S. government from doing its work. They cannot publicly oppose the government. If people try to oppose, or advise others to do it, they are guilty of sedition. They will be punished by a fine or sent to prison, as decided by courts.

That brings us to the main point, which is that people will be punished for sedition.

Try It

After Reading

Summarize and Explain

Suppose you were asked to get up and teach what was in the document you just read. Could you teach it in such a way that others would understand the main points and arguments? If the answer is no, it’s time to go back and read the document again, applying the steps you didn’t work so hard on the first time.

Interpret it

You have synthesized and annotated, asked questions, looked up words, marked things didn’t understand and read it again and again; now it’s time to interpret what the document is all about! Can you put it into language that is easily understood by you and your friends? If so, congratulations, you have a great grasp on this document and are ready to write about it!

Example: Summarize

If you’ve already annotated things, you should have the information you need to summarize. Annotation doesn’t always involve full sentences, so if you just put notes here and there, now is the time to write out the full sentences and explain the Sedition Act of 1798 in simple language.

Original:

Summary:

The Sedition Act of 1798 said that people are banned from getting together and working to stop politicians, civil servants, or the U.S. government from doing its work. They also cannot publicly oppose the government. If they try, or advise others to do it, they will be considered guilty of sedition and they will be punished by a fine or imprisoned.

Try It

Excerpt from George Washington’s Farewell Address:

In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me…

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection …

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views…

Module 6: Creating a Government (1776-1789)