Your first of two short papers this semester will ask you to develop an interpretive thesis about primary
sources. An interpretive thesis is a judgement that you make about the relevance (historical, political,
social, or economic) of a primary source. Remember that primary sources are first hand accounts or testimonies of an historical event or moment that is being studied. Piri Thomas’ memoir, for example, is a first-hand account from the Puerto Rican independence movement in New York City during the 1960s. As a writer and artist from that time period, Thomas’ autobiographical work provides us with insight about poverty and racism for the Puerto Rican and larger Latinx communities of New York City during what is known as the Post-Civil Rights Era.
Sample Solution