Transcript The Work of a Historian Primary Source Analysis of Karl Pearson



Who wrote the
document?
Here one wants to
know not just the
name of the author,
but as much as
possible about his or
her background; one
may want to consider
such factors as
occupational status,
class, education,
religion, nationality,
race, interests, etc.
 Karl
Pearson,
a British
Mathematics
Professor


For whom was the
document created?
Every author writes to
communicate with
someone else. One
needs to consider
questions about the
audience’s
background similar
to those raised for
authors.



Those wanting to
learn about Social
Darwinism.
College students –
the next generation
of leaders
Most likely “the white
man” and “good
Britons.”


What is the
document about?
Some sources tell a
story, some list
information, some
ask for something;
one needs to
understand the
subject matter and
historical context.


The document is
describing the beliefs
of Social Darwinism.
The main concept is
that higher intellect
and physical
efficiency can be
achieved by
eliminating inferior
races and allowing
only the “fittest” to
survive.


What kind (genre) of
document?
Historical sources,
even just written
sources, come in
many different forms;
for example, personal
letters, official
government papers,
fiction, propaganda.
The type of document
affects the kind of
message that can be
conveyed.
Lecture
Why was it written?
 Every document of
whatever type is written
to achieve some
purpose. One needs to
consider why the author
would write it, why the
audience would read it,
and what effects it
would have had.

Karl Peason, the author
wrote it to inform people
of the beliefs of Social
Darwinism and spread
these ideas to the
public.
 The audience would
read it to inform
themselves on the topic.
The effects it would have
would depend on if
people embraced this
idea or not. One major
effect was racism.


What does this source
tell us about its author/
audience/ subject/
historical context?
Author – supports and
promotes Social
Darwinism
 Audience – needs to be
educated on topic
 Subject – that society
should follow “survival of
the fittest” and leave the
inferior races behind.
 Historical Context – one
of the reasons racism is
around today is because
it was promoted in the
1900s.


Why do we care?
(Does the
information we can
gain from this
document relate to
other things we know
or would like to
know?)


This believe system
was basically racism
and even 100 years
later, is still sadly
around today. This
helps us know how
people thought /
were taught at this
time.
Remember Pearson
was an educated
professor!

People truly believed that they were
better than others – this was a sincere
conclusion drawn by many including the
highly educated of the day.
Hmmmm - what do you think?