Five Points, written by Tyler Anbinder, discusses the history of the neighborhood Five Points. Many people, including historians, really paid attention to this slummy neighborhood. However, Arbinder claims that Five Points had impacts in New York City history, especially in the societal and political level. Various sources he uses include:
– Gilje’s The Road to Mobocracy: Popular Disorder in New York City, 1763-1834
Gilje’s writing is an example of a secondary source. Gilje wasn’t present in the era that is being researched and other sources of information is cited. However, Gilje’s source as being trustworthy or not is determined by how trustworthy the sources used were.
– The Evening Post
This is an example of a primary source. Anbinder, in his footnotes, cites The Evening Post that was written during the time period that the reader is being informed about. He provides the exact dates for each of The Evening Posts used. Due to it being an account of events that occurred probably during the same day, it should be a reliable source of information.
– O’Sullivan Diary
A diary is another example of a primary source. The owner of the diary is writing events that happened during the day and how it affected that person. It’s another trustworthy source due to the event since the event may have just occurred, but many may argue that it isn’t due to the questioning of the legitimacy on how the writer perceived the event.
