I immediately go to my primary sources to quote and explain before my secondary, because they are reflective of the time and very insightful. It’s essential to my paper because I am writing about a newspaper, so having direct quotes and passages to cite from the paper is stronger evidence, and it gives the readers a better idea of the writing style as well as content. I refer to the first issue of The Harbinger, from a book edited by Albert Fried often because it shows the editors’ views on how they were going to construct the paper, and what their future plans were for it. The mission of the paper can be seen firsthand, and I believe that there is no better way express it. In a series of autobiographies from Brook Farm edited by Henry Sams, there are multiple excerpts from The Harbinger, which give an excellent representation of the paper over time. The readers can clearly see for themselves. I also find personal commentary crucial. John Codman, a resident of Brook Farm, reflects on his time on Brook Farm in his personal memoirs, and it shows how the paper affected those who were living in the current time. No one can attest to it better than those who were actually there.

Secondary and background sources are still extremely important. They help put everything into context for me, and for the readers of my paper. Primary sources cannot escape their time period and comment on their experiences from a distance like secondary sources do. Sterling Delano’s book about the history of Brook Farm and the biography of George Ripley, its founder, are very essential to my understanding of the community. They draw conclusions and analyze just like I am doing in my paper, and it helps me develop arguments.

When writing the paper, I will need to organize my research chronologically at the beginning to establish a background, but after that I don’t necessarily have to. I want to establish my stronger arguments and more surprising claims first. I’m not saying that any of my research is dull or unimportant, but I believe it will be a better paper if the readers are drawn in by the findings that I believe are not well known unless you have studied Brook Farm.