On any history test, there's always that question that deals with an excerpt or quote and then asks you "how did this represent such-and-such?" For many students, these questions are the bane of their existence; how can you answer the question when you don't even know how to read it (side note: I have a way)? Well, if you don't want to read a wall of text, you can just go to the source information!
If you don't know what the source info is, it's that little slice of text on the bottom right of a quote/excerpt that gives credit to who said it, what year it was said, where it was published, etc. It usually looks like this:
"God dammit all! Them bloody lobsterbacks can kiss my derriere!
-Patriot John Bates, on learning that his house had been reprimanded by the British, 1776. (Published in Harper's Ferry, 1826). Quoted in "The American Revolution: A Farce" by John Bates IV, 1976.
For starters, there's a lot of years there, but you only need the one where the quote/excerpt came from originally (in this case 1776). If the question was something along the lines of "What group did Bates' sentiments LEAST represent?", with the choices A) The British, B)The Patriots, C) The Nativists, and D) The Republicans, it should be quite obviously B. Not only is Bates called a patriot, the year is 1776 (Revolution time), disqualifying C and D by age.
So, you really don't have to do that much reading! Just go to the sources and the answer should be obvious!
-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep
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