Question

Which source would best help a historian understand how the Great Chicago Fire affected families?

Answer 1

The answer is letter C.) a newspaper editorial about families who were displaced.

A newspaper editorial refers to the opinion of a leading staff or writer of a newspaper. This would share data on how families were affected by the Great Chicago Fire, through the lens of an educated staff. The other sources presented only speak a small percentage of the families/people affected by the fire.

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Answer 2

The best source would be a person who lived through the event (best of the best)  (survivor pretty much)
A close family relative ( next to best)
Trustworthy sources of information (last of the best maybe)
*some newspapers exaggerate what goes on, as seen in the article for "the battle of Iwo Jima". So newspapers aren't really a good source

hope this helps