Primary Sources
A primary source is a document or piece of evidence written or created during the time period you are studying. A primary source allows you to examine evidence firsthand without being affected by other opinions.
Types of Primary Sources:
- Diaries
- Letters
- Memos/E-mails
- Speeches (both the text of the speech & the giving of the speech)
- Manuscripts
- Autobiographies
- Interviews
- Patents
- Laws, legislation, court rulings
- Newspaper & magazine articles as an event happened
- News footage
- Raw data
- Artifacts: buildings, clothes, jewelry, toys, fossils
- Journal articles reporting original research or an experiment
- Official records of governments, agencies, organizations: meeting minutes, reports, vital records (e.g., Census records)
- Creative works: poetry, novels, drama, music, art, photography, movies, scripts, performances
- Technical reports (i.e., accounts of work done on research projects)
Recommended Databases
Below you will find a list of recomended databases for your course. For a full list of the library primary source databases, click here.
- Revolution and Protest Online
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Find videos, images, text, and primary sources on revolutions, protests, resistance and social movements. - Nineteenth Century Collections Online (Gale)Subjects covered include history of the 19th century: revolution, reform, nation building, culture, education, more. Find primary source collections.
- Artstor
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Subjects covered include art, design, architecture, fashion, maps, photography, and more. Find images from museums, archives, and other institutions. - Project Gutenberg This link opens in a new windowProject Gutenberg is an on-going project to produce and distribute free electronic editions of books in the public domain. Most are works of literature such as novels, poetry, and drama.
- World History In Context
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Subjects covered include world history including biographies, cultural trends, political movements, wars & conflicts, and religions. Find academic, popular, trade, and primary sources.
Newspapers Databases
- Times Digital Archive (Gale)
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The Times (London, England) Digital Archive is an online, full-text facsimile of more than 200 years of The Times, one of the most highly regarded resources for the 19th – 20th Century history detailing every complete page of every issue from 1785-2009. - Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
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Subjects covered include history, news, and a wide range of topics. Find primary sources: the full text and full image articles from the New York Times dating back to the 19th century. - Newspaper Source Plus (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowSubjects covered include news and current events. Find comprehensive full text for major newspapers.