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.
Books are great places to look for primary sources! Historians may have already put together collections of primary sources in a book for you. You might try looking for books containing sermons, military histories, government publications, etc. You may even come across a book written by someone from the time period you are studying.
Click here to see an example search (Advanced Search) in Search@UW, combining terms for types of primary sources along with a specific event or time period.
These types of databases are not ideal or really meant for browsing. It works best if you have a certain publication you have in mind and are looking for. This could be a court case, amendment , congressional bill, etc. We recommend you identify the name of what you are looking for first (Google, Wikipedia, etc.) and then try looking up the primary source in these resources. This can be challenging so please refer to our guides listed below. If you are still have trouble, navigate to the research help page of this guide to connect with a librarian for assistance.
If you still can't find what you are looking for, click on the research help page of this guide to connect with a librarian, or contact your course librarian Jeff Ellair in the library or via email ellairj@uwgb.edu