Primary Source Resources

What is a primary source?

As stated by ALA RUSA (2019), primary sources are “the evidence of history, original records or objects created by participants or observers at the time historical events occurred or even well after events, as in memoirs and oral histories.” Primary sources date back to the original historical date being explored and gives insight into something more specific about that time period.

Primary source materials can be found in several formats, including:

• Text (ex. journal entry, newspaper article, etc.)
• Photograph
• Political cartoon
• Audio
• Video
• Map
• Drawing

Where can I find primary sources?

Here are a few helpful resources for finding primary source materials:

• DocsTeach: online tool for teaching with documents, provided by the National Archives. Search for sources within a specific historical era
• Library of Congress Digital Collections: explore primary source documents within a specific collection (ex. Alexander Hamilton Papers)
• Smithsonian Learning Lab: browse digital resources by searching for a specific resource type or through a subject based collection
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: provided by the New York Historical Society, this is a great collection of resources pertaining to American History
• You can also access primary source resources through some of the Gale in Context Research databases.