Primary Sources
Original documents, images, audio, newspapers, maps, and artifacts you can use in your research.
What is a Primary Source? Created at the time of an event, or by a direct witness or participant. Examples: letters, diaries, speeches, photos, laws, artifacts, newspapers, maps, oral histories.
What is a Secondary Source? Analyzes or interprets primary sources; created after the event. Examples: textbooks, articles, encyclopedias, documentaries, biographies.
Major U.S. Collections Major U.S. Primary Source Hubs
DocsTeach (National Archives) – Browse thousands of primary source documents and build classroom activities.
https://docsteach.org/primary-sources – Search documents, photos, and records from the National Archives.
National Archives Analysis Worksheets – Printable worksheets for analyzing primary sources.
Library of Congress Primary Source Sets –Curated collections organized by topic and time period.
Library of Congress Student Analysis Tool – Step-by-step guide for analyzing primary sources.
Digital Public Library of America – Millions of photos, manuscripts, and books from libraries and archives across the U.S.
DPLA Primary Source Sets – Thematic collections ready for classroom use.
Gilder Lehrman Institute – American history documents, letters, and manuscripts.
Facing History & Ourselves – Primary sources focused on history, identity, and social justice.
Historic Newspapers Historic Newspapers
Chronicling America – Digitized historic American newspapers. Filter by state, date, language, or ethnicity.
LOC Guide to Historical Newspapers – Help finding the right newspaper collection for your topic.
Search tips: Use quotes for exact phrases like "Dust Bowl" — try older spellings — limit dates to your era.
Images, Objects & Multimedia Images, Objects & Multimedia
Smithsonian Learning Lab – Artifacts, images, and multimedia from Smithsonian collections.
Library of Congress Digital Collections – Photos, maps, recordings, and manuscripts.
Avalon Project (Yale) – https://avalon.law.yale.edu Law, history, and diplomacy documents from ancient to modern times.
StoryCorps – Recorded personal stories and oral histories from everyday Americans.
American Archive of Public Broadcasting –americanarchive.org Historic radio and TV broadcasts going back decades.
World History World History Primary Sources
Fordham Internet History Sourcebooks – Massive free collection of primary sources from ancient through modern world history.
Europeana – Millions of digitized items from European museums, libraries, and archives.
New Mexico & the Southwest New Mexico & the Southwest
New Mexico Digital Collections (UNM) – Digital archives from the University of New Mexico.
Palace of the Governors Photo Archives – Historic New Mexico photography collection.
NM History Museum Digital Collections – Photos and artifacts from New Mexico history.
NM State Records & Archives Heritage Search – Search New Mexico's official state archives.
Office of the State Historian – New Mexico history resources and publications.
Analyze & Cite How to Analyze & Cite Primary Sources
LOC Primary Source Analysis Tool -Step-by-step analysis guides from the Library of Congress for documents, photos, maps, political cartoons, and more.
National Archives Analysis Worksheets- Printable worksheets from the National Archives for analyzing written documents, photographs, maps, posters, and artifacts. Great for guided practice.
Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) – Free historical thinking assessments and source analysis tools. Includes the "Sourcing," "Contextualization," and "Corroboration" framework that historians actually use.
Thinking Like a Historian — Wisconsin Historical Society – Breaks down historical thinking into clear steps students can apply to any primary source.
Library of Congress Teacher's Guide: Analyzing Primary Sources (PDF) – Printable guide walking through how to analyze documents, photos, maps, and artifacts.
Smithsonian Primary Source Analysis Tool – The Smithsonian's version of source analysis — observe, reflect, question.
Quick citation tips:
-Ask yourself: Who created this? Why? Who was the intended audience? These questions help you evaluate bias and reliability — not just cite the source but understand it.
-For photos and images, cite the photographer, title or description, date, collection name, institution, and URL.
-Government documents and LOC materials are usually in the public domain — but you still need to cite them.
-When two sources contradict each other, note both in your analysis. Historians do this — it shows critical thinking.