“Nothing can be believed but what one sees, or has from an eye witness.” —Thomas Jefferson, July 19, 1789
What are Primary Sources?
"Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience." - Library of Congress
Examples of Primary Sources
Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, all from the time under study);
Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)
Diaries
Internet communications on email, listservs;
Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail);
Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications
Letters
Newspaper articles written at the time
Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial transcript);
Patents
Photographs
Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia
Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report, treaty, constitution, government document)
Speeches
Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls)
Video recordings (e.g. television programs)
Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings, sculptures, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems)
Website
Still not sure about how to identify a primary source? Take the Primary Source Interactive quiz. You will be introduced to several types of primary source documents from periods throughout history and will be asked to identify the cultural and historical origins or the documents.
Using Primary Sources
National Archives Primary Source Analysis Sheets: