Primary Sources

A primary source is a first-hand, original account, record, or evidence about a person, place, object, or an event. Oral histories, objects, photographs, and documents such as newspapers, ledgers, census records, diaries, journals, and inventories are primary sources.

National documents including a variety of sources from America's history

American memory project; contains photographs, documents, manuals, etc.

Smithsonian; more than 3 million artifacts—all true national treasures

Smithsonian; photography, modern folk art, work by African American and Latino artists, images of western expansion, American impressionist paintings, and masterpieces from the Gilded Age

United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization; More than 10,000 historical maps, timelines, and images to promote the study and understanding of cultures