Embedded Files
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)
Art, Photography, Images, etc.
Art, Photography, Images, etc.
DPLA Images
"DPLA Images lets you search the Digital Public Library of America, a collection of millions of cultural hertiage objects from libraries, archives, and museums across the country, for images"Life Photo Archive
"Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google."World Digital Library
Search 15,638 items about 193 countries between 8000 BCE and 2000 CEPrints & Photographs Archive
Browse all Library of Congress prints and photographsNational Archives
Digital photography collections at the National ArchivesGetty Images Global Archive
"A global archival offering of defining cultural moments, places and iconic personalities--from the historical to the present-day."Internet Archive
A digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form (web pages, books/texts, audio recordings, videos, images, software programs)Smithsonian Institute Collections Search Center
Online catalog containing most of Smithsocian major collection from their museums, archives, libraries, and research units.Library of Congress Digital Collections
Explore digital collections that cover a wide range of topics.New York Public Library Digital Collection
This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
History and Social Studies
History and Social Studies
American Memory Project
Library of Congress digital archives. Browse by topic or search collections by keyword.Our Documents
100 milestone documents of American history, curated by National History day, the National Archives and Records Administration, and USA Freedom Corps.National Archives
"An independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access."DPLA
"Explore 15,518,742 items from libraries, archives, and museums"Avalon Project
"The Avalon Project is a digital library of documents relating to law, history, and diplomacy."Internet History Sourcebooks
"A collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use."American Presidency Project
Searchable database of executive orders, addresses, proclamations and more.World Digital Library
Search 15,638 items about 193 countries between 8000 BCE and 2000 CE.Vietnam Center Archive
"The Vietnam Center and Archive collects and preserves the documentary record of the Vietnam War."Resources for National History Day
Links to primary sources sorted by time period since the American Revolution.Oyez - Searchable Supreme Court
"Oyez offers Transcript-synchronized and searchable audio, plain-English case summaries, illustrated decision information, and full text Supreme Court opinions."Harvard Digital Collections
Harvard Digital Collections provides free, public access to more than 6 million objects digitized from our collections - from ancient art to modern manuscripts and audio visual materials.Internet Archive
A digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form (web pages, books/texts, audio recordings, videos, images, software programs)U.S. History Primary Source Digital Collection
A topical list of high-quality history websites that focus on primary source collections from government agencies, universities, museums, libraries and historical organizations.Smithsonian Institute Collections Search Center
Online catalog containing most of Smithsocian major collection from their museums, archives, libraries, and research units.Library of Congress Digital Collections
Explore digital collections that cover a wide range of topics.American Rhetoric
100 poplular speeches, audio files and transcripts, move monologues, rhetoric of 9/11, etc.New York Public Library Digital Collection
This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
Maps
Maps
Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection
Comprehensive list of links to world map collectionsDavid Rumsey Map Collection
75000+ maps and images onlineThe National Map
"The goal of The National Map’s Historical Topographic Map Collection (HTMC), which started in 2011, is to provide a digital repository of USGS 1:250,000 scale and larger maps printed between 1884, the inception of the topographic mapping program, and 2006."National Geographic Maps
A large selection of maps across the world including statistical, topical, travel, and more.LOC Collections with Maps
Browse all the Library of Congress collections with maps.New York Public Library Digital Collection
This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
Science
Science
Darwin Correspondence Project
"Read and search the full texts of more than 8,500 of Charles Darwin's letters, and find information on 6,500 more."DPLA
"Explore 15,518,742 items from libraries, archives, and museums"Library of Congress Digital Collections
Explore digital collections that cover a wide range of topics.Public Library of Science (PLOS)
Open-access, peer-reviewed journal articles and data points from all areas of the sciences.NIH National Library of Medicine
Digital content in the areas of biomedicine, health care and the history of medicine.Science and Society Picture Library
Represents the visual content of the Science Museum Group in London.Smithsonian Institute Collections Search Center
Online catalog containing most of Smithsonian major collection from their museums, archives, libraries, and research units.Science History Institute Museum & Library
"We collect and preserve a wide variety of historic objects, artworks, photographs, books, oral histories, videos, and documents that reveal how developments in the history of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences are embedded in our daily lives."
Texts and Literature
Texts and Literature
Project Gutenberg
53,000+ free ebooks in the public domain (both fiction and nonfiction)Internet Archive
A digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form (web pages, books/texts, audio recordings, videos, images, software programs)HathiTrust
The HathiTrust Digital Library is home to millions of digitized books and publications.Open Library
An open editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book every published.Library of Congress Digital Collections
Explore digital collections that cover a wide range of topics.New York Public Library Digital Collection
This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
Genealogy
Genealogy
Family Search
A completely free genealogy database website. You can use an Advanced Search tool by surname, record type, and/or place to access millions of records. The FamilySearch Wiki is a “go to” resource to find what exists for a wide range of family history topics, even beyond FamilySearch’s extensive databases.National Archives
Maintained by the U.S. Federal government, NARA houses millions of microfilmed, printed, and manuscript records. Excellent for census records; governmental and military history records; military pension files; product patents; also passenger lists, early naturalization records, and much more.Library of Congress
LOC maintains collections of nearly all city directories and county histories in the U.S.; houses a comprehensive directory of all known copyrighted newspapers by timeframe and where they can be located today, in the important U.S. Newspaper Directory and Chronicling America; and offers comprehensive historical materials of all kinds.New York Public Library Digital Collection
This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.Ship Passenger Lists and Immigration Records
Focuses on providing guidance and links to records for passenger lists from about 1820 to the early 1950s. It includes suggestions for finding records for ports of arrival and immigration records.Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Special collections include African American and a Native American Gateway; military records; and a surname database contributed by researchers. One of the largest genealogical library collections in the U.S.The Freedmen's Bureau Records
"Provides unprecedented opportunities for family historians and geneologists to search for their ancestors and for scholars to reserach a variety of topics related to slavery and Reconstruction in the Freedmen's Bureau records."
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