Primary vs. Secondary

Click these links below to see the differences between primary and secondary sources.
Primary and Secondary Sources. Primary vs Secondary

Primary Sources-Click here to view a video

A primary source is a piece of information about a historical event or period in which the creator of the source was an actual participant in or a contemporary of a historical moment. The purpose of primary sources is to capture the words, the thoughts, and the intentions of the past. Primary sources help you to interpret what happened and why it happened.

Examples of primary sources include documents, artifacts, historic sites, songs, or other written and tangible items created during the historical period you are studying.

Primary Sources U.S. History

• Library of Congress general search--use the search box at the top to put in your topic and keywords

• Digital Public Library of America: Sets of primary sources by topic. Include US Domestic Affairs, US Foreign Policy and Debate and Diplomacy Abroad.- still has 2024 resources, not updated, yet.

• Docs Teach (National Archives): sets of primary sources by broad topic

• Smithsonian History Explorer--search on the right side of the screen

• World Digital Library (Library of Congress)--search by topic and time period

• Yale Avalon Project--thousands of documents organized by time period

• LIFE Magazine Photo Archive--search photos by keyword and date

• Chronicling America: Library of Congress--use the filters at the top of the screen to narrow down time period and topic.

Primary Sources Europe

• World Digital Library (Library of Congress)--search by topic and time period

• Internet History Sourcebooks (Fordham University)--search by topic or browse topics on the left

• Document Set: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French Revolution)

• Document Set: Treaty of Paris

• United Nations

• European Reading Room (Library of Congress) browse huge collection of digitized primary sources

• Western Europe Security and Cooperation 1948 

• Yale Avalon Project--thousands of documents organized by time period

Primary Sources Mexico, Central and South America

• Document Set: Latin American Revolutionaries

• Document Set: Panama Canal

• Hispanic Reading Room (Library of Congress) browse digitized primary sources

• Inter-American treaties and documents - documents between North, Central, and/or South American nations

• Latin American and Caribbean Digital Primary Resources

• Early Americas Digital Archive

• Yale Avalon Project--thousands of documents organized by time period

• Internet History Sourcebooks (Fordham University)--search by topic or browse topics on the left

Primary Sources Africa & Middle East

• Internet African History Sourcebook - search for all topics in all countries and kingdoms

• Africa: Primary Sources from U of Washington

• Primary Sources: African Studies and African History

• African and Middle Eastern Reading Room - primary sources from the Library of Congress

• Internet Islamic History Sourcebook

• Internet Jewish History Sourcebook

• Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Documents

• African Civilizations: Primary and Secondary Sources

• Internet History Sourcebooks (Fordham University)--search by topic or browse topics on the left

Primary Sources Asia

• Internet East Asian History Sourcebook - search for all topics in all countries

• Asian Reading Room (Library of Congress)

• Internet Indian History Sourcebook

• Indochina: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

• Asia Primary Sources from U of Washington - use the links on the left to narrow down to East Asia, South Asia, or Southeast Asia

• Internet History Sourcebooks (Fordham University)--search by topic or browse topics on the left

Secondary Sources-Click here to view a video

A secondary source is a source that was not created first-hand by someone who participated in the historical era. Secondary sources are usually created by historians, but based on the historian’s reading of primary sources. Secondary sources are usually written decades, if not centuries after the event occurred by people who did not live through or participate in the event or issue. The purpose of a secondary source is to help build the story of your research from multiple perspectives and to give your research historical context.

An example of a secondary source is Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson, published in 1988. They are a great starting point in helping you see the big picture. Understanding the context of your topic will help you make sense of the primary sources that you find.

The primary and secondary sources McPherson used are listed in the bibliography. Another researcher might consult these same primary sources and reach a different conclusion.

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