IB IA: Primary Sources

Library of Congress: Chronicling America:  Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1949 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.

100 Milestone Documents Our Documents at the National Archives: This collection of 100 milestone documents has been compiled by the National Archives and chronicles the history of the U.S. from 1776 to 1965. Sources include public laws, Supreme Court decisions, inaugural speeches, treaties, constitutional amendments, and other documents that have influenced the course of U.S. history. Both original and transcribed copies are available.

The Avalon Project Yale Law School: This collection, which can be viewed chronologically from the fifteenth century to the twenty-first, includes documents selected for their importance in American legal history. Sources can also be searched by themed “Document Collections”.

Docs Teach, from the National Archives: This collection of over 3,000 primary documents is organized by historical era, from the nation’s founding to the present. Documents, including maps, charts, graphs, audio, and video, have been selected by National Archives Staff, and are photographic reproductions of historical sources.

Many Pasts History Matters project of CUNY Graduate Center and George Mason University: This feature of George Mason University’s History Matters project features prepared and selected primary documents in text, image, and audio about the experiences of ordinary Americans throughout U.S. history. The “full search” feature on the site allows users to choose resources by historical period, topic, type of resource, etc.

Smithsonian Source Smithsonian Institute: This collection of primary sources can be searched by keyword, type, or topic, and includes documents on Westward Expansion, Transportation, Civil Rights, Invention, Colonial America, and Native American history. Each set includes selected and excerpted documents.

Fordham University A good source for global history.  Will lead you to country-specific primary source documents.