Primary sources
Primary Sources are works that contain firsthand information or original data on a topic, such as: letters, diaries and memoirs, oral histories, interviews, speeches, photographs & maps, newspaper clippings, recorded sound, films, sheet music, artifacts, government documents and public records.
Secondary Sources are works that are one step removed from the primary source that summarize or evaluate the primary source, such as: reviews and critiques, second-person accounts, biography or histories.
The availability and kinds of primary sources vary with time period and topic. There are more sources available for the 19th, 20th and 21st century than for earlier periods due to an increase in literacy and the growth of mass media including newspapers, radio, television, twitter, etc.
There are fewer sources available for earlier periods because less was created (no newspapers, magazines, etc.), less survived in addition to most people not being able to read or write letters and diaries.
It is also important to keep in mind that primary sources were more often saved from wealthier individuals that were literate in English, which impacts our ability to know about the perspective of all Americans.
Secondary Sources are works that are one step removed from the primary source that summarize or evaluate the primary source, such as: reviews and critiques, second-person accounts, biography or histories.
The availability and kinds of primary sources vary with time period and topic. There are more sources available for the 19th, 20th and 21st century than for earlier periods due to an increase in literacy and the growth of mass media including newspapers, radio, television, twitter, etc.
There are fewer sources available for earlier periods because less was created (no newspapers, magazines, etc.), less survived in addition to most people not being able to read or write letters and diaries.
It is also important to keep in mind that primary sources were more often saved from wealthier individuals that were literate in English, which impacts our ability to know about the perspective of all Americans.
The Zinn Education Project
Promotes and supports the teaching of people’s history in classrooms across the country. Includes perspectives of different identity groups. |
National Archives' Docs Teach
Thousands of primary resources easily searchable by keyword, historical period or document type (audio, video, maps, charts, graphs, photos, more). |
Library of Congress
One of America's largest repositories of primary resources. Sort by time period, topic or keyword search. |
Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture
NEW online searchable museum, with multimedia, interactive exhibit Slavery and Freedom. The exhibit explores the story of slavery and freedom beginning in the 14th century and concluding with the Civil War and Reconstruction. Through first-person accounts and artifacts, the exhibition examines the economic and political legacies of the making of modern slavery and the concept of freedom, both of which were foundational in the development of the United States. It considers the resistance, resilience and survival of enslaved African Americans as they fought to hold on to their humanity through inhumane conditions and free and enslaved African Americans’ contributions to the making of America. |
American History from the Gilder Lehrman Institute
One of the largest collections of American History primary sources with more than 70,000 items covering five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World to soldiers’ letters from World War II and Vietnam. Search by time period, topic or resource type. |
History Matters Project of CUNY Graduate Center and George Mason University
Features prepared and selected primary documents in text, image, and audio about the experiences of ordinary Americans throughout U.S. history. Keyword search available. |
Spartacus Educational Resources
Website that is like an encyclopedia with primary sources linked to entries. Searchable by people, topics, and more. Created by a UK history teacher. |
Life Magazine Photo Archive
Google and Life Magazine teamed up to allow users to search millions of images from the Life Magazine Photo Archive. Search by key terms, decade (1860s through 1970s) or significant people, places, events or sports topics. |
Voices of Democracy
Famous and/or important speeches and debates in U.S. history. Searchable by Theme, Chronological Period, Author, and Speaker. Each speech has the text, interpretative essays, and linked teaching and learning materials often including sound and video files. |
The National Museum of African American History and Culture Online Collections
The Smithsonian offers online access to objects in the AAHC collection. Excellent search features. |
Discover American Women’s History Online from Middle Tennessee State University
Provides access to collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the United States. These diverse collections range from Ancestral Pueblo pottery to interviews with women engineers from the 1970s. |
Public Works from The New Deal
In the depths of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt promised the American people a “New Deal.” Over the decade 1933-43, a constellation of federally sponsored programs put millions of jobless Americans back to work and helped to revive a moribund economy. The result was a rich landscape of public works across the nation, often of outstanding beauty, utility and craftsmanship – all built to serve civic purposes. |
The National Museum of WWII History
This website does require creating a free account in order to use resources, but it has a great search engine and pretty amazing multimedia resources including maps, testimonials, oral histories, audio and video files. |
Primary Documents for WWII from PLU
Excellent curated collection of primary resources.
Excellent curated collection of primary resources.