Primary Source Documents
Primary sources are directly related to an issue or event. They are first-hand accounts, or materials in use during the event or time in question. Keep in mind that every text has potential for bias and hidden agendas.
Examples of primary sources:
(The above list is from the Colorado State University Library http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/primsour.html)
Most of the links below pertain to history. Some will appear in more than one category because they cover a wide range of topics and periods.
General Sources
Internet Modern History Sourcebook History from the Reformation through the 21st century. Resouces include music, pictures, and texts. Many links are no longer active.
Primary Sources:History created by LMS Ann B. Perham There are links to information about ancient and modern history from around the world and the US. There are also gateway sites to links to primary sources for cartoons, education, fashion, food, government, immigration, labor, literature, Native Americans, religion, and more.
Springfield Township High School Virtual Library A well organized source of information: Supreme Court/Legal Speeches, General, American Presidents, Event-Specific, Maps and Images, Editorial Cartoons, World Databases
National Archives Documents and materials considered to be of historical importance to the U.S. Federal government
The History Channel speeches and videos
Documents in the News Curret events research
History and Politics Out Loud listen to historically significant speeches
Historical Picture Collections Links to many online sites to find pictures
Primary Source For teachers; links to information on American studies, China, Islam and Middle East, World History, and Ancient Civilizations.
Primary Sources on the Web Library, University of California at Berkley
Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy The Avalon Project at Yale Law School
Women's Speeches From Around the World
African American Women, including slave letters
EyeWitness to History click on links for primary sources about ancient world, middle ages/renaissance, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, Civil War, Old West, 20th Century, World War I, World War II
20th Century: Eyewitness to History
19th Century: Eyewitness to History
FedStats Gateway to statistics from over 100 Federal agencies
Discoverers and explorers primary sources
Capture the Moment: Pulitzer Prize photographs
Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text & Image
National Geophysical Data Center Information on earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes and much more
Surface Distance Between Two Points of Latitude and Longitude
United States History
Documents for the Study of American History
History Matters The U.S. Survey Course on the Web
Early Recorded Sounds and Wax Cylinders
From Revolution to Reconstruction...and what happened afterwards Starts before 1400 with the Magna Charta through 2001 and George W. Bush’s Inaugral address. Site contains major presidental speeches as well as the text of founding documents.
Images of American Political History
Government Printing Office Access documents printed by the U.S. government
Defining Documents With links to the Constitution and Bill of Rights and Supreme Court decisions
The Authentic History Center: Primary Sources From American Popular Culture The Authentic History Center is comprised of images of artifacts, sounds, and written letters and diaries. No information on the creator of the site or their authority.
New York Public Library digital library collection
H-Amindian Primary documents about Native Americans
Early US History from Modern History Sourcebook
Historic Maps of the United States
United States Historical Census Browser
Digitized Primary American History Sources from the University of Northern Iowa
American Women's History. Digital Collections of Primary Sources Middle Tennessee State Library
Historic American Sheet Music From the rare book, manuscript and special collections library of Duke University.
Documenting the American South from the Library at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Gateway to the rare book, manuscript and special collections library of Duke University. collections include
Sales advertising and marketing history
African American documentation
Women’s history and culture
Archiving Early America Access documents and music from the period
American Originals documents and pictures from the National Archives
Statistics at the State and Local Level
Digital Librarian Links to statistical information
Colonial America and the Revolutionary War
The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
Thomas Jefferson papers from Library of Congress
Spy Letters of the American Revolution from the Collections of the Clements Library
The Mayflower primary sources
Colonial North America from Modern History Sourcebook
Catholic Central High School’s compliation of primary sources called The American Colonist’s Library. Their introduction says “The following is a massive collection of the literature and documents which were most relevant to the colonists' lives in America. If it isn't here, it probably is not available online anywhere.” The time frame is from Classic literature through 1799.
Virtual Jamestown Maps, court records, labor contracts, public records, first hand accounts and letters, newspapers
Civil War
The American Civil War Homepage
Civil War: Eyewitness to History
Letters from an Iowa Soldier in the Civil War
US Civil War from Modern History Sourcebook
The Crisis of the Union. An electronic archive of documents about the causes, conduct, and consequences of the US Civil War
The Valley of the Shadow Two communities in the American Civil War
Westward Movement
The West memoirs, journals,letters and pictures from PBS
Mountain Men, Fur Traders diaries, narratives, letters
Billy the Kid, accounts from people who knew him
Oregon Trail Archive with diaries, memoirs, and books of the period
Old West: Eyewitness to HistoryMountain Men, Fur Traders diaries, narratives, letters
Billy the Kid, accounts from people who knew him
Old West: Eyewitness to History
Diaries, Memoirs, Letters and Reports Along the Trails West
Foremothers Tell of Olden Times
The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco Primary sources about the history of California and the Gold Rush Emigrant Narratives and Biographies
19th and 20th Century America
Gilded Age and Progressive Era America
The Great Chicago Fire and Web of Memory
New Deal Network Resources about the Great Depression and Franklin Roosevelt
20th Century: Eyewitness to History
19th Century: Eyewitness to History
Riding the Rails Experiences of teens during the Great Depression, from PBS
Surviving the Dust Bowl from PBS
Ad Access Advertising in the early 1900's
The California Heritage Collection More than 30,000 images
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Lost and Found Sound from National Public Radio's "All Things Considered"
Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon
European History
EuroDocs: Primary Historical Documents from Western Europe Selected transcriptions, facsimilies, and translations.
Primary Sources: Eyewitness accounts of people and events in Tudor England
17th Century: Eyewitness to History
Ancient World: Eyewitness to History
History of the United Kingdom: primary documents
World History
New York Public Library digital library collection
AskAsia Links to documents, maps, and images
World War I and II, Korean War, Vietnam War
War Times Journal Military orders and dispatches, memoirs and eyewitness accounts
Rutgers Oral History Archives Inteviews, documents and pictures covering World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War
Holocaust: Personal Histories From the United States Holocaust Museum
The Virtual Vietnam Archive from Texas Tech University
The Wars for Vietnam: 1945-1975 from Vassar College
Camp Harmony Exhibit Information about the Japanese interment during World War II
First Call: American Posters of World War I
Nazi and East German Propaganda Guide Page
United States Memorial Holocaust Museum
Pacific Northwest History
Historic Washington Newspapers Online
State Library of Washington State Find newspapers, locations, people, events
Wallis & Marilyn Kimble Northwest History Database
Charles Pratsch Image Collection from the Grays Harbor region of Washington State
Early Washington Maps from Washington State University
Digital Collections from Washington State University contains pictures and texts about Washington state history
Oral History Collection from Washington State University about Washington state history
Historic Washington Newspapers from the Secretary of State
The Pig War National park site contains historic photos
Center for Columbia River History
Dr. Marcus Whitman letters
Letters of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
History Link.Org Online encyclopedia of Washington state history
American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Fur trade, missionaries, conflicts
American Indians of the Pacific Northwest from the University of Washington libraries digital collection
Klondike Gold Rush from the University of Washington libraries digital collection
Great Seattle Fire from the University of Washington libraries digital collection
Salmon Collection from the University of Washington libraries digital collection
King County Snapshots a photographic heritage of Seattle and the surrounding communities
Burke Museum Pacific Northwest natural history and cultural heritage
Gig Harbor Museum On-Line Exhibits
Museum of History and Industry access historic photos from the Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper from the 1930's to the 1960's
Moments in History From the Washington Secretary of State. Primary source information about the Whitman mission, Indian treaties and Indian wars.
Teacher Resources
Primary Source Materials and Document Based Questions Resources from various periods in history and resources for teachers using primary sources with students
Using Primary Sources in the Classroom A lesson plan for teachers from Library of Congress; identifies many different types of primary sources
The Revolutionary War National discussions of our revolutionary origins
Citing Web Sites
Citing Electronic Information in History Papers
Columbia Guide to Online Style
Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Resources
Research and Documentation Online
Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement
Return to Pioneer Library Home Page