Primary Documents Guide
Overview
Definitions
What exactly are "primary documents" or "primary sources?" The University of California at Berkeley has an excellent definition of primary sources. Reading through the first few pages of this Web site will be crucial as you try to find primary documents on your topic.Finding Primary Documents in WestCat
Since the terms "primary documents" or "primary sources" are not Library of Congress subject headings, these are not the best phrases to type into a WestCat (WMU catalog) search. When looking for primary documents in WestCat, the following keywords will help you identify some primary sources that we have in our collections:- sources
- correspondence
- letters
- diaries
- oral history
- personal narratives
- speeches
The trick is to combine one or more of these keywords with whatever topic you are looking for. For example, you might type the following into a Advanced Search in WestCat:
- cold war
- oral history
- slavery
- personal narratives
Guides to the Process
The following sites take you through the process of finding primary documents and how to use them in your research papers. The first two listed are especially useful.Library Research Using Primary Sources Developed by the University of California at Berkeley, this guide clearly explains the differences between primary and secondary sources; the various types of sources; and suggests strategies for locating them both in the library and on the Web.
Using Primary Resources on the Web Authored by librarians and the American Library Association, this is a basic guide to primary sources that includes examples of what constitute primary documents, how to find primary materials on the Web, evaluating primary source Web sites, and how to cite Web cites in your research papers.
History Resource Guide: Finding Primary Materials
This site, hosted by IUPUI, provides history students with an overview of the historical research process. It includes a definition of primary documents, a tutorial on the differences between primary and secondary sources, and many links to Web sites that contain primary documents.
Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students Hosted by Bowdoin College, this site discusses various aspects of history research including how to read a primary source and how to present primary source material in your paper.
The Digital Classroom: Educators and Students Sponsored by the National Archives and Records Administration, this site contains useful information about historical resources and how to use them in the classroom. It includes sections on conducting research and finding primary sources, along with sections on history in the raw (letters, memoirs, dairies, etc.), document analysis worksheet and National History Day.
Web Resources
African American Newspapers: The 19th Century Eventually this database will contain the full-text of major 19th century African-American newspapers providing first-hand stories by way of biographies as well as statistics, essays, editorials, and advertisements serving as primary source historical documentation. Search individual newspapers or group together.
AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American History
This site presents a chronological selection of full-text documents relating to the history of the United States, beginning in the 11th century through the year 2005.
America's Historical Newspapers 1690-1922 Full text images of articles from early American newspapers for over 700 newspapers from 34 Eastern states, including three Michigan Newspapers, Kalamazoo Gazette (1872-1919), Grand Rapids Press (1893-1922), and Jackson Citizen Patriot (1849-1858).
American Civil War Research Database This database contains indexed, searchable information on over 4 million soldiers, regimental rosters, officer profiles, thousands of battles, and 16,000 photographs of the American Civil War.
American Civil War: Letters & Diaries This full text database includes more than 100,000 pages written by over 2,000 persons, primarily letters and diaries from the Civil War. Also includes biographies and an extensive bibliography.
American Memory Multimedia collections from the Library of Congress of digitized documents, photographs, sound recordings, motion pictures, and texts. Over 100 collections, including, for example, African-American pamphlets, Chautauqua flyers, Depression photographs, Coca-Cola advertising, and the papers of Alexander Graham Bell, to name just a few.
Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy A digital collection of important documents in American history, politics and government from the 18th century to the present day.
Black Thought and Culture A digital collection of monographs, essays, articles, speeches, and interviews by leaders within the black community from the earliest times to 1975.
British Periodicals Search the full text of 160 British journals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth. Topics include literature, philosophy, history, science, the fine arts and the social sciences.
Chronology of US Historical Documents Hosted by the University of Oklahoma College of Law, this site contains the full text of significant documents in American history from the pre-colonial era to the present day.
Civil War Women: Primary Sources on the Internet Hosted by Duke University, this site contains a number of primary source documents relating to the role and experiences of women during the American Civil War.
Cold War Hot Links Hosted by an anthropologist at St. Martin's College in Washington State, this site provides information about the Cold War through documents obtained by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Includes links to many sites on the Web.
Documents from the Women's Liberation Movement: An On-line Archival Collection Sponsored by Duke University, this site documents various aspects of the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States, and focus specifically on the radical origins of this movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Items range from radical theoretical writings to humorous plays to the minutes of an actual grassroots group.
Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy: The Cold War An extensive list of documents relating to the Cold War collected by Professor Vincent Ferraro at Mount Holyoke College. This is a treasure trove for the historian or political scientist interested in 20th century U.S. foreign policy.
Early Encounters in North America: Peoples Cultures, and the Environment This full text database includes more than 100,000 pages of letters, diaries and other accounts of traders, explorers, native peoples, and others from 1534 to 1850. Indexed by place, year, peoples, cultural events, and other categories.
Explore the Amazing World of Early America This site contains commentary on documents from the formative years of the United States, along with the text of the original document in digitized and transcribed versions.
HarpWeek Full-text as well as images from the important American magazine Harper's Weekly. Coverage: 1857-1912.
Historic Documents Series Each volume includes approximately 100 documents covering the most significant events of the year. Documents range from presidential speeches, international agreements, and Supreme Court decisions to U.S. governmental reports, scientific findings, and cultural discussions.
This subscription is limited to three simultaneous users. Please logout when finished.
Historical Newspapers Search all of these newspapers at once or individually for full-text articles in this index:
Atlanta Constitution (1868 - 1939)
Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003)
The Chicago Defender (1905 - 1975)
Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1986)
Christian Science Monitor (1908 - 1995)
Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005)
Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986)
New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993)
The New York Times (1851 - 2005)
Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002)
The Wall Street Journal (1889 - 1991)
The Washington Post (1877 - 1992)
Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines Contains full-text articles from 49 periodicals, including 15 campaign newspapers, published from 1860 to 1865. Many of the publications are rare and hard to find, and include source materials from museum, library, and private collections, including the American Antiquarian Society. The database can be searched by date or topic, or one can browse each individual publication. The database also contains a sample selection of 300 Union and 300 Confederate letters from the larger database, American Civil War: Letters & Diaries.
In the First Person: Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories, and Other Personal Narratives This index lets users perform searches within letters, diaries, oral histories, memoirs, and autobiographies that are freely available on the Web and in Alexander Street databases. Users can access thousands of personal narratives in English from archives and repositories everywhere. Includes links to full text, audio, and video whenever available.
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook This site, hosted by Fordham University, provides researchers with links to full-text primary and secondary sources on the ancient world. Use the links on the left side of the page to help navigate through the site.
Internet Medieval Sourcebook Hosted by the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies, this site offers researchers a selection of primary and secondary sources from the medieval period. Use the handy "Selected Sources Sections" on the left hand side of the page to help navigate.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook This site contains primary source materials for the study of history from the time of the Reformation through the present day. Arrangement is by broad topics and chronological periods.
Making of America (Cornell University)
Making of America (University of Michigan) A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the ante-bellum period through Reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. Includes over 4 million page images, representing close to 13,000 volumes of primary source materials, including books and periodicals. Cornell University has focused on the major journal literature of the period. The University of Michigan has focused on monographs.
Making of Modern Michigan
Hosted at Michigan State University, this is a full-text collaborative project involving more than 50 libraries in Michigan. It includes local history materials from Michigan communities, including such things as historical photographs, oral histories, family papers, genealogical materials, and much more. One can search by keyword, or browse through the subject, institution and type of material indexes.
Michigan County Histories
The Michigan County Histories collection is a collaborative effort of Michigan's Council of Library Directors. The collection is projected to provide access to 192 histories dating from 1866 to 1926. There are 195 volumes in 164 titles currently online.
Nazi and East German Propaganda The German Propaganda Archive from Calvin College includes both propaganda itself and material produced for the guidance of propagandists.
New Deal Network Sponsored by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and the Institute for Learning Technologies at Teachers College, Columbia University, this is an educational guide to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Includes primary documents and historical photographs.
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories A digital collection of letters, diaries, pamphlets, autobiographies, and oral histories of immigrants to America and Canada. The 100,000 pages of materials cover 1840 to 1980 and represent immigrants from many countries.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries Over 150,000 pages of published and unpublished diaries and letters by over 1,300 women in the US and Canada from the colonial period to 1950. All ethnic groups, ages, classes, and geographical regions are included. Users can search by keyword, time period, place, marital status, nationality, and other variables.
Readers' Guide Retrospective Indexes the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States from 1890 to 1982. Some of these periodicals published short stories and book reviews.
Print: AI 3 .R48 (Ref.) 1904-98
This subscription is limited to one simultaneous user. Please logout when finished.
Secession Era Editorials Project
Hosted by Furman University, this site presents newspaper editorials about three major events leading up to the Civil War: the Nebraska bill debates, the Dred Scott decision, and John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. Researchers can read the original newspaper accounts to understand both sides of each issue.
Testaments to the Holocaust This digital collection from the Wiener Library in London offers searchable personal accounts of life in Nazi Germany, photographs, propaganda materials such as school text books, small publications and rare serials reflecting Jewish life in Germany from 1933 to after the war, life in the concentration camps, in hiding, emigration and refugee life.
Times Digital Archive, 1785-1985 200 years of this major international newspaper from London. PDFs of each article and of the full page.
Tobacco Control Archives
This site, hosted by the University of California, San Francisco, is a modern-day archive collecting, preserving, and providing access to papers, unpublished documents, and electronic resources related to tobacco control issues.
Triangle Factory Fire Created at Cornell University, this virtual site includes photographs, oral histories, political cartoons and much more that makes this 1911 tragedy in New York City come to life.
Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War Presents information on the Civil War as part of the Valley of the Shadow Project at the University of Virginia. Contains information about Virginia's Augusta County and Pennsylvania's Franklin County during the Civil War; offers access to online versions of newspapers, battle maps, letters and official records.
Veterans History Project
Sponsored by the Library of Congress, the Veterans History Project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from the participants themselves and better understand the realities of war. The Project collects first-hand accounts of soldiers from World War I through the present day.
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000: Scholar's Edition A collection of full text books, pamphlets, articles, documents and images of American women's reform movements over the last 400 years including special subjects such as African-American Women and the Equal Rights Debate in the 1920s. Includes the bibliographic dictionary Notable American Women 1907-1950.
Printing performance is sporadic. We recommend printing from the Safari browser only. Previous version
World War II Resources This site presents primary documents relating to all aspects of the Second World War, including documentation from all sides.
WW2 People's War
This project, sponsored by the BBC, ran from June 2003 to January 2006. The aim of the project was to collect the memories of people who had lived and fought during World War II and to place them on a Web site, forming the basis of a digital archive for present and future generations. There are 64 categories of stories, as well as a keyword index.
Ask A Librarian
Maria A. Perez-Stable
maria.perez-stable@wmich.edu
269-387-5322
Last updated: September 2009