Research Guides: HIST 290: The Historian's Craft: Primary Sources

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Primary Source Databases

African American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
American historical Periodicals from the American Antiquarian Society This link opens in a new window
American Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Black freedom struggle in the United States : a selection of primary sources This link opens in a new window
Black Life in America The experience and impact of African Americans as recorded by the news media, 1704 to today This link opens in a new window
Chronicling America : historic American newspapers This link opens in a new window
Documenting the American South : primary resources for the study of Southern history, literature and culture This link opens in a new window
The University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sponsors Documenting the American South, and the texts and materials come primarily from its southern holdings. The UNC University Library is committed to the long-term availability of these collections and their online records. An editorial board guides development of this digital library.
Gale in Context. U.S. history This link opens in a new window
Historic Oregon Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Los Angeles Times (1881-1997) This link opens in a new window
New York times (digital reproduction, 1851-2015) This link opens in a new window
Nineteenth century U.S. newspapers This link opens in a new window
Women and social movements in the United States 1600-2000 This link opens in a new window
Black thought and culture This link opens in a new window
ProQuest history vault: Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle. This link opens in a new window

Primary Sources

What is a primary source?

Primary sources are documents, web pages, videos, etc., created by people or organizations directly involved in an issue or event. Primary sources are information before it has been analyzed by scholars, students, and others.

Some examples of primary sources:

diaries and letters
academic articles presenting original scientific research
news reports from the time of the event
literature (poems, novels, plays, etc.)
fine art (photographs, paintings, sculpture, pottery, music etc.)
official records from a government, judicial court, or company
oral histories
speeches
autobiographies

Subject Headings for Primary Sources

Biography
Correspondence
History - sources
Interviews
Notebooks
Personal narrative
Sources
Speeches