Primary Source Information

Databases

 

Supreme Court and Legal Documents

 

World

 

Speeches (and other voices!)

 

Presidents

 

General Resources in American History

 

Event-Specific

 

Maps and Images

 

Editorial Cartoons & Images

 

 

 

What is a primary source?

A primary source is first hand evidence. It was there at the time of an event. It is contemporary to the period being studied. Examples of primary sources are speeches, letters, songs, legislation, court decisions, journals/diaries, interviews, artifacts, autobiographies, and photographs.

More about primary sources:

*      Why Study History Through Primary Sources? (Fordham) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/robinson-sources.html

*      How to Read a Primary Source (Bowdoin) http://academic.bowdoin.edu/WritingGuides/

*      Library Research Using Primary Sources ( Berkeley) http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/PrimarySources.html

*      Primary Sources Research (Yale) http://www.library.yale.edu/ref/err/primsrcs.htm

*      Using Primary Sources on the Web http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/RUSA

*      NARA 100 Milestone Documents http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?page=milestone

Some sources for Primary Sources and Learning Strategies:

*      American Memory Collection http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/

*      National Archives and Records Administration's Digital Classroom http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/index.html

*      Teaching with Documents http://www.edteck.com/dbq/

*      Learning Page (Library of Congress) http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/index.html

*      Artifact and Analysis (Smithsonian) http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/idealabs/ap/index.htm

*      For an overview list to help with DBQs check: Primary Source Documents: An Internet Hotlist

*      Ready, 'Net, Go! (Archival indexes) http://www.tulane.edu/~lmiller/ArchivesResources.html

*      Library and Archival Indexes on the Web http://www.sil.si.edu/SILPublications/Online-Exhibitions/

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Databases

*      Don't forget to check our library catalog for books with primary sources

*      Gale Student Resource Center offers primary sources http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/stev76221

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Supreme Court and Legal Documents

We have many circulating and reference books relating to Supreme Court cases in the 340s!

    For your reference:

 

The Bill of Rights

 http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html

  Another version of The Bill of Rights  http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display_printable.cfm?HHID=295

 

Supreme Court

*      *Oyez Oyez: US Supreme Court Multimedia Database (cases by subject) http://www.oyez.org/oyez/portlet/directory/

*      *Selected Historic Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court (search by topic) http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/historic.htm

*      *FindLaw: Supreme Court Opinions http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html

*      LII Supreme Court Decisions http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/

*      Avalon Project at the Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm

*      FedWorld/FLITE U.S. Supreme Court Decisions Home Page http://www.fedworld.gov/supcourt/index.htm

*      Foreign Governments: Constitutions, Laws and Treaties http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/forcons.html

*      'lectric Law Library http://www.lectlaw.com/

*      Lexis One Free Case Law http://www.lexisone.com/legalresearch/lrfreecaselaw.html

*      Rominger Legal http://www.romingerlegal.com/supreme.htm

*      Supreme Court of the United States http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

*      FindLaw Public (local information for general public) http://public.findlaw.com/

*      LII: Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties http://lii.org/pub/topic/civilliberties

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World

*      Eurodocs http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Main_Page

*      EyeWitness: History Through the Eyes of Those who Lived it http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/

*      (Eyewitness accounts organized by date starting with Ancient Greece.)

*      German Propaganda Archive http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/

*      Hanover Historical Texts Project http://history.hanover.edu/project.html

*      Historical Atlas of the 20th Century http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm#General

*      History of the United Kingdom Primary Documents http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_the_United_Kingdom:_Primary_Documents

*      Internet Medieval Sourcebook http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html

*      Middle East Peace Process Documents http://www.mideastweb.org/history.htm

*      National Archives Learning Curve (British documents) http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/ http://www.library.upenn.edu/resources/subject/government/treaty.html

*      United Nations Treaty Collection http://untreaty.un.org/English/treaty.asp

*      University of Texas Historical Maps http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/map_sites/hist_sites.html

*      World History Archives http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/index.html

*      World War I Document Archive http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/

*      World War II Documents http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/

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Speeches (and other voices!)

*      American Rhetoric: Online Speech Bank  http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speechbank.htm

*      All Things Considered Archive (radio transcripts including many interviews) http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/archives/

*      BBC Interviews http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/

*      Conversations with History (Interviews) http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/

*      Graduation Speeches http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Graduation/Speeches/

*      Historical Voices http://www.historicalvoices.org

*      History and Politics Out Loud http://www.hpol.org/

*      History Channel: Speeches http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/index.html

*      History Place: Great Speeches Collection http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/previous.htm

*      "I Do Solemnly Swear . . .": Presidential Inaugurations http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pihome.html

*      Lost and Found Sound (from NPR's All Things Considered) http://www.npr.org/programs/lnfsound/

*      Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents (Washington to Bush) http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/inaugural/

*      Martin Luther King Online: Speeches http://www.mlkonline.com/speeches.html

*      Online Speech Bank http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speechbank.htm

*      Social Activism: Sound Recording Project http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/pacifica.html

*      Speech Archive (History Channel) http://www.historychannel.com/speeches/index.html

*      Speech/Transcript Center http://www.freepint.com/gary/speech.htm

*      Speeches and Transcripts (University of Albany) http://library.albany.edu/reference/speeches.html

*      Speeches of Abraham Lincoln http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/speech.htm

*      Talking History http://www.talkinghistory.org

*      Vincent Voice Library http://www.lib.msu.edu/vincent/

*      White House.gov (for speeches of the President, Vice Presidents, First Ladies) http://www.whitehouse.gov/

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Presidents

*      Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/

*      "I Do Solemnly Swear . . .": Presidential Inaugurations http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pihome.html

*      Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents (Washington to Bush) http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/inaugural/

*      Nixon White House Tapes http://www.c-span.org/executive/presidential/nixon.asp

*      Presidential Debates http://www.debates.org/

*      Presidential Libraries http://www.ibiblio.org/lia/president/

*      Speeches of Abraham Lincoln http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/speech.htm

*      White House.gov http://www.whitehouse.gov/

*      LBJ White House Tapes

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General Resources in American History

*      NARA 100 Milestone Documents http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?page=milestone

*      AP US History: Docs http://www.historyteacher.net/APUSH-Course/Weblinks/Weblinks4.htm

*      OurDocuments.gov http://www.ourdocuments.gov/

*      Ad Access Database (advertisements) http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/browse.html

*      American History and Government Hotlist http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/hotlists/government.html

*      American Hypertexts http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/hypertex.html

*      American Memory Learning Page http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/

*      American Memory Collection Finder http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/finder.html

*      American Originals (NARA) American Originals: The Original Exhibit http://www.archives.gov/

*      Avalon Project: American History A Documentary Record 1492--1988  http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/chrono.htm

*      Black History: Primary Source Links http://mciu.org/~spjvweb/blackprimary.html

*      Boondock's Net http://www.boondocksnet.com/

*      Census Statistics http://www.census.gov

*      Chronology of US Historical Documents (U. Oklahoma) http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/

*      CIA/EDRC: Popular Documents Collection http://www.foia.cia.gov/

*      Conversations with History (interviews with notables) http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/

*      Core Documents of U.S Democracy http://www.gpoaccess.gov/coredocs.html

*      Documents in Early American History http://history.missouristate.edu/FTMiller/Docs/DocsEarlyAmer.htm

*      Emergence of Advertising in America http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/

*      Eye Witness: History Through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It http://www.ibiscom.com

*      Federal Resources for Educational Excellence http://www.ed.gov/free/

*      Conversations with History (Interviews) http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/

*      EyeWitness: History through the Eyes http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/

*      Eyewitness to Labor History http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/collections/exhibits/tam/reiss/opener.html

*      From Revolution to Reconstruction http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/usa.htm

*      Founders' Constitution http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/

*      History Central Source Documents http://www.historycentral.com/documents/index.html

*      Historic Documents (Project Vote Smart) http://www.vote-smart.org/program_about_pvs.php

*       

*      Historical List of Policy Documents http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/NSC/html/historical/

*      Historical Text Archive http://historicaltextarchive.com/

*      History Central: Primary Sources http://www.historycentral.com/documents/index.html

*      History and Politics Out Loud (HPOL) http://www.hpol.org/

*      Images of American Political History http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/

*      HistoryNet http://www.thehistorynet.com

*      Making of America Project (American social history in journals and books--antebellum through reconstruction)

*      http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/MOA/moa-main_page.html

*      National Archives Search http://www.archives.gov/search/index.html

*      National Archives Digital Classroom http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/index.html

*      New Deal Network  http://newdeal.feri.org/

*      New York Public Library Digital Library http://digital.nypl.org/

*      Nineteenth Century Documents http://www.furman.edu/~benson/docs/

*      Our Documents http://ourdocuments.gov

*      Primary Sources, Activities, and Training for Educators and Students www.archives.gov!

*      Smithsonian Institution http://www.si.edu

*      Texts and Documents http://history.hanover.edu/texts.html

*      Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet http://thomas.loc.gov/

*      U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1873 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html

*      U.S. Historical Documents http://www.law.ou.edu/ushist.html

*      Yale University Library Primary Sources Research http://www.library.yale.edu/ref/err/primsrcs.htm

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Event-Specific

*      American Posters of World War I http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/amposter.htm

*      American Slave Narratives: An Online Anthology http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/wpahome.html

*      Avalon Project: World War II Documents http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/wwii.htm

*      Civil War Women--Primary Sources http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/women/cwdocs.html

*      Dr. Seuss Went to War (political cartoons) http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/

*      Ellis Island Database Search http://www.ellisisland.org/

*      Gulf War: An Oral History http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/

*      Historic Government Publications of World War II http://worldwar2.smu.edu/

*      Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive http://jarda.cdlib.org/

*      Kappler's Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/

*      New Deal Network http://newdeal.feri.org/

*      North American Slave Narratives http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/neh.html

*      Powers of Persuasion: Poster  Art of World War II  http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html

*      Private Art (Letters to and from the homefront--WWII) http://www.private-art.com/

*      Publications of the War http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/jtap/

*      Rutgers Oral History Archive of World War II http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

*      Salem Witchcraft Papers http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/texts/

*      Suffragists Oral History Project http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/projects/suffragist/

*      They Drew Fire: Combat Artists of World War II http://www.pbs.org/theydrewfire/

*      Veterans' History Project http://www.loc.gov/folklife/vets/

*      War Stories http://www.newseum.org/warstories/

*      World War I Document Archive http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/

*      War Poster Collection http://content.lib.washington.edu/warposters/

*      War Relocation Authority: Photographs of Japanese-American Relocation and Resettlement http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/japanese_internment/background.htm

*      World War I Images http://www.wwi-models.org/

*      World War II Oral HistoryWeb Site http://www.tankbooks.com

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Maps and Images

*      *AP Photo Archive http://home.accuweather.com/index.asp?partner=accuweather

*      *American Memory Collection (Library of Congress) http://rs6.loc.gov/amhome.html

*      *American Photography: A Century of Images http://www.pbs.org/ktca/americanphotography/

*      * NARA: Picturing the Century http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/picturing_the_century/galleries/galleries.html

*      Politicalcartoons.com http://www.politicalcartoons.com/

*      Cartoonstock http://www.cartoonstock.com/

*      NYPL Digital Gallery http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm

*      WWW Virtual Library History and Images Index http://vlib.iue.it/hist-images/index.html

*      Metropolitan Museum Timeline of Art History http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/splash.htm

*      About.com Historic Maps http://geography.miningco.com/cs/historicmaps/

*      American Memory Maps Collection 1500--1999 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html

*      American Posters of World War I http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/amposter.htm

*      By Popular Demand (Presidential portraits) http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/odmdhtml/preshome.html

*      Collection Finder American Memory (click on Maps or Photos and Prints) http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/finder.html

*      George Eastman House Museum http://www.geh.org

*      Helios: National Museum of American Art: Photography http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/collections/exhibits/helios/index.html

*      Historical Graphics Collection http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/

*      Historical Atlas of the 20th Century http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm#General

*      History of Photography http://www.kbnet.co.uk/rleggat/photo/index.html

*      History of Photography: From its Beginnings to the 1920s http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/

*      HyperHistory Online (click on "maps") http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html

*      International Center of Photography http://www.icp.org/

*      Masters of Photography http://masters-of-photography.com/

*      National Museum of Photography, Film and Television http://www.nmsi.ac.uk/nmpft/

*      New York Public Library Picture Collection Online http://digital.nypl.org/mmpco/

*      Perry Casteneda Library Map Collection http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/index.html

*      Picture Collection Online (New York Public Library) http://digital.nypl.org/mmpco/index.cfm

*      Posters American Style http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/collections/exhibits/posters/mainmenu.html

*      Powers of Persuasion (WW II posters) http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/powers_of_persuasion/powers_of_persuasion_home.html

*      Smithsonian Photographs Online http://photo2.si.edu/index.html

*      Time-Life Photo Sight Home Page http://www.pathfinder.com/photo/index.html

*      Time/Life Picture Collection http://www.timepix.com/

*      Time Photo Essays http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/

*      World War II in Color http://www.ww2incolor.com/

*      World War II Military Situation Maps (Library of Congress)  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/maps/wwii/

Editorial Cartoons and images

 

Historical

*      Baldy Editorial Cartoon Database: 1946-82, 1997 http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/baldy.html

*      America in Caricature 1765-1865 http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/cartoon/cartoons.html

*      They Drew Fire: Combat Artists of World War II http://www.pbs.org/theydrewfire/

Modern

*      Political Cartoons http://www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/political_cartoons.html

*      Political Cartoonist's Index (contemporary) http://cagle.msnbc.com/politicalcartoons/

*      Nytimesimages.com http://www.nytimages.com/cartoons.html

*      Time.com: Cartoons of the Week http://www.time.com/time/cartoons/

*      USA Today: Editorial Cartoons http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/cartoons.htm

*      World Political Cartoons http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/worldcartoons/

*      Yahoo! News: Editorial Cartoons http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index2&cid=1078
(Click on the first cartoon for more)