Primary Sources

What is a primary source?

Primary sources are materials that provide firsthand accounts of events by people who participated in or were present at the time the event occurred. Some examples of primary sources are letters, diaries, speeches, company records, government documents, films, photographs, Tweets, maps, audio recordings, posters, postcards, or other materials. According to the Library of Congress, "Primary sources provide a window into the past—unfiltered access to the record of artistic, social, scientific and political thought and achievement during the specific period under study, produced by people who lived during that period."

Primary Source Databases:

American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals This link opens in a new window Comprehensive digital collection of United States periodicals from the late 17th through late 19th centuries. (Series 1-5.) Terms of Use. Coverage: 1684-1912.
American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window Over 1,000 diaries, letters, and memoirs provide views on almost every aspect of the war. The writings of politicians, generals, slaves, landowners, farmers, seamen, wives and even spies are included. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1855-1959.
Archives Unbound This link opens in a new window Topically-focused digital collections of historical documents. We currently have access to the collections listed as alternate titles above. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1891-1947.
Eighteenth Century Journals, Sections III and V This link opens in a new window Unique or rare eighteenth century periodicals that convey the eclecticism and evolution of the publishing world. Section III covers newspapers and periodicals from the years 1680-1816, while Section V covers The Lady's Magazine and other titles from the years 1712-1835. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1680-1835.
First World War: Personal Experiences This link opens in a new window A collection of primary source documents drawn from archives across the globe. The documents are varied in scope and offer a remarkable window on the lives and experiences of men and women during the First World War. Terms of Use.
Foreign Office Files for China, 1938-1948 This link opens in a new window We have access to the files in the "1938-1948: Open Door, Japanese War and the Seeds of Communist Victory" collection. These primary resources include the British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan between 1938 and 1948. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1938-1948.
Meiji Japan Collection: The Edward Sylvester Morse Collection from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem This link opens in a new window Unique manuscript material relating to Edward S. Morse (1838-1925), much of which documents life in Japan before its Westernization.Gift of Aquin Mitsuo Yamagishi. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1838-1925.
Nineteenth Century British Pamphlets This link opens in a new window Digitalized pamphlets from 19th century Britain held in UK research libraries that cover political, social, technological, and environmental issues of their day. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1800-1899.
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories This link opens in a new window Over 100,000 pages of personal narratives from immigrants to the U.S. and Canada including letters, diaries, pamphlets, autobiographies, and oral histories. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1840-present.
Papers of Eliza Lucas Pinckney and Harriott Pinckney Horry Digital Edition, The This link opens in a new window Letters, diaries, and other documents of Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722-1793) and her daughter Harriott Pinckney Horry (1748-1830), two founding-era women whose writings provide a window on politics, social events, and people of the late colonial and early national periods. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1739-1830.
Research Methods Primary Sources This link opens in a new window Introduces the key approaches to working with primary source materials and historical evidence with nearly 200 hundred essays, videos, "How to" guides, and case studies by subject specialists. Includes a module on Interrogating Colonial Documents and Narratives. Terms of Use.
Sixties, The: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960 to 1974 This link opens in a new window Documents the key events, trends, and movements in 1960s America, vividly conveying the zeitgeist of the decade and its effects into the middle of the next. Covers the 1960s through Watergate and the evolution of society, politics, and culture in the United States during those times. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1960-1974.
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new window English-language legal materials on slavery. Every colony, state, and federal statute dealing with slavery and all reported state and federal cases on slavery. Over 1,000 pamphlets and books. Terms of Use.
Smithsonian Global Sound This link opens in a new window Stream audio collections owned by the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label and others. Access music from various genres and world cultural groups. Terms of Use. Coverage: Music composed from the Middle Ages through the 21st century, with recorded performances from the 20th century-present.
USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive This link opens in a new window Streaming video of over 53,000 primary source testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity, including the Nanjing Massacre and the Guatemalan, Armenian, and Tutsi genocides. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1915-present.

What are Primary Sources

The UCLA Institute on Primary Resources states that "primary resources provide firsthand evidence of historical events. They are generally unpublished materials, such as manuscripts, photographs, maps, artifacts, audio and video recordings, oral histories, postcards, and posters. In some instances, published materials can also be viewed as primary materials for the period in which they were written."

One can view a primary source as a firsthand account of an event. It is important to note that primary sources "present information in its original form, neither interpreted nor condensed nor evaluated by other writers" (James Cook University). As a researcher, using primary sources offers you the unique opportunity to perform original analysis and formulate your own theory or opinion. Primary sources can also come in any form.

Sources

UCLA Primary Resources and Archives Guide

What are Secondary Sources

UCLA Institute on Primary Resources
"A secondary source is a work that interprets or analyzes an historical event or phenomenon."

You can often find primary sources listed in the footnotes and bibliographies of secondary books and articles.

One can view a secondary source as a summary, interpretation, or analysis of the primary source. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources. Examples of secondary sources include textbooks and encyclopedias.

Comparison:

Please ask the librarian at the reference desk if you need further help.

Sources

Gateway Community College Guide to Primary vs. Seconday Sources