LibGuides: St. Peter's Prep Libguide: Primary Sources

What are Primary Resources?

Georgetown Library-what are primary sources?
A great page that explains what a primary source is and gives a variety of examples across different disciplines

Videos Explaining Primary and Secondary Sources and How to Use Them

Primary and Secondary Sources
Using primary and secondary sources

Museums and Archives are great places to look for primary resources!

National Archives - Home Page
The National Archives contains an astounding number of resources, many of which contain primary sources. While content-rich, the website is easy to navigate and use.
DOCSTeach - The online tool for teaching from the National Archives
Contains thousands of primary sources for use in classroom activities courtesy of the National Archives.
National Archives-World War II Collection
Large collection of American World War II records/primary sources.
National Archives-World War I Collection
Large collection of American World War I records/primary sources.
National Archives - Vietnam War
The National Archives has a wealth of records and information documenting the U.S. experience in the Vietnam conflict. These include photographs, textual and electronic records, audiovisual recordings, exhibits, educational resources, articles, blog posts, lectures, and events.
National Archives - Online Veterans and Military Documents
While most of our holdings are not online, a variety of military records, from photos to documents to searchable databases are available. [Included] are online collections of specific interest to veterans, their families and researchers.

The Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley
The primary special collections library at UC Berkeley, the Bancroft Library has a number of themed digital collections, each containing manuscripts, rare books, or images (primary sources).
New Jersey Historical Society
Contains a wealth of documents and images related to the history of New Jersey.
JCFPL-New Jersey Room
Just around the corner at the Jersey City Public Library you'll find a wealth of historical records! The New Jersey Room has lots of primary documents about our very own Jersey City.

The Avalon Project of Yale University
The Avalon Project contains a large collection of primary sources focused on the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. Organized by historical era, the collections contains documents from 250 B.C. to present times.
National Security Archives at George Washington University
Contains declassified government documents that have been digitized by the GW librarians.

Library of Congress Digital Collections
As the largest library in the world, the Library of Congress has a vast amount of digital resources, available to the public for free. A really easy to use database, this is the first place you should go when doing research.

Collections Search Center at the Smithsonian Institute
Collection of primary source documents and images spanning the fields of art, history, technology, and more.

Life Magazine Photo Archive
Hosted by Google, this collection of images from Life Magazine contains thousands of photographs, ranging from 1861-1979. Contains images of historical events, famous people, and more, all of which clearly state the source of the image.

African American Registry
The most comprehensive on-line database resource of African American heritage in the world.
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database
Contains information on almost 36,000 slaving voyages. The site is made up of 3 databases: the voyages database, examining estimates of the slave trade and the African names database. Many universities, including Emory and Harvard, sponsor the site.

The New York Public Library Digital Collections
Large collection of resources for many subject areas.

Umbra Search

Black History Primary Sources

Black Freedom Struggle in the United States

Use this free resource to connect to primary sources that relate to the history of African Americans in the United States. Sources start in the 18th century and go up to the 21st.

African American Newspapers in the South, 1870-1926

African American Newspapers in the South from Accessible Archives offers you the chance to read newspaper articles written by and for African Americans from the Reconstruction through the Jim Crow period.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click search or browse to access all materials in this collection.

African American Newspapers

This resource offers you access to a large collection of African American Newspapers from the 1800s that touch upon the history, culture, politics and major events of the times.

Scroll down to the middle of the page and click search or browse to access all materials in this collection.

Can you accurately select between primary and secondary sources?

Primary Resources

	An incredible collection of historical newspapers and books--head here first for American History primary research!
	An excellent source for primary documents--census data, genealogical records, old books and more.
	The New York Times Times Machine provides you access to all of their editions from September 18, 1851 to December 31, 2002.

Using Primary Sources in your Writing

Using Primary Sources in your writing
Wondering how to critically assess a primary source and use it in your essays. Read this website for help.

History and Law Databases

Infobase: American History

American History Database provides you with access to overview articles, primary sources, maps, videos, and timelines on a variety of subjects relating to American history from the colonial period to now.

Gale in Context: World History

Gale in Context provides you with access to scholarly articles, primary sources, news articles, videos, podcasts and more on a wide variety of subjects relating to World History from ancient to contemporary times.

Internet History Sourcebooks

Internet History Sourcebooks through Fordham University provides you with access to articles and primary sources relating to ancient, medieval, and modern history.

ABC-CLIO

ABC-CLIO provides you with a series of political, historical, and diverse cultural databases which are organized by time period and give you access to overview articles, reference articles, primary sources, and media.

Asia for Educatiors

Asia for Educators is a resource from Columbia University that provides you with access to a variety of primary sources, timelines, maps, and videos on a variety of topics relating to Asia in world history.

Vatican Archives

Exploring digital archives is fun--but they're even cooler in person! Take a peek at the Vatican's most treasured documents in this clip from Museum Secrets.

St. Peter's Prep Libguide: Primary Sources

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Primary Research Tips!

Sometimes secondary sources can lead you right to a primary source. Example: an article about the Cuban Missile Crisis (secondary) references a presidential speech (primary).

We usually don't recommend Google for academic research, but sometimes it can be helpful for primary research. Try googling a topic keyword + "papers" or "archive" --you can turn up some great results. For example, you can find primary documents by googling "President Roosevelt" + "papers".

How do you know if your primary source is reliable? Stick to items found in archives like The National Archive or the Library of Congress, or a university library. Museums often have digital collections that can be really helpful.