HIST 2112 - Survey of U.S. History II: How to Find Primary Sources

A primary source is generally defined as document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. Depending on your research topic and perspective, primary sources can include:

• Original Documents (autobiographies, personal correspondence and diaries, speeches and oral histories, newspapers, government documents, audio and video recordings, photographs, and maps)
   
• Creative Works (Art, drama, poetry, music, novels) 
   
• Relics or Artifacts

[American Press Association. Suffrage Parade, New York City, May 6, 1912." World Digital Library.]

If you are reading a book or article that is on your topic, check the bibliography to see if the author found any sources that might be of useful to you.

Additional Archival Databases
Additional Historical Newspaper Databases

Presidential Libraries are repositories for the papers, records and historical materials of the Presidents. The Presidential Libraries work to ensure that these irreplaceable items are preserved and made available for the widest possible use by researchers.

• Herbert Hoover Library
   
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Library

• Harry S. Truman Library

• Dwight D. Eisenhower Library

• John F. Kennedy Library

• Lyndon B. Johnson Library

• Richard Nixon Library

• Gerald Ford Library

• Jimmy Carter Library

• Ronald Reagan Library

• George Bush Library

• William J. Clinton Library

• George W. Bush Presidential Center
   
• Barack Obama Presidential Library