LibGuides: American History: Find Primary Source Websites & Databases

Primary Sources vs Secondary Sources

Primary Source Databases

American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window Created by the Alexander Street Press, this Web site showcases letters and diaries from the American Civil War. Each source has been carefully chosen using leading bibliographies, and there are over 2,000 authors in the collection.
American History in Video This link opens in a new window American History in Video provides the largest and richest collection of video available online for the study of American history, with 2,000 hours and more than 5,000 titles on completion.
HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories This link opens in a new window includes 2,162 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of information, so providing a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada between 1800 and 1950. Composed of contemporaneous letters and diaries, oral histories, interviews, and other personal narratives, the series provides a rich source for scholars in a wide range of disciplines.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window includes the immediate experiences of 1,325 women and 150,000 pages of diaries and letters. The materials have been carefully chosen using leading bibliographies, supplemented by customer requests and more than 7,000 pages of previously unpublished material. The collection also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography of the sources in the database.
Oral History Online This link opens in a new window This database provides in-depth indexing to more than 2,700 collections of Oral History in English from around the world. In some cases the full text is available.

Other Libguides

U.S. History: Primary Source Collections Online
Sam Houston State University

Historical Statistics

Historical Census Browser

Online Primary Sources

The Avalon Project at Yale Law School (American History: A Documentary Record): This site is the place to go to access government treaties, agreements between nations, declarations of war, etc.

All things Jeffersonian at the University of Virginia online archives

The National Archives

Even more fun is The National Archives' Digital Vault. Use the tags to search for your topic. A great place for images!
Library of Congress

Cornell University Library's Making of America (MOA), a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology.

Here is another MOA site at University of Michigan. This is not a mirror site of the Cornell site

The New York Public Library Digital Gallery Great for historic images of NYC and New Yorkers

The Internet Modern History Sourcebook (Fordham Univ.)

The National Museum of American History

The New Jersey Historical Society

AmDocs: Documents for the Study of American History

Disability Studies Quarterly

Disability History Museum

BlackPast

Temple University African American Studies Research Guide

Visiting local archives

The Monmouth County Historical Room at Monmouth County Library: "The Monmouth County Historical Room collection contains a variety of materials about state, county, and local history including books, magazines, directories, scrapbooks, and various other materials." 125 Symmes Drive Manalapan, NJ 07726

It's a hike, but you can also visit the state archives in Trenton. There is a certain amount of information that you can obtain online. There is a searchable database. You can obtain the state's 1885 census there. There is also an image collection.

Philadelphia Area Special Collections From here you link to area special and university libraries. Most necessitate a personal visit, but there is a limited amount of primary source material online.

What are primary sources?

A primary source is a document or other historical evidence written or created during or near the period under study. Because of their close relation to the subject, primary sources usually offer special insight about their topic. The person, organization, or body under study often generates them. There are many examples of primary sources; each varies according to the nature of your topic. Primary sources generally are:

• Original Documents: Diaries, manuscripts, speeches, letters, minutes, interviews, news or film footage, autobiographies, and official records and documents. Note: Translations and excerpts are acceptable.

• Creative Works: Poetry, drama, novels, short stories, music, and art

• Relics or Artifacts: Jewelry, pottery, furniture, clothing, and buildings

Finding Manuscripts

Monmouth University Special Collections

Primary Source Training Module

Primary Source Village
Primary Source Training Module

Unsure about a Given Web Site?

Cultivate an attitude of skepticism when it comes to web-based content. If you have any doubt whatsoever about the reliability of any given website, clear it with your instructor or check with a librarian before you use it in your paper.

American History