A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. Primary sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.
Library of Congress Digital Collections - Millions of documents from historic events, people, and ideas that shaped America. Over 100 thematic collections organize the over 9 million items in this digital collection.
The American Presidency Project - The American Presidency Project is sponsored by UCSB. The archives contain 88,438 documents related to the study of the Presidency.
Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy - This Yale Law School website is an excellent resource that contains a vast amount of primary source information in the form of digital documents from ancient history to the 21st century.
California Historical Society - The CHS Collection comprises a diverse body of materials documenting the history of California including: the environmental, economic, social, political, and cultural heritage of the entire state. The archive includes materials from outside California that contribute to a greater understanding of the state and its people.
Calisphere - The University of California's gateway to primary sources. More than 150,000 digitized items — including photographs, documents, newspaper pages, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other unique cultural artifacts — reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history.
Chronicling America - Chronicling America is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP)This site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1880-1922 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.. Currently, the site contains selected newspapers from California (The San Francisco Call, Sacramento Record-Union), District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Virginia and Washington.
CIA World Factbook - The CIA World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency with almanac-style information about the countries of the world.
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1877 - The Library of Congress is home to many of the most important documents in American history. This Web site provides links to materials digitized from the collections of the Library of Congress. For each item on these lists there is a page with background information about the document, and a list of links to digital materials concerning that document.
Documenting the South - This electronic text archive from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill contains primary source slavery narratives and first-person narratives of the South as well as a digitized library of southern literature.
Early America's Digital Archives - The EADA is a collection of electronic texts and links to texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820. Published by by the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities.
Foreign Relations of the United States - The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. The series is produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian and printed volumes and archived at the University of Wisconsin.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: Historic Documents Collection - Headquartered at the New York Historical Society, this collection contains more than 60,000 documents detailing the political and social history of the United States. The collection's holdings include manuscript letters, diaries, maps, photographs, printed books and pamphlets ranging from 1493 through modern times.
Grateful Dead Archive at University of California, Santa Cruz - Housed in McHenry Library’s Special Collections, the Grateful Dead Archive is used by a thriving community of scholars, researchers, teachers, students, and fans. The Archive documents the music, career, and history of the Grateful Dead, and it includes material representing the diversity and extent of their fans, the Deadheads. A large collection of the archive's holdings are available online.
The History Net - This collection of resources highlights topics in United States and world history through eyewitness accounts, interviews, photographs, and other primary and secondary sources.
A Hypertext on American History - This site contains over 100 historical documents relating to United States history, from the 1400s to the present. It includes letters, charters, essays, speeches, journal entries, inaugural addresses, autobiographies, biographies, and more. An outline of American history provides context for the primary source materials.
Library of Congress: Prints and Photography Online Catalog - The collections of the Prints & Photographs Division include photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections are particularly rich in materials produced in, or documenting the history of, the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people.
Making of America - The University of Michigan's 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: psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science & technology.
Mr. Lincoln's Virtual Library - The Library of Congress presents information on Abraham Lincoln, including the Emancipation Proclamation and his assassination, in this online exhibit of primary sources.
The National Security Archive -The world's largest nongovernmental collection of declassified U.S. documents. A leading non-profit user of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, The National Security Archive is also a public interest law firm defending and expanding public access to government information, global advocate of open government, and indexer and publisher of former secrets.
Online Archive of California (OAC) - Contains detailed descriptions of primary source collections maintained by more than 150 institutions such as libraries, historical societies, and museums, including collections maintained by the 10 University of California (UC) campuses.
Papers of Jefferson Davis - Learn about Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, through his writings. You can also find background information on his life and family.
Perseus Project - Perseus is a growing collection of online resources for studying the ancient world. Materials include ancient texts and translations, maps, articles, essays, and images from over 70 museums around the world.
Primary Documents in American History - The Library of Congress is home to many of the most important documents in American history. This web site provides links to materials digitized from the collections of the Library of Congress.
Primary Source eBooks - The library has thousands of primary source documents contained in 20 volumes of eBooks available to students 24/7 from any computer connected to the internet.
Reconstruction Primary Sources - A list of primary sources from Schmoop.
San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive - This unique moving image collection presents sixty years of social history and cultural revolution in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over 4000 hours of local newsfilm, documentaries and other programs have been donated to the J. Paul Leonard Library by broadcasters, production companies and private individuals, to be preserved as an academic resource.
San Francisco Virtual Museum - The virtual museum of the City of San Francisco brings the fabled history of San Francisco into the light of historical accuracy. The virtual museum functions as a general multi-media website utilizing text, graphics, and sounds. It is primarily a research and educational site for scholars. The site features the interesting, the amusing, and the unusual in San Francisco's history. Visit the site often as they continue to add articles on new subjects and expand their existing materials.
Teaching American History Document Library - Contains letters, speeches, documents, books, and articles on significant people and events in American political thought and history. Rather than being a comprehensive list of available resources, it is meant to be a list of the best resources available on the given subject.
Truman Presidential Museum and Library - Find primary source documents, photos, letters, journals, and more on 20th century history from the Truman Presidential Library.
Smithsonian Institution - The Smithsonian Institution offers access to primary sources and other resources on a wide variety of topics, including military and political history
Vincent Voice Library - The G. Robert Vincent Voice Library is a collection of over 100,000 hours of spoken word recordings, dating back to 1888.
Worcester Women's History Project - This online historical library of primary source material is published by the Worcester Women's History Project, which was set up to promote research into women's history.
World War I Document Archive - This site includes the full text of dozens of World War One-related documets. These include treaties, speeches and diaries. There are also extensive collections of texts pertaining to the War at Sea and to World War One medicine.
The American Presidency Project - The American Presidency Project is sponsored by UCSB. The archives contain 88,438 documents related to the study of the Presidency.
Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy - This Yale Law School website is an excellent resource that contains a vast amount of primary source information in the form of digital documents from ancient history to the 21st century.
California Historical Society - The CHS Collection comprises a diverse body of materials documenting the history of California including: the environmental, economic, social, political, and cultural heritage of the entire state. The archive includes materials from outside California that contribute to a greater understanding of the state and its people.
Calisphere - The University of California's gateway to primary sources. More than 150,000 digitized items — including photographs, documents, newspaper pages, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other unique cultural artifacts — reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history.
Chronicling America - Chronicling America is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP)This site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1880-1922 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.. Currently, the site contains selected newspapers from California (The San Francisco Call, Sacramento Record-Union), District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Virginia and Washington.
CIA World Factbook - The CIA World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency with almanac-style information about the countries of the world.
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860-1877 - The Library of Congress is home to many of the most important documents in American history. This Web site provides links to materials digitized from the collections of the Library of Congress. For each item on these lists there is a page with background information about the document, and a list of links to digital materials concerning that document.
Documenting the South - This electronic text archive from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill contains primary source slavery narratives and first-person narratives of the South as well as a digitized library of southern literature.
Early America's Digital Archives - The EADA is a collection of electronic texts and links to texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820. Published by by the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities.
Foreign Relations of the United States - The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. The series is produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian and printed volumes and archived at the University of Wisconsin.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: Historic Documents Collection - Headquartered at the New York Historical Society, this collection contains more than 60,000 documents detailing the political and social history of the United States. The collection's holdings include manuscript letters, diaries, maps, photographs, printed books and pamphlets ranging from 1493 through modern times.
Grateful Dead Archive at University of California, Santa Cruz - Housed in McHenry Library’s Special Collections, the Grateful Dead Archive is used by a thriving community of scholars, researchers, teachers, students, and fans. The Archive documents the music, career, and history of the Grateful Dead, and it includes material representing the diversity and extent of their fans, the Deadheads. A large collection of the archive's holdings are available online.
The History Net - This collection of resources highlights topics in United States and world history through eyewitness accounts, interviews, photographs, and other primary and secondary sources.
A Hypertext on American History - This site contains over 100 historical documents relating to United States history, from the 1400s to the present. It includes letters, charters, essays, speeches, journal entries, inaugural addresses, autobiographies, biographies, and more. An outline of American history provides context for the primary source materials.
Library of Congress: Prints and Photography Online Catalog - The collections of the Prints & Photographs Division include photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections are particularly rich in materials produced in, or documenting the history of, the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people.
Making of America - The University of Michigan's 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: psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science & technology.
Mr. Lincoln's Virtual Library - The Library of Congress presents information on Abraham Lincoln, including the Emancipation Proclamation and his assassination, in this online exhibit of primary sources.
The National Security Archive -The world's largest nongovernmental collection of declassified U.S. documents. A leading non-profit user of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, The National Security Archive is also a public interest law firm defending and expanding public access to government information, global advocate of open government, and indexer and publisher of former secrets.
Online Archive of California (OAC) - Contains detailed descriptions of primary source collections maintained by more than 150 institutions such as libraries, historical societies, and museums, including collections maintained by the 10 University of California (UC) campuses.
Papers of Jefferson Davis - Learn about Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, through his writings. You can also find background information on his life and family.
Perseus Project - Perseus is a growing collection of online resources for studying the ancient world. Materials include ancient texts and translations, maps, articles, essays, and images from over 70 museums around the world.
Primary Documents in American History - The Library of Congress is home to many of the most important documents in American history. This web site provides links to materials digitized from the collections of the Library of Congress.
Primary Source eBooks - The library has thousands of primary source documents contained in 20 volumes of eBooks available to students 24/7 from any computer connected to the internet.
Reconstruction Primary Sources - A list of primary sources from Schmoop.
San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive - This unique moving image collection presents sixty years of social history and cultural revolution in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over 4000 hours of local newsfilm, documentaries and other programs have been donated to the J. Paul Leonard Library by broadcasters, production companies and private individuals, to be preserved as an academic resource.
San Francisco Virtual Museum - The virtual museum of the City of San Francisco brings the fabled history of San Francisco into the light of historical accuracy. The virtual museum functions as a general multi-media website utilizing text, graphics, and sounds. It is primarily a research and educational site for scholars. The site features the interesting, the amusing, and the unusual in San Francisco's history. Visit the site often as they continue to add articles on new subjects and expand their existing materials.
Teaching American History Document Library - Contains letters, speeches, documents, books, and articles on significant people and events in American political thought and history. Rather than being a comprehensive list of available resources, it is meant to be a list of the best resources available on the given subject.
Truman Presidential Museum and Library - Find primary source documents, photos, letters, journals, and more on 20th century history from the Truman Presidential Library.
Smithsonian Institution - The Smithsonian Institution offers access to primary sources and other resources on a wide variety of topics, including military and political history
Vincent Voice Library - The G. Robert Vincent Voice Library is a collection of over 100,000 hours of spoken word recordings, dating back to 1888.
Worcester Women's History Project - This online historical library of primary source material is published by the Worcester Women's History Project, which was set up to promote research into women's history.
World War I Document Archive - This site includes the full text of dozens of World War One-related documets. These include treaties, speeches and diaries. There are also extensive collections of texts pertaining to the War at Sea and to World War One medicine.