Definition
What is a primary source?
Primary sources were either created during the time period being studied or were created at a later date by a participant in the events being studied (as in the case of memoirs). They reflect the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer. Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period. Primary sources can include memoirs, diaries, correspondence, interviews, photographs, newspaper or magazine articles, film footage, news broadcasts, official documents, speeches, maps, artifacts, and works of fiction or drama.
A secondary source is a work that interprets or analyzes an historical event or phenomenon. Secondary sources are often based on primary sources.
What constitutes a primary source depends entirely on the subject of research. For example, John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage would be a secondary source in a study of John Quincy Adams or Sam Houston, but it could serve as a primary source if the topic of study were Kennedy himself.
Tips for Locating Primary Sources
Choose historically appropriate keywords. For example, use "Great War" instead of "World War I" to locate documents discussing the war during and just after it occurred. You may also consider different terms that might have been used to describe the same event from opposing sides or perspectives. Searching for the names of particular people or places may also be effective.
Think about what types of primary sources might have been produced that would be relevant to your topic; think also about which persons or organizations might have produced materials. Some possible types of sources:
| Books | Photographs and images |
| Magazine and newspaper articles | Cartoons and advertisements |
| Diaries and journals | Movies, videos, and DVDs |
| Memoirs and autobiographies | Audio recordings |
| Interviews | Public opinion polls |
| Letters | Fiction |
| Speeches | Research data and statistics |
| Documents produced by organizations | Documents produced by government agencies, including congressional hearings and census records |
To locate potential primary sources in the library's online catalog, look for subject headings that contain terms such as diaries, letters, correspondence, autobiography, interviews, or personal narratives following the main heading.
Finding Primary Sources
ONLINE PRIMARY SOURCES
The resources listed below are just a few of the online primary source resources available through ZSR Library and on the web. If you are unable to find information on your topic, schedule a personal research session with a librarian for more help!
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Accessible ArchivesProvides full-text, image level access to historical periodicals from colonial and early American history. ZSR has purchased: The Virginia Gazette, South Carolina Newspapers, and The Pennsylvania Gazette.
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Documenting the American South, Colonial and State Records of North CarolinaThe Colonial and State Records of North Carolina includes documents and materials from throughout the country and from several European repositories covering the earliest days of North Carolina's settlement by Europeans through the ratification of the United States Constitution.
The original 26 volumes of historical materials were published between 1886 and 1907. This digital version is complete for the 18th century, but some earlier volumes are still in progress. -
Evans Early American Imprints SeriesIncludes full-text of all known existing books, pamphlets, and broadsides published in the Thirteen Colonies or the United States between 1689-1800. Does not include periodicals or newspapers.
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Founders OnlineThrough Founders Online, which is hosted by the National Archives and Records Administration, one can read and search through thousands of documents and records to and from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison and see firsthand the growth of democracy and the birth of the Republic. Their letters and journals are a kind of "first draft" of the Charters of Freedom.
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Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new windowIdentify or search across a wide range of primary source collections, including historical newspapers, Archives of Sexuality and Gender, Eighteenth Century Collections Online, and more.
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HathiTrust Digital LibraryHathiTrust Digital Library is a digital preservation repository and highly functional access platform. It provides long-term preservation and access services for public domain and in-copyright content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house partner institution initiatives. Log in as a WFU user to get access to downloadable PDFs of public domain items.
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James Madison Papers Online - Library of CongressThe Madison Papers consist of approximately 12,000 items, spanning the period 1723-1859, captured in some 37,714 digital images. They document the life of the man who came to be known as the “Father of the Constitution” through correspondence, personal notes, drafts of letters and legislation, an autobiography, legal and financial documents, and his notes on the 1787 federal Constitutional Convention. The papers cover Madison’s years as a college student; as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Continental Congress, and Confederation Congress; as a delegate to the 1787 federal Constitutional Convention and the Virginia ratification convention of 1788; his terms in the House of Representatives, as secretary of state, and as president of the United States. Also documented are his retirement and the settlement of his estate; matters relating to his family, including his wife, Dolley Payne Madison; and his home, Montpelier, in Virginia. Transcriptions are provided for some documents.
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Library of Congress American Memory digital archive, 18th century collectionsThe Library of Congress has made digitized versions of collection materials available online since 1994, concentrating on its most rare collections and those unavailable anywhere else. This link pulls up a list of collections with materials dating between 1700-1799. Collections include broadsides, maps, documents from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention, and papers of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and others.
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North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new windowIncludes the full text of diaries and letters of women who lived in the United States and Canada from colonial times until 1950. Coverage: 1675-1949
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America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowSearch the full text of historical newspapers. WFU access includes the Early American Newspapers Series 1 (1690-1876), African American Newspapers Series 1 (1827-1998), African American Newspapers Series 2 (1835-1956), and Caribbean Newspapers (1718-1876). Coverage: 1690-1876, 1827-1998
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American Periodicals SeriesIncludes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century. Titles range from Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine and America's first scientific journal, Medical Repository; popular magazines such as Vanity Fair and Ladies' Home Journal; regional and niche publications; and groundbreaking journals like The Dial, Puck, and McClure's. Articles, advertisements, and illustrations are included.
Coverage: 1740-1900. -
Chronicling AmericaCovers 1836-1922, provides information about newspapers published 1690-present.
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17th-18th Century Burney Collection NewspapersCollection of 17th and 18th century English newspapers and news pamphlets. Published mostly in London, however there are also some English provincial, Irish and Scottish papers, and a few examples from the American colonies, Europe and India. Includes page images.
Coverage: 1604-1804.
