What is a primary source?
| Primary source: describes material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied that was created in the time under study |
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Examples:
- an artifact, a document, a recording
- new scientific data, results, and theories
- official reports, speeches, pamphlets, posters, or letters by participants, and official election returns
- records created by organizations, such as registers of births, tax records, charters, other legal documents, etc.
- eyewitness accounts, oral interviews or documents created by a person with direct knowledge of a situation
- diaries, films, biographies, leading philosophical works, scientific works
- fictional sources such as novels or plays
- physical objects like photographs, newsreels, coins, paintings or buildings
Secondary sources:
- cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources
Note: a primary source may at times be treated like a secondary source
Foreign Relations & Foreign Policy
Primary Source Materials Online
- Foreign Relations of the United StatesFrom the U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian, this series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Includes declassified U.S. State Department documents, speeches, diplomatic exchanges, etc. Coverage: 1861 - 30 years ago.
- Public Papers of the Presidents of the United StatesDigital editions of the Public Papers of the Presidents, compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. Coverage: Roughly 1929 - 10 years ago. Coverage is incomplete and varies as new digital content is added. Also available in print in the U.S. Documents collection, Garden Level, AE 2.114
- Foreign Relations Between Latin America and the Caribbean States, 1930-1944 This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1930-1944. Organized by country, this collection covers a wide range of viewpoints on political, social, and economic issues. It sheds light on the foreign relations interactions between Central American and South American countries. In the Caribbean, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic are represented. This collection includes cables, memoranda, correspondence, reports and analyzes, and treaties. Documents are from the U.S. State Department. Part of Archives Unbound.
Finding Primary Source Materials in the Library Catalog
- Department of State Bulletin (1939-1989) and U.S. Department of State Dispatch (1990-1999). Check the library catalog for print and electronic options.
- For documents of other countries, translated into English, try searching the library catalog by keywords "[country] foreign relations sources" and limit language to English. Some examples of titles available in print:
- Documents of German History--annotated excerpts from official and autobiographical documents
- Documents of Soviet-American Relations--4 volumes covering 1917-1945
- War and Diplomacy: the making of the Grand Alliance; documents from Stalin's archives--includes telegrams and drafts of treaties
North America & Latin America
- Early American Imprints. Series I, Evans (1639-1800) This link opens in a new windowFull text of almost every book and pamphlet printed in North America from 1639 to 1800.
- Early American Imprints. Series II, Shaw-Shoemaker (1801-1819) This link opens in a new windowFull text of almost every book and pamphlet printed in North America from 1801 to 1819.
- Early Encounters in North America: Peoples, Cultures, and the Environment This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1474 - 1800's. Full text works by 1,400+ authors in the form of letters, diaries, memoirs and accounts of early encounters between American Indians, Europeans, Americans, and Africans in all areas of North America. Offers advanced searching and browsing of people, events, flora, fauna and more.
Speeches
- Oyez: Supreme Court MediaAudio and written transcripts of most major Supreme Court cases since 1955
- Presidential RhetoricIncludes the text of major speeches given by each U.S. President, including Inaugural and State of the Union Addresses.
Newspapers
- Nineteenth-Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new windowCoverage: 1800's. Provides access to approximately 1.7 million pages of primary source newspaper content from the 19th century, featuring full-text content and images from numerous newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S.
Questions to Ask
- What is the tone?
- Who is the intended audience?
- What is the purpose of the material?
- What assumptions does the author make?
- What are the authors bases (including conclusions)?
- Does the author agree or disagree with other authors of the subject?
- Does the content agree with what you know or have learned about the subject?
- Where was the source made? Does it favor particular outcome?
- What is the bias?
Additional Primary Source Guides
Additional Links
- Country Studies"Contains the electronic versions of 80 books previously published in hard copy as part of the Country Studies Series by the Federal Research Division. Intended for a general audience, books in the series present a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of select countries throughout the world." Digitized by the Library of Congress, the series was originally published 1980 - 2011.