What is a Primary Source?
Primary sources:
- Are original records created at the time an historical event occurred; they may also be written well after-the-fact by participants in the event. (Think of memoirs, autobiographies, or transcriptions of recollections - i.e. oral histories.)
- Need not focus on a specific event; rather, they may more generally reflect the ideas and values of a particular time period. Examples of these include books written at the time on race, religion, slavery, etc.
- May include personal writings such as letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and autobiographies (in manuscript or published form). They may also include newspaper articles or editorials, speeches, interviews.
- May be produced by governments, tribes, and religious bodies, for example, the United States Office of Indian Affairs, the Cherokee Nation, the Jesuits, etc.
In short, primary sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research.
Adapted from Using Primary Sources on the Web, History Section, Reference and User Services Association, American Library Association, accessed 2/235/11]
For an overview of primary sources available at Smith and in the Five Colleges, consult the Find Primary Sources page.
On the Web . . .
- Library of Congress Digital Collections Primary source materials relating to U.S. history and culture.
- Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, 1610 - 1791 (73 vols.)Detailed eyewitness accounts of the activities of Jesuit priests living in the wilderness among many different Indian nations; these are the earliest and most compelling written records of North America at the time of white contact.
- Kappler's Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, 1778-1970 (Oklahoma State Univ.)U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes.
- Massachusetts Historical SocietySee especially the Adams and Jefferson papers, as well as maps of the French & Indian War and other primary sources online.
Digital Collections
For the full-range of primary sources located in print and online, consult the <Find Primary Sources page.
- America's Historical Newspapers 1690-1922 This link opens in a new windowCover-to-cover reproductions of hundreds of historic newspapers, based on the Brigham's History and Bibliography of American Newspapers series.
- American Periodicals [ProQuest] 18th-early 20th Century This link opens in a new windowCombines American Periodical Series (APS) and American Periodicals from the Center for Research Libraries, offering full text access to 18th-early 20th century American magazines and journals.
- Ancestry (Library Edition) This link opens in a new windowCensus, vital, church, court & immigration records for the US & UK, plus material on other areas. Major components: US federal census 1790-1940 (incl. manuscript returns); historical maps; Social Security Death Index; etc.
- Early American Imprints, 1639-1820 This link opens in a new windowDigitized reproductions of early American books and tracts, covering foreign affairs, diplomacy, politics, religion, etc.
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) [Gale] 1701-1800 This link opens in a new windowIncludes every significant English- and foreign-language title printed in the United Kingdom, along with thousands of important works from the Americas.
- The Making of the Modern World [Gale] 1450-1945 This link opens in a new windowCovers social history, early commerce, trade, colonization, industry, political systems, revolutions, slavery, exploration, philosophy, and more.
- Sabin Americana [Gale] 1500-1926 This link opens in a new windowBased on Sabin's Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to America from Its Discovery to the Present Time. Full text books, pamphlets, broadsides & documents, from sermons & tracts to legislation & literature. Covers all the Americas.
- Slavery & Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive [Gale] This link opens in a new windowPresents over 20 historical collections in their entirety, including:
• The American Missionary Association Archives, 1839-1882
• The American Colonization Society Papers
• Papers of British abolitionist Sir Thomas Fowell-Buxton
• Papers of American abolitionist Lewis Tappan
• Salmon P. Chase Papers
• Anti-Slavery Collection from Oberlin College
• Papers of the Christian Faith Society
• Abolitionist periodicals - U.S. Congressional Serial Set 1817-1994 This link opens in a new window Reports, Documents, and Journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives provide a rich primary source material on all aspects of American history.
The Online Catalog & Primary Sources
As you search in the online catalog, watch for the words "personal narratives," "diaries," "interviews," "correspondence," "pamphlets," and "sources" as part of the subject headings; these may point you to published primary sources in the library collections.
You can also search for these words, for example, cherokee* and (sources or narratives or diaries)
Other clues may be buried in the title, authorship, date of publication, etc.
