Using Primary Sources
Primary sources "include all materials produced by people. They include obvious sources like diaries, letters, speeches, government documents, contemporary publications, laws, police and court records, maps, newspapers, and photographs.
"Remember, however, that there are other primary sources too: public opinion polls, telephone directories, coins, inscriptions, advertisements, business records, works of art, city directories, poetry, music, buildings, statues, organizational minutes, railroad schedules, birth, marriage, and death records, novels, political debates, films, furniture, and tombstones. This list is far from exhaustive." (From the UMW History and American Studies' Primary Sources web page.)
Databases for Primary Source Materials
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Accessible Archives(coverage varies)
Provides access to the Virginia Gazette (1736-1780), the South Carolina Gazette (1732-1780), the Pennsylvania Gazette (1728-1800), Godey's Lady's Book (1830-1898), the Liberator (1831-1865), and assorted other publications, including Civil War-era newspapers, 19th-century African American newspapers, and American county histories (to 1900). -
American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection(1691-1877)
Provides digital access to more than 6,500 American magazines and journals published between 1691 and 1877. (Because all issues of bound volumes were digitized, some periodicals beyond 1877 are included.) -
American Periodicals Series Online(1741 to 1940)
Provides digitized images of more than 1,000 American magazines, journals, and newspapers. -
Chicago Tribune: ProQuest Historical Newspapers(1847-1996)
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Ethnic NewsWatchContent includes minority news reporting, non-mainstream sources, and international perspectives.
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European Views of the Americas: 1493-1750A comprehensive guide to printed records about the Americas written in Europe before 1750. Contains more than 32,000 entries.
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HarpWeek: The Civil War Era and Reconstruction I and II(1857-1877)
Provides full-text access to 21 years of Harper's Weekly, a leading 19th-century illustrated newspaper. -
New York Times: ProQuest Historical Newspapers(1851 to within the last several years)
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ProQuest Historical Newspapers(coverage varies)
Provides full-text and full-image articles for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune. Users can search the newspapers separately or together. -
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law"Brings together a multitude of essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world."
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Washington Post: ProQuest Historical Newspapers(1877 to 2003)
Primary Source Collections
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American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of Published American Diaries and Journals to 1980 by Call Number: REFB CT 214 .A7x 1983ISBN: ISBN:0810318008Publication Date: 1983-11-01 -
Primary Documents by Call Number: REFB E 169.12 .A471977 2004ISBN: 9780787665876Publication Date: 2003-12-05 -
Dictionary of Historic Documents by Call Number: REFB D 9 .D525 2003ISBN: 0816047723Publication Date: 2003-03-01 -
Milestone Documents in World History by Call Number: REFB D 5 .M54 2010ISBN: 9780979775864Publication Date: 2010-01-01 -
Primary Documents by Call Number: REFB E 169.12 .A471977 2004ISBN: 9780787665876Publication Date: 2003-12-05
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Encyclopedia of American Historical Documents by Call Number: REFB E 173 .E54 2004ISBN: 0816049955Publication Date: 2004-04-01 -
Milestone Documents in African American History by Call Number: REFB E 184.6 .M55 2010ISBN: 9781935306054Publication Date: 2010-06-01 -
Documents That Changed the Way We Live by Call Number: REFB CB 245 .J343 2017ISBN: 9781538100332Publication Date: 2017-05-26 -
Milestone Documents in World History by Call Number: REFB D 5 .M54 2010ISBN: 9780979775864Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Tips for Finding Primary Sources
- Check the bibliography and notes of your secondary sources.
- Watch for these terms in subject headings
- Sources
- Personal narratives (for first-person accounts)
- Diaries
- Correspondence
- Interviews
- Look in the library catalog for diaries, journals, memoirs by individuals, collections of the papers of notable people, and published collections of primary resources.
- Use the Advanced Search feature in the library's catalog to refine your search.
Newspapers are often excellent primary sources. Be sure to check the Newspaper Articles guide, authored by Emeritus Librarian Jack Bales.
Also be sure to check the UMW History and American Studies Resources page.
Primary Source Collections Online
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Avalon ProjectIncludes "digital documents relevant to the fields of law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy, and government" from ancient times to the present.
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Digital CollectionsThe University of Delaware's gateway to various collections of primary sources.
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Eyewitness to History"History through the eyes of those who lived it." Covers the ancient world to the present.
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Finding Primary SourcesPart of the eHistory page at Ohio State University. Includes letters, historical texts, documents, and oral histories.
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G. Robert Vincent Voice LibraryIncludes recordings of speeches, oral history interviews, performances, and lectures. See especially the gallery for U.S. Presidents.
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Internet History Sourcebooks Project"A collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts."
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Internet Sites with Primary Sources for U.S. HistoryA massive collection that includes web pages organized by century, state and region, maps, and newspapers.
From Bowling Green State University Libraries -
National Union Catalog of Manuscript CollectionsProvides a gateway for locating archival and manuscript collections.
Libraries and Archives
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Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers(Library of Congress)
Accesses newspaper pages from 1860-1922. This site also provides bibliographic information (name changes, publication runs, etc.) for American newspapers published from 1690 to date. -
Digital State ArchivesIncludes links to the state archives of all fifty states.
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Library of Congress: Digital Collections and ServicesProvides "access to print, pictorial, and audio-visual collections and other digital services." The Library of Congress's page also includes a list of periodicals and newspapers "available inside the library."
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Library of Virginia Document BankA collection of historical documents. Researchers can browse by era and theme.
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Mount VernonDatabases and Collections of George Washington's Estate
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Unknown No LongerA "database of Virginia slave names." Maintained by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
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Virginia Memory (Library of Virginia)The Library of Virginia, the state archives and reference library, "maintains vast and varied collections of print materials, manuscripts, archival records, newspapers, photographs and ephemera, maps and atlases, rare books, and fine art that tell the history of the commonwealth and its people." See also the link to its Digital Collections.
UMW Special Collections and University Archives
Simpson LIbrary's Special Collections and University Archives includes a collection of rare books and archival materials relating to the history of the Fredericksburg area and of the institution. Access is by appointment only at this time. To make an appointment, call (540) 654-1752 or email
archives@umw.edu.
Our Digital Collections include collections of photographs, materials relating to James Farmer, oral histories compiled by university faculty and students, and a rich array of other items. You can search through digitized versions of the Battlefield, the Bullet, Blue & Gray Press, and other publications using Eagle Explorer.
The DIgital Archiving Lab in room 322 of the Hurley Convergence Center has specialized equipment for scanning and preserving materials from our collections or for projects in History and American Studies courses.