Primary Sources
What are Primary Sources?
Primary sources are documents or artifacts created during a historical event or by someone who personally
witnessed a historical event.
Primary sources can take many forms, including: o First-hand accounts—oral histories, memoirs,
diaries, letters, interviews, etc.
o Media accounts—newspaper or television report o Political or legal documents—Congressional
Records, Presidential Papers, Court rulings,
Speeches, census or tax records
o Artistic works—Photographs, paintings, sculptures, films
o Artifacts—clothing, buildings, pottery
All primary sources, except first-hand accounts, must have been created at the time of the historical event that
you are researching.
First-hand accounts must be an explanation of the historical event that you’re researching by someone who
personally witnessed the event.
Where Can I find Primary Sources?
There are many places to find primary sources online, like websites for archives and museums.
Here are some places where you can find primary sources:
Library of Congress
National Archives and Records
Administration
History Matters
National Security Archive
FBI Archive
Foreign Relations of the United States
Tenement Museum
Herbert Hoover Library
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
Harry S. Truman Library
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library
John F. Kennedy Library
Lyndon B. Johnson Library
Richard Nixon Library
Gerald Ford Library
http://www.loc.gov/
http://www.archives.gov/research/
http://www.archives.gov/research/
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/manypasts/
http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
http://vault.fbi.gov/
https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments
http://www.tenement.org/collections.html
http://www.ecommcode2.com/hoover/research/index.html
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/resources.html
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/library.htm
http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/research/online_documents.html
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research.aspx
http://www.lbjlibrary.org/research
http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/virtuallibrary/index.php
http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/