Primary Sources: History: Home

Access to digitized historical newspapers (1860-1922) from several states. The newspaper interface allows users to zoom in/out, clip part of an image, download a pdf or jpg version, and search the text. From the Library of Congress.

Free newspaper archives are listed at the bottom of the page. From the University of Texas at Tyler.

Provides links to historical newspapers (1728-2010) that are available free online. The list is organized by state and time periods of each paper varies. Some newspaper collections are searchable and others can be browsed by date. Includes several historical African American newspapers. From the University of Pennsylvania.

A selection of full-text documents related to law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy, and government from 4,000 B.C. to the present. From Yale University.

Periodical Historical Map of Europe - an atlas depicting the state of Europe at the end of each century, from AD 1 to AD 2000.

Online sources for European history. Western European (mainly primary) historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated. From Brigham Young University.

Includes digital versions of important historical texts from the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia. From Hanover College in Indiana.

Information and links describing religion, philosophy, and other aspects of everyday life in ancient Greece. From Fordham University.

Information and links describing religion, philosophy, and other aspects of everyday life in ancient Rome. From Fordham University.

Provides access to texts and other information found on the internet that is related to modern European and American history as well as Western Civilization and World Cultures. From Fordham University in New York.

Over 600 primary source documents, including songs, maps, a glossary, and timelines. From George Mason University and City University of New York.

Were they better than ours? More fair? More political? From the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

An excellent site from the BBC containing detailed articles, multimedia, and timelines for several wars including World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.

From Northwestern University.

Documents and resources concerning the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Text and graphics describing the experience of Japanese Americans during World War II. From the Smithsonian.

Manuscripts, books, pamphlets, and photographs. From Harvard University.

Books, pamphlets and other artifacts documenting the suffrage campaign. Selected images from the collections of the Library of Congress.

A film by Ken Burns and Paul Barnes. Additional site content from PBS.

Special archive collection from Duke University.

Documents and milestones from the site of the first National Woman’s Rights Convention in 1850.

Contains the electronic versions of 80 books previously published in hard copy as part of the Country Studies Series by the Federal Research Division. Each study offers a comprehensive description and analysis of a country or region's historical setting, geography, society, economy, political system, foreign policy, and national security. From the Library of Congress.

A compilation of medieval recipes from authentic sources adapted for the 21st century kitchen, along with diverse facts on food & feasting in the Middle Ages & Renaissance and other historical culinary items.

Access to the Ellis Island Archives, which includes original documents related to immigrant arrivals.

100 full-text documents from American history from the National Archives and Records Administration.

Collections of historical documents - literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion questions. From the National Humanities Center.

In depth profiles of a range of events and persons in American history, including the Donner Party, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Miss America contest. From PBS.

Includes past and current political speeches as well as movie clips. Hosted by the Religious Communication Association, an academic organization.

Access to digitized historical newspapers (1860-1922) from several states. The newspaper interface allows users to zoom in/out, clip part of an image, download a pdf or jpg version, and search the text. From the Library of Congress.

Collection of primary source material about all aspects of American history - political, economic, social, etc. Use the collection finder to browse documents by topic or time period. From the Library of Congress.

Examine state and county topics for individual census years or over time. From the University of Virginia.

An overview of the U.S. Supreme Court system, a description of famous court cases, and explanations of judicial concepts. From the Supreme Court Historical Society.

Scanned, full-text searchable primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction (1840-1900). From Cornell U. (monographs and journals) and U. of Michigan (books and journals).

Includes exhibits about the government's effect on the American diet, the 1940 census, Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, Bill of Rights, World War II photos, and much more.

Online exhibitions at the NMAH.

Provides access to declassified records related to U.S. national security, foreign policy, diplomatic and military history, intelligence policy, etc.

Thousands of digitally restored period stereoviews and photographs, engravings, illustrations, maps, original photographs, ephemera, exhibits, and annotated complete transcriptions of primary source materials such as period and modern articles, first person accounts, and a wide selection of CPRR, UPRR, and government documents, reports, and railroad related federal and state statutes.

A virtual tour of the World's Columbian Exposition. From the University of Virginia.

From Harvard University; a collection of over 2,000 primary source documents, as well as essays on the people and era.

Provides online access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs. From the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Duke Library's collection of over 7,000 U.S. and Canadian advertisements covering five product categories - Beauty and Hygiene, Radio, Television, Transportation, and World War II propaganda - dated between 1911 and 1955

A detailed look at the various immigrant and ethnic groups that were a vital part of American culture during the second half of the 19th century. Includes political cartoons and other publications of the day.

Cartoons from Harper's Weekly and other periodicals, about presidential elections from 1860 through 1912.

Presidential campaign commercials since 1952 including video clips, information about the candidates, and election results.

An educational guide to the Great Depression of the 1930s, sponsored by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.

An image database created by Leo Robert Klein of the William and Anita Newman Library, Baruch College, CUNY.

Electronic collection of primary source materials relating to the Salem witch trials of 1692 and a new transcription of the court records. From the University of Virginia.

Primary and secondary sources for researchers, students, teachers, writers and librarians interested in the Sixties.

The Vietnam Center and Archive collects and preserves the documentary record of the Vietnam War, and supports and encourages research and education regarding all aspects of the American Vietnam Experience. From Texas Tech.

Primary sources online, including full-text transcripts, scanned original letters and diaries offering a personal perspective of the Civil War from three women, one from Alice Williamson, a 16-year-old girl. From Duke University.

An electronic archive of documents about the causes, conduct, and consequences of the Civil War. From the University of Pennsylvania.

A digital archive of primary sources that document the lives of people in Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, during the era of the American Civil War. It includes newspapers, letters&diaries, maps, images, and records from 1859-1870. From the University of Virginia.

Text from pre-civil war (late antebellum period) partisan newspaper editorials from the major political parties related to the Nebraska bill, Dred Scott, Harper's Ferry, and the Sumner incident (1854-1859). From Furman University.

Complete interview transcripts from the award-winning PBS series on the civil rights movement. From the Washington University Digital Gateway.