Primary Sources

Teaching With Documents: The Teacher’s Guide to Primary Resources

 

Using Primary Sources in the Classroom from American Memory

 

The UC Berkeley Guide to Using Primary Resources

 

Why Study History Through Primary Sources

 

American Memory

From the Library of Congress’ National Digital Library. A few of the many fascinating items in this collection include:

 

   Abraham Lincoln’s papers

   Civil War Maps

   Civil War Photographs

   Ansel Adams’ Photos of Japanese Internment during WWII

   America at Work, at School, at Leisure: Watch films of turn of the century America

   The Spanish American War in Motion Pictures: Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders

   Political Cartoons from “Herblock”

 

The Avalon Project

From Yale University’s Law School. Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Lots of documents from the eras of the constitutional convention and the Revolutionary War. “The American Crisis” by Thomas Paine should not be missed!

 

Eurodocs

Transcripts and translations of key documents from European history, categorized by country and time period. One example of material found here is Nazi propaganda such as the Oath to Hitler, anti-Semitic posters, and speeches of Hitler. Another example is the letters of Columbus to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

 

The Perry-Castaneda Library Historical Map Collection

Thousands of historical maps and atlases

 

The U.S. National Archives and Records

The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, records of Congress, presidential speeches, and more.

 

The Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide. Document your own family folklore and stories.

 

Documents, Essays, and Speeches from the Magna Carta to George W. Bush’s inauguration address

 

Discoverers Web: Texts that travelers wrote while on their voyages. Includes Darwin, Louis and Clark, Coronado, Cortez, and more.

 

American Journeys: Eye Witness Accounts of Early American Exploration and Settlement:  From the Vikings to the mountain men.

 

The Authentic History Center: Primary Sources from American popular culture. Includes speeches, photos, letters, memorabilia, and audio files such as news broadcasts and radio clips. The material related to 911 is amazing. The site was created by a high school teacher.

 

Digitized Primary American History Sources: This site has tons of links to primary sources on a wide variety of topics.

 

Ease History Video clips and still photographs of historical events from 1910 to the present. There is also an extensive collection of presidential campaign materials from history.

 

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