Research Guides: History: Primary Sources

What are primary sources?

Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, interviews, memoirs, documents produced by government agencies such as Congress or the Office of the President, audio recordings, moving pictures or video recordings, research data, and objects or artifacts such as works of art or ancient roads, buildings, tools, and weapons.

Taken from the American Library Association / Reference and User Services Association http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources

Databases with Primary Sources

The library subscribes to a number of databases that include primary source material. Please note that not everything within each database is a primary source; you will need to evaluate each source carefully to determine if it meets the criteria of a primary source for your research.

Academic Search Ultimate - EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Ultimate includes Academic Search Complete. Academic Search Ultimate is a multidisciplinary database that offers an unprecedented collection of peer-reviewed, full-text journals, including many journals indexed in leading citation indexes. Contains over 10,000 full-text journals and magazines as well as over 9,000 full-text peer-reviews journals.
American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodical Collection - EBSCO This link opens in a new window
The digitized periodical collection of the American Antiquarian Society (AAS), the premier library documenting the life of America's people from the Colonial Era through the Civil War and Reconstruction. It is the most comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912. Includes Series 1-5: 1684-1820, 1821-1837, 1838-1852, 1853-1865, and 1866-1912.
ARTSTOR This link opens in a new window
Digital library of more than one million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences. Please note that ARTSTOR is not available on mobile browsers/phones.
Biography In Context - Gale This link opens in a new window
Biography In Context offers authoritative reference content alongside magazine and journal articles, primary sources, videos, audio podcasts, and images. Covering a vast array of people from historically significant figures to present-day newsmakers, it’s continuously updated to ensure that students have access to the very latest information.
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Features primary source documents related to critical people and events in African American history.
Black Studies Center - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Black Studies Center, from Chadwyck Healey US, brings together essential historical and current material for researching the past, present and future of African Americans, the wider African Diaspora, and Africa itself. It is comprised of several cross-searchable, component databases including: Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience; International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP); The Chicago Defender; the Black Literature Index, the HistoryMakers oral history video resource, and Black Abolitionist Papers .
College in Context - Gale This link opens in a new window
Provides access to news content including full-text newspapers and periodicals, hundreds of thousands of images, videos, and audio selections that include archival film clips, and broadcast video.
Congressional Legislative & Executive Publications - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Provides legislative history information and access to a wide range of congressional documents, including published and unpublished hearings, CRS reports, committee reports, and committee prints.
Digitalia Film Library This link opens in a new window
The Digitalia film library includes both popular films and documentaries. It contains collections devoted to Latin American, Cuban, Brazilian, European and French cinema, as well as subject collections. Foreign films include captions.
Early English Books Online (EEBO) - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Early English Books Online (EEBO), from Chadwyck Healey US, contains page images of every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473–1700. For more information on the content in this database, please see the About page.
Early European Books - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Early European Books, from Chadwyck Healey UK, traces the history of printing in Europe from its origins through to the close of the seventeenth century, offering full-color, high-resolution facsimile images of rare and hard-to-access printed sources.
Gerritsen Women's History Collection of Aletta H. Jacobs - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
The Gerritsen Collection is the definitive cross-cultural resource for information on women's history. The collection provides immediate access to many primary sources, periodicals, and books, from around the world concerning women's history, feminism, and anti-feminism including titles such as The Suffragist (1913-21) and The Women's Protest Against Woman Suffrage (1912-18).
HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
"HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world." (Source: http://www.hathitrust.org/)
Health & Fitness Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
The backfiles of consumer magazines devoted to health and fitness topics. With publications aimed at a male readership (e.g. Flex, Men’s Health) and women’s titles (e.g. Women’s Health, Women’s Health Activist), this collection supports research in topics such as the history of sex roles, body image, fitness/exercise, public health, food/nutrition, and medicine. The backfile of Prevention (from 1950) offers over six decades of content reflecting contemporary developments in these areas.
HeinOnline Legal Databases This link opens in a new window
Core collection of current and historical law and law-related periodicals, classic books and reports. Includes government and political documents, such as World Constitutions, US Congressional Documents, the Federal Register and much more. Includes the HeinOnline Slavery in America and the World Collection (found within the UNC Press Law collection).
History Reference Center - EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Designed for secondary schools, public libraries, junior/community colleges and undergraduate research, this database features full text for thousands of primary source documents and informational texts.
History Vault - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
History Vault consists of manuscripts and archival collections digitized in partnership with many archival institutions. This rich collection of federal records, letters, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, financial records, and diaries is organized into nine subject categories: 1) Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle; 2) Southern Life, Slavery, and the Civil War; 3) Women's Studies; 4) Workers, Labor Unions, Progressives, and Radicals; 5) American Indians and the American West; 6) American Politics and Society; 7) International Relations and Military Conflicts; 8) Latinx History; 9) Revolutionary War and Early America.
Internet Archive: eBooks and Texts This link opens in a new window
"The Internet Archive and Open Library offers over 6,000,000 fully accessible public domain eBooks. This includes a special modern collection of over 500,000 eBooks for users with print disabilities, and a very interesting curated, modern collection for the world at large." (Source: https://archive.org/details/texts&tab=about)
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Database of ebooks and archival issues of scholarly journals. SNHU Subscribes to Arts & Sciences Archive Collections I to XV.
If you encounter issues accessing resources, please try clearing your browser's cache and cookies.
Literature Criticism - Gale This link opens in a new window
Large, extensive compilation of literary commentary. SNHU subscribes to: Contemporary Literary Criticism, 1960 - present; Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, 1900-1960; Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism; Shakespeare Criticism; and Poetry Criticism.
LitFinder - Gale This link opens in a new window
Provides access to more than 140,000 full-text poems, 840,000 poem citations and excerpts, 7,100 full-text short stories and novels, 3,800 full-text essays published in the 16th-20th centuries, 2,400 full-text speeches, and 1,250 full-text plays.
Loeb Classical Library This link opens in a new window
Classic Greek and Roman text with English translations. A sign in option is available to save searches and organize content.
Men's Magazine Archive - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
A collection of men’s-interest magazine backfiles serving research in men’s studies/history but also offering important additional perspectives for women’s studies. It includes some of the earliest publications of this type – National Police Gazette and Argosy – and covers key topics such as fashion, sports, health, and arts/entertainment. Covers 1845 - 2015.
Mergent ARCHIVES This link opens in a new window
An online database that provides access to a vast archive of company, equity and industry information, including the 'Moody's Manuals' from inception;
New York Times (Historical) - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Digitized articles from the New York Times from 1851 - 2020. Looking for the most recent NYT editions?
News & Newspapers - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Full text of U.S. and international news sources. Includes coverage The New York Times and the Times of London, plus hundreds of other news sources and news wires
NewsBank: Access World News This link opens in a new window
NewsBank consolidates current and archived information from thousands of newspaper titles, as well as newswires, web editions, blogs, videos, broadcast transcripts, business journals, periodicals, government documents and other publications. Shapiro Library also subscribes to the current year of the Union Leader in color which includes ads
Periodicals Archive Online - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Online periodical archive covering the arts, humanities and social sciences. All journals are indexed from vol.1 Issue 1.

Primary Source Collections by Adam Matthew
Adam Matthew publishes unique primary source collections from archives around the world. SNHU Shapiro Library subscribes to the following collections: African American Communities, American History 1493-1945, the Confidential Print: North America collection in Archives Direct, Defining Gender, Empire Online, Everyday Life and Women in America 1800-1920, Race Relations in America, and Socialism On Film. For more information on how to use these database, please see these tutorial videos.

Project Gutenberg This link opens in a new window
Project Gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks. Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s great literature here, with a focus on older works for which U.S. copyright has expired. Thousands of volunteers digitized and diligently proofread the eBooks, for you to enjoy.
Project MUSE (Standard Collection) This link opens in a new window
We have access to full-text, current, peer-reviewed journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Shapiro Library subscribes to the Standard Collection.
ProQuest (ProQuest Central and Primary Source) This link opens in a new window
ProQuest includes all ProQuest Central databases as well as many primary source databases. If you would like to access ProQuest Central only, you can do so at the following link: ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window.
Science This link opens in a new window
Science is a weekly, peer-reviewed journal that publishes significant original scientific research, plus reviews and analyses of current research and science policy. Shapiro Library has access to Science (1997-Present) and the Science Classic Archive (1880-1996).
U.K. Parliamentary Papers - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
U.K. Parliamentary Papers empowers researchers to explore the British perspective on historical and contemporary events through a vast and authoritative archive of official government documents spanning three centuries. Includes House of Commons and House of Lords papers.
U.S. History In Context - Gale This link opens in a new window
Includes more than 5,000 primary source documents, full-text articles drawn from top periodicals and newspapers, thousands of images, videos, and audio selections.
Vogue Archive - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
American fashion and lifestyle magazine. Access available from 1892 to present.
Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Searchable database of articles from the world's leading financial newspaper
Women's Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
An archival research resource comprising the backfiles of leading women's interest consumer magazines. Issues are scanned in high-resolution color and feature detailed article-level indexing. Coverage ranges from the late-19th century through to 2005 and these key primary sources permit the examination of the events, trends, and attitudes of this period. Among the research fields served by this material are gender studies, social history, economics/marketing, media, fashion, politics, and popular culture.
World History In Context - Gale This link opens in a new window
World History In Context reaches back to the ancient world — and forward to today's headlines — to deliver a chronicle of the great cultures and societies that have formed the history of the human race. Includes primary sources, reference, and multi-media content.

American History Primary Sources

The following is a list of selected digital collections that include images, manuscripts, maps, and government documents.

American Memory
Maintained by the Library of Congress, American Memory has well over 5 million primary source documents related to American history online.
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection has over 20,000 maps and images online and focuses largely on North and South America.
Digital Public Library of America
Resources from US libraries, archives and museums, including photographs, books, maps, news footage, oral histories, personal letters, museum objects, artwork, government documents, and more.
Documenting the American South
DAS is maintained by the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and is dedicated to "providing access to digitized primary materials that offer Southern perspectives on American history and culture.
Edward E. Ayer Digital Collection
One of the world's premiere sources of primary documents on American Indians. Topics covered include Native American archaeology, ethnology, art, and language; the history of the contact between Europeans and native peoples; voyages, travels, and accounts of early America; the development of cartography of the Western Hemisphere; and the history of the aboriginal peoples under the jurisdiction of the U.S. in the Philippine Islands and Hawaii.
Harvard University Digital Collections
Harvard University has a number of digital collections that focus on different topics, geographical areas, and time periods.
Library of Anglo-American Culture
The History Search allows you to browse documents by country/event of interest. Note: not all documents are primary sources and many are in languages other than English.
Library of Congress Picture Collection
The Library of Congress has made 1.25 million digitized photographs searchable using this new interface. Collections range from digitized cartoons and baseball cards to depression-era photographs documenting the struggle of migrant workers.
The Making of America
From the University of Michigan, Making of America (MoA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints.
National Archives
Search the entire collections of the Nation's Record Keepers.
NY Historical Society | Making History Matter
NYHS manuscript collections relating to slavery
NYPL Archives & Manuscripts
From the New York Public Library you can search "over 60,000 linear feet of personal papers and organizational records supporting historical research".
Oral Histories of the American South
A project to digitize 500 interviews, this collection contains interviews with civil rights leaders in the south and southern politicians such as Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text & Image
Over 2,000,000 images from various collections of rare books, manuscripts, papyri, photographs and sheet music are available for your viewing. Each collection has its own web site that is unrestricted in the interests of knowledge and learning.
Suffragist Oral History Project
From UC Berkeley Library, this collection contains 12 interviews with participants in the suffragist movement.
University of New Hampshire Digital Collections
The University of New Hampshire has digitized documents relating to New Hampshire history including government documents, photographs, maps, etc.

World History Primary Sources

The following is a selected list of digital collections supporting world history research.

Ancient History Sourcebook
This site focuses on online texts, which, for the most part, means public domain texts translated more than 75 years ago. In many cases it is these older translations which are used in commercially available sourcebooks. Coverage ranges from Mesopotamia to the origins of Christianity
Avalon Project
Yale Law School’s Avalon Project contains digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. Covers time periods from ancient history to the modern day.
Digital Scriptorium
The Digital Scriptorium is a growing image database of medieval and renaissance manuscripts that unites scattered resources from many institutions into an international tool for teaching and scholarly research.
Euro Docs
Search primary sources by European country of origin
European History Primary Sources from the British Library
Search for primary sources from the British Library by country, language, period, subject, or type of source.
Hanover Historical Texts Collection
The Hanover Historical Texts Collection makes available digital versions of historical texts for use in history and humanities courses. Material touches on the Crusaders, Italian Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, French Revolution, and many other topics.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
From Fordham University, find primary sources for Ancient, Medieval, and Modern periods. The site offers several subdivisions (i.e. African, women, etc.) as well
The Labyrinth
From Georgetown University: Medieval studies scholarly resources compiled and organized from around the world. Contains texts in all European languages, including Latin and Greek.
Library of Congress Global Gateway
This resource contains a number of digitized international resources including cuneiform tablets, photographs and manuscripts.
Perseus Digital Library
Tufts University brings you an evolving collection of resources for the study of the ancient world, including archaeology, atlas, texts and translations, text tools and lexica.
World Digital Library
The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.