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HIS 600 - Early American Encounters

This guide contains links to readings for the course as well as library resources targeted to a greater understanding of the initial contacts between European explorers, colonists, Native Americans, and displaced Africans.

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, photographs, 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

https://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/primarysources This link opens in a new window

Early American History


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