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
http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/primarysources
Primary Source Guide
American Environmental History Primary Sources
The following is a list of selected digital collections that include images, reports, articles, manuscripts, maps, and government documents.
- American MemoryMaintained by the Library of Congress, American Memory has well over 5 million primary source documents related to American history online.
- American Environmental PhotographsThe Library of Congress has organized this collection which consists of approximately 4,500 photographs documenting natural environments, ecologies, and plant communities in the United States at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.
- National ArchivesSearch the entire collections of the Nation's Record Keepers.
- Documents for the Study of American HistoryLegislation, speeches, policy statements, documents, and maps from 1800 - 1850
- The Evolution of the Conservation MovementThe Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920 documents the historical formation and cultural foundations of the movement to conserve and protect America's natural heritage, through books, pamphlets, government documents, manuscripts, prints, photographs, and motion picture footage drawn from the collections of the Library of Congress.
- Environmental Protection Agency HistoryBorn in the wake of elevated concern about environmental pollution, EPA was established on December 2, 1970 to consolidate in one agency a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. Since its inception, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.
- U.S. Department of the Interior - HistoryThe idea of setting up a separate department to handle domestic matters was put forward on numerous occasions by the United States Congress. It wasn't until March 3, 1849, the last day of the 30th Congress, that a bill was passed to create the Department of the Interior to take charge of the Nation's internal affairs.
- The Journals of the Lewis & Clark ExpeditionThis website makes available the text of the celebrated Nebraska edition of the Lewis and Clark journals, edited by Gary E. Moulton. Moulton's edition is the most accurate and inclusive edition ever published on the expedition.
The site features the full text, almost five thousand pages, of the journals. Also included are a gallery of images, important supplemental texts, and audio files of selected passages plus Native American perspectives. - "California As I Saw It" First Person Narratives of California's Early Years: 1849 - 1900This website consists of the full texts and illustrations of 190 works documenting the formative era of California's history through eyewitness accounts. The collection covers the dramatic decades between the Gold Rush and the turn of the twentieth century. It captures the pioneer experience; encounters between Anglo-Americans and the diverse peoples who had preceded them; the transformation of the land by mining, ranching, agriculture, and urban development; and the often-turbulent growth of communities and cities.
- Western Waters Digital LibraryThe Western Waters Digital Library (WWDL) provides free public access to a wide range of significant resources on water in the Western United States. Available resources include classic water literature, legal transcripts, maps, reports, personal papers, water project records, photographs, audio recordings, videos, and other material. The WWDL also includes selected collection guides. These guides, also known as finding aids, describe a collection’s content, significance, and relevance to a particular research topic.
- Reclaiming the Everglades: South Florida's Natural History: 1884 to1934Reclaiming the Everglades is a collaborative digital library project of the University of Miami, Florida International University, and the History Miami (formerly Historical Museum of Southern Florida) libraries and special collections. Nearly 10,000 page images of primary source materials relating to south Florida environmental history are accessible here. This digitized documentary evidence spans the years 1884 to 1934 and covers topics such as the establishment of the Everglades National Park, Native American land rights, agriculture, urban development, endangered species, invasive plants, and the role of women in the modern conservation movement.
- Gerald W. Williams CollectionThis collection consists of the collected historic photographs, personal papers, and research library of Gerald "Jerry" Williams, former national historian for the U.S. Forest Service. It's 3,000 volume research library includes a significant number of titles pertaining to environmental history and natural resources issues, as well as Pacific Northwest and general U.S. history, Native Americans, photography, and geology and geography.
- Learning Historical ResearchThis website has been developed as a basic introduction to historical research for anyone and everyone who is interested in exploring the past.
- Primary Source Collections by Adam Matthew This link opens in a new windowAdam 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.
- ProQuest (ProQuest Central and Primary Source) This link opens in a new windowProQuest 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.
