Library: Primary Sources: U.S. Primary Sources on the Open Web

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Beware!

Sites to avoid because of the possibility of bias or misrepresentation include:

-Wikipedia
-The History Channel website
-Sites like Yahoo.com, About.com

Primary Source Search Tips

Using a search engine, such as Google, copy and paste the following search string:

digital collection site:.edu slavery

site:.edu limits your search to educational-sponsored sites, which may be more reliable than those with a .com address.
the word in red, slavery, is the topic that you are researching
You can also try the same search but replace .edu with site:.org or site:.gov However, always evaluate your sources! .org sites can be from any organization.
In addition to digital collection, try replacing that phrase with primary source

Looking for primary sources on a particular state?

Many state libraries and organizations have digitized materials related to the their state.

The Library of Congress has assembled this list of state digital libraries. Search by state or check out the Multi-State option.

Selected U.S. Primary Source Collections on the Open Web

The list of websites below includes selected U.S. primary source collections, but there are many more available!

Many libraries, museums and organizations have posted digitized primary sources online.

American Presidency Project
Archive of speeches, documents, and statistics regarding presidency.
American Rhetoric Speech Bank
Provides links to over 5,000 full-text, audio and video speeches.
American Yawp Reader: A Documentary Companion to the American Yawp
Companion to the HIS101 and 102 textbooks. Easily read a chapter of the book and then check the reader for useful primary sources on the same topics.
Avalon Project
Primary source documents in the fields of law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy, and government, broken down by time period and thematic collections. Documents are not limited to the United States and include global sources from as early as 1795 B.C.
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: A Selection of Primary Sources
Primary source documents, historical newspaper articles, pamphlets, diaries, correspondence and more from specific time periods in history marked by the opposition African Americans have faced on the road to freedom.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Search America's historic newspapers pages from 1836-1922 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.
Clio Visualizing History
Innovative online history exhibits, such as Feminist Revolution, Lawrence of Arabia, and Photography by Early American Women.
Digital History
Browse by time period on the homepage’s interactive timeline. In addition to the primary source material, the webpage also contains overviews of topics and eras, self-check quizzes, and multimedia exhibitions submitted by historians.
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Explore history from America's libraries and museums by place or date.
Documenting the American South
Primary resources for the study of southern history, literature and culture, including text, images and audio files
Duke University Libraries' Digital Collections
Includes images, films and manuscripts with strengths in Southern history, American material culture, and Women's history.
Founders Archive Online
Over 178,000 searchable, annotated, historical documents from the founders of the United States.
American Social History Project
ASHP/CML challenges traditional ways that people learn about the past with its print, visual, and multimedia materials that explore the diverse social and cultural histories of the nation.

Library of Congress: Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
Maps, photographs,letters, diaries & newspapers; hear personal accounts of events; listen to sound recordings & watch historic films.

Making of America
Primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
National Archives and Records Administration
New York Heritage
Historical, scholarly, and cultural materials held in libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state of NY. Collection items include photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, newspapers, books, and more.
Open Community Collections (JSTOR)
Open access primary source materials in a wide variety of subjects contributed by libraries, museums, and archives. Browse by collections or contributors.
Perseus Digital Library
Classical material, including original-language texts and translations, maps, images, artwork and reference material to study the ancient world.
Poems of the Anglo-African and National Anti-Slavery Standard, 1863–1864
Digitized poems from these two newspapers from the civil war era
Price of Freedom
Digital Smithsonian exhibit that includes searchable collections of material culture and military history from various American wars.
Primary Documents in American History
Groups and links to primary sources by era from 1775 to 1920.
Queen Anne's Revenge Historical Project
Primary and secondary sources on infamous pirate, Edward Thatch, otherwise known as Blackbeard, and his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge.
University of Texas Libraries' Map Collection
Scanned online historical maps from around the world.

Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new window Free resource that brings together a multitude of essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. This includes every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery. Includes hundreds of pamphlets and books written about slavery—defending it, attacking it or simply analyzing it. In addition, includes every English-language legal commentary on slavery published before 1920, which includes many essays and articles in obscure, hard-to-find journals in the United States and elsewhere.
- This link opens in a new window

Smithsonian Institution Online Collections
The Smithsonian Institution offers access to primary sources and other resources on a wide variety of topics, such as art, military and political history, and science and technology.
Vincent Voice Library
Primary source spoken word recordings dating back to 1888, such as speech clips from many U.S. presidents and other notable figures.

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Additional Help

Primary and Secondary Sources (video) Clear and short video tutorial explained by Common Craft
Using Primary Sources on the Web Defines what a primary source is, explains how to find them on the Web, and lists strategies for evaluating them.