Finding Primary Sources - HIST 2250 Research and Writing in History - Rafshoon - Spring 2024 - Library Research Guides at Georgia Gwinnett College

Primary Source Materials

Primary sources provide the evidence upon which history is written. These sources are not contained in one database, website, or book so different strategies are used to find them. Newspapers, letters, photographs, speeches, autobiographies, oral histories, maps, government records, and many other items are considered primary sources.

Where to Look - General Sources

TIP: On the Kaufman Library A-Z list use the drop-down menu All Database Types and choose "Primary Source" to see databases that contain primary sources.

Historical Newspapers: The Atlanta Constitution (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized newspaper archive, coverage from 1868 to 1984
Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized newspaper archive, coverage from 1791 to 2003
Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized newspaper archive, coverage from 1851 to 2013
Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized newspaper archive, coverage from 1877 to 2000

Below are some external resources for primary sources.

The American Presidency Project
On-line source for presidential public documents. Materials provided by the White House media office, the Government Printing Office, and the National Archives (NARA). These include texts of presidential documents such as statements and remarks; press conferences; statements; Executive Orders; (some) memorandums; and Proclamations. They also include daily press briefings, statements from the Office of the Press Secretary, and print media pool reports.
Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers (The Library of Congress)
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1777-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.
David Rumsey Map Collection
The David Rumsey Map Collection was started over 35 years ago and contains more than 150,000 maps. The collection focuses on rare 16th through 21st century maps of North and South America, as well as maps of the World, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. The collection includes atlases, globes, wall maps, school geographies, pocket maps, books of exploration, maritime charts, and a variety of cartographic materials including pocket, wall, children's, and manuscript maps. Items range in date from around 1550 to the present.
Europeana
The Europeana website provides cultural heritage enthusiasts, professionals, teachers, and researchers with access to Europe's digital cultural heritage. Why? To inspire and inform fresh perspectives and open conversations about our history and culture. To share and enjoy our rich cultural heritage. To use it to create new things.
EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History
Collection of links to sites with primary sources.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
A collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented for educational use. Primary sources are available here mainly for use in high-school and university/college courses. From Fordham University.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.