Research Guides: ENG 101: Craft of Language: Primary Sources

What are Primary Sources?

A primary source is a source of information, such as document, recording, or artifact, that has a direct connection to a person from a period of time. Examples of primary documents are correspondence, diaries, memoirs or oral interviews.

A secondary source uses primary sources to create their argument. Examples of secondary sources are books or journal articles.

Primary Sources via SJU Libraries

Accessible Archives This link opens in a new window
American newspapers, books, and other resources from the 19th and 20th centuries, including content for the Civil War, anti-slavery movements, African-American history, First World War, and women's suffrage.
American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new window
Full-text from historical periodicals (1684-1912) covering multiple facets of American history, life, culture, technology, religion, economics.
Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 This link opens in a new window
Index to articles published in selected general-interest periodicals, 1890 - 1982.
New York Times Historical This link opens in a new window
1851 - 2018. Search or browse content of the entire paper. Special search features.

Primary Sources on the Web

The Library of Congress Digital Collections
This site offers a rich collection of over 7 million American primary historical documents dating back to the 15th century. Browse to find your topic, or do a specific search, and then use the subject headings you find in relevant documents - they will be hyperlinked to other documents under the same heading.
National Archives
The portal into the U.S.'s National Archives, click on "Start your Research" to investigate research paths and see what they make available online.
Chronicling America: Library of Congress
Collection of late 19th/early 20th century newspapers
DocsTeach: Digital Vaults
From the Foundation of the National Archives, this site allows you to browse or search for historical documents that span U.S. history.
U.S. Department of State - Office of the Historian
This site offers searchable collections (sometimes in full-text format, other times only in bibliographic format) of historical documents pertaining to foreign relations in the United States during the Kennedy, up to the Ford administration. Go to the 'Historical Documents' page to browse the resources by theme, by chronology, or by volumes, as they were published.
George Mason University - History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web
This site offers a searchable and browsable collection of digital primary source archives available through the open web.
Yale Law School , Lillian Goldman Law Library - Avalon Project
This site offers primary documents important to the field of law, such as agreements, treaties, accords, hearings, etc. Browse through their twentieth century collection, or search through the site for specific keywords that reflect your topic of interest.
Making of America from Cornell University
Digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints.
Making of America from University of Michigan
Done in collaboration with Cornell, a digital library collection of primary sources from 1850 - 1877, concerning American history from antebellum through reconstruction periods. The collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints.
Historical Newspapers Online, University of Pennsylvania