Primary Documents

A primary source is a document that comes directly from the time an event occured. It can be a speech, letter, song, journal or diary, court decision, interview, artifact, autobiography, article, or photograph. The following pathfinder will help you find primary sources for your research topic:

Databases:
Online Subscription Databases
Databases from the Public Library

American History
Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents
Ad Access Database
The Learning Page from the Library of Congress
American Memory Collection Finder
Primary Sources for the study of African American History
Census Bureau Homepage
A Chronology of US Historical Documents
The Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850 - 1920
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence
Eyewitness to History
Eyewitness to Labor History
TheHistoryNet.com
The National Archives
New Deal Network
Smithsonian Institution
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation, 1774-1875
American Slave Narratives
The Avalon Project: World War II Documents
Civil War Women
Ellis Island Passenger Lists
Frontline: The Gulf War
Historic Government Publications of World War II
Japanese American Relocation Digital Archives
Kappler's Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties
Private Art: WWII Letters to and from the Homefront
The Salem Witchcraft Papers
Veterans History Project
World War I: Trenches on the Web

Editorial Cartoons & Images:
Baldy Editorial Cartoons, 1946-1997
America in Caricature 1765-1865
They Drew Fire: Combat Artists of World War II
NYTImages.com
Time.com Cartoons of the Week
USAToday.com Editorial Cartoons
Dr. Seuss Went to War

Maps & Images:American Memory Collection from the Library of Congress
American Photography: A Century of Images
NARA: Picturing the Century
The National Archives (select photographs)
PoliticalCartoons.com
CartoonStock
NYPL Digital Gallery
WWW Virtual Library History and Images Index
TimeLine of Art History: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Historic Maps: About.com
American Memory Maps Collection
American Posters of World War I
By Popular Demand: Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies
American Memory's Collection Finder
George Eastman Photography Collections Online
Helios Photography Online- Smithsonian
The NYPL Picture Collection Online
SAAM: Posters American Style
World War II Pictures in Color
World War II Military Situation Maps
Images of American Political History

Speeches & Interviews:
American Rhetoric: Online Speech Bank
National Public Radio Archives
Bill Gates Speech Archive
BBC Interviews
Conversations with History
Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World
Graduation Speeches
History & Politics Out Loud
History Channel Speeches
The History Place- Great Speeches Collection
"I Do Solemnly Swear . . .": Presidential Inaugurations
Lost & Found Sound
Selected Speeches of Abraham Lincoln
Talking History
The White House
Rutgers Oral History Archives
World War II Oral Histories

Supreme Court & Legal Documents:
ebook: Supreme Court Drama: Cases that Changed America
The Supreme Court of the United States
NARA (National Archives & Records Administration) 100 Milestone Documents
NARA: The Bill of Rights
ABC-CLIO American Government
ABC-CLIO Court Cases
Oyez: U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries, Oral Arguments, & Multimedia
Legal Information Institute Supreme Court Collection: Historic Decisions
Landmark Supreme Court Cases
FindLaw Cases & Codes: Supreme Court Opinions
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy
Foreign Governments/Constitutions, Laws, & Treaties

World History
Repositories of Primary Resources
EuroDocs
German Propaganda Archive
Hanover Historical Texts Project
The National Archives Learning Curve (British)
United Nations Treaty Collection
World History Archives