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Finding Primary Sources in History
What are Primary Sources in History
Primary sources are the pieces of evidence that historians analyze and interpret to support their historical arguments.
Depending on your topic, almost any kind of material can be used as a primary source as long as it was created during the time period that you are researching or was created by someone who participated, as in the case of oral histories or memoirs.
Letters, Diaries, Scientific Data, Interviews, Photographs, Maps, Videos, Manuscripts, Newspapers, Speeches, Oral Histories, Artifacts, Government Documents, Art, Ephemera, Broadsides, Memoirs, Songs, and More!
How to Access Primary Sources
Primary sources are shared or made available in three main ways:
- Original items, such as diaries, artifacts, etc., are held in archives, museums, libraries, and private collections.
- Digitized versions of original sources are provided online by institutions and commercial vendors.
- Published collections are available from libraries, in the form of documentary sourcebooks, anthologies, critical editions, and microfilmed document collections to name a few.
Using Original Materials
To work with original materials, you'll need to visit in person.
- Identify an institution that has a collection(s) related to your topic. Try an internet search or look for digitized collections to see who created them.
- Search their library catalog for items or collections. For more details, you may need to consult a finding aid. Finding aids are documents which inventory and describe what a collection includes and how it is organized.
Here is a sample finding aid for the Luther J. Battiste, III Papers from South Carolina Political Collections. - Consult with the archivist or curator at that institution. Be as clear and specific as possible about your research and what you're seeking.
Searching Digitized Materials
Below is a selection of some of the library's major databases for primary sources relevant to the founding and antebellum eras of U.S. history.
Historical Newspapers and Magazines
- Early American Newspapers, Series 1 (1690-1876) This link opens in a new windowSubtitled "From Colonies to Nation," this collection provides online reproductions from hundreds of American newspapers from 23 states and the District of Columbia printed between 1690 and 1876.
- American Periodicals Series Online (1741-1940) This link opens in a new windowContains publications that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children’s and women’s magazines, and many other historically-significant titles.
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 1-5 This link opens in a new windowSearch a comprehensive collection of historical magazines published between 1684 and 1912.
Document Sources
- Notes of Major William Pierce on the Federal Convention of 1787Originally published in the Savannah Georgian, the reproduced notes include character sketches of the delegates and discussion of the debates.
- Colonial America (Modules I - III) This link opens in a new windowProvides access to the CO 5 series from The National Archives, UK, covering the period 1606 to 1822. CO 5 consists of the original correspondence between the British government and the governments of the American colonies. (Library subscription access available to modules 1-3.) Module III recently added!
- Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution This link opens in a new windowPrimary documentary sources dealing with the debate over the ratification of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights between 1787 and 1791, including legislative records, private papers, newspapers, broadsides, and pamphlets.
- Papers of the Revolutionary Era Pinckney Statesmen Digital Edition This link opens in a new windowEdited collection of the papers of brothers Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746–1825) and Thomas Pinckney (1750–1828) and their cousin Charles Pinckney (1757–1824).
- Papers of Eliza Lucas Pinckney and Harriott Pinckney Horry Digital Edition This link opens in a new windowThe Papers of Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722–1793) and her daughter Harriott Pinckney Horry (1748–1830) document the lives of two founding-era women who were members of one of South Carolina’s leading families.
Finding Published Collections
Before digitization, accessing published document collections from libraries was a key way to use primary materials held in distant locations without needing to travel. It is often still the easiest way to find reproductions, transcriptions, and translations of very old texts or texts in a foreign language.
- Find It @ USC Libraries: Advanced SearchAdding the term sources in the Subject field is one way to identify published document collections.
Examples:
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Personal narratives
Other Subject or Keyword terms to identify books with primary materials:
| anecdotes | interviews |
| archives | manuscripts |
| biography | notebooks |
| caricatures and cartoons | personal narratives |
| case studies | pictorial works |
| correspondence | public opinion |
| description and travel | songs and music |
| diaries | sources |
| documentary films | speeches |
| documentary photography | statistics |