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Primary Sources

What are primary sources?
In brief: 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.
        For more explanations and examples, see the following links:

        Library and Archives Canada: Defining Primary and Secondary Sources
        Some Grey Matter: Primary vs Secondary Sources in History
        Princeton University Library: What is a Primary Source?
        BMCC Library: Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Databases

World Book Advanced (search for your topic and primary sources will be listed in the right column of results window)
Gale VRL eBook – American Decades Primary Sources

EBSCO - Primary Sources
ProQuest – Historical New York Times (1851 to 2005)
ProQuest - Historical Chicago Tribune (1849 to 1986)

Web Sites

American History
Life Magazine Archives 1936 to 1972 (via Google Books) - hint: use "search all issues" (upper left corner of webpage)
American Heritage Magazine Archive 1954 to current (online) - also available via the databases listed above
Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
American Presidency Project
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A Chronology of US Historical Documents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
Image Archive on American Eugenics Movement
Africans in America
Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro - March 1925 Issues of Survey Graphic - special issue devoted to the African American "Renaissance" underway in Harlem.
Japanese-American Internment
WWII Resources
Costume History
The Wars for Vietnam, 1945-75
Medicine and Madison Avenue
Women Working, 1800-1930
North American Slave Naratives, Beginnings to 1920
The Authentic History Center: Pimary Sources from American Popular Culture
Free Teaching Resources from the Federal Government
Footnote
American Journeys

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
LIFE Photo Archive (Google)
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
Propaganda Posters - World War II
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
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
International Institute of Social History Collections
Holocaust Chronicle
Holocaust Collection
German Propaganda Archive
Internet History Sourcebook Project
Europeana

Books

There are numerous books containing primary source documents. Try searching Alexandria, using your topic terms and "primary documents" as keywords.