Primary Sources

At Ashbrook, we teach about America by using original historical documents. We believe this list of 50 core documents provides an essential starting point for students, teachers, and citizens to think more deeply about what it means to be an American.

The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook has expanded greatly since its creation, and now contains hundred of local files as well as links to source texts throughout the net.

Primary sources were either created during the time period being studied or were created at a later date by a participant in the events being studied (as in the case of memoirs). They reflect the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer. Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period.

Primary Documents in American History (Virtual Services and Programs, Digital Reference Section, Library of Congress).

A comprehensive research database of the Collection with images is available to universities and research libraries by subscription through digital publisher Adam Matthew.

The National Archives Digital Classroom: Primary Sources, Activities and Training for Educators and Students.

Primary sources provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. They are created by witnesses or recorders who experienced the events or conditions being documented. Often these sources are created at the time when the events or conditions are occurring, but primary sources can also include autobiographies, memoirs, and oral histories recorded later.

Primary sources are original materials that have not been altered or distorted in any way. In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called original source or evidence) is an artifact, a document, a recording, or other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about the topic.

Sets of primary sources on baseball, Jamestown, Jim Crow laws, the Civil War, immigration, Spanish exploration, and the Dust Bowl from the Library of Congress including photos, maps, manuscripts, audio files, films, sheet music, and cartoons.

Online Sources for European History. Selected Transcriptions, Facsimiles and Translations.

Look through a massive library of art objects, sites, and buildings. The library's catalogs document 1305 coins, 1909 vases, 2003 sculptures, 179 sites, 140 gems, and 424 buildings. Each catalog entry has a description of the object and its context; most have images. Descriptions and images have been produced in collaboration with many museums, institutions, and scholars. Catalog information and keywords have been taken from standard sources, which are cited in the entries for each object.