LibGuides: American History: Primary Sources

What is a Primary Source?

Primary Sources
OCC guide with definitions and how to find primary sources

ArtSTOR Image Database

Artstor
Find artifacts and photographs for primary sources. Go to Advanced Search.

A repository of hundreds of thousands of digital images from the arts, humanities, and architecture, along with descriptive information. See the Guide To Using Artstor for more information.
(Artstor content can now be found on the JSTOR database. The Artstor website was retired in August 2024.)

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Gale eBooks
Use search box and enter "primary sources" and [your topic] to find digital copies of primary sources with background information.

(Gale) Searchable ebook versions of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources in the subjects of business, humanities, natural and health sciences.

Primary Source Documents & Photographs: American History

Milestone Documents
American Presidency Project
Public papers, presidential elections, inaugural addresses and more.
American President: an Online Resource on the U.S. Presidents
Black Freedom Struggle in the U.S.:Challenges and Triumphs in the Pursuit of Equality
Primary sources from Proquest.
Digital Michigan Newspaper Portal
Digitized historical Michigan newspapers from CMU's Clarke Historical Library and Chronicling America, a national newspaper digital project from Library of Congress.
Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade
Explore the data and life stories of 600,000+ people records from archives, databases, and collections. With companion Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation.
Founders Online: Writings of Six Major Shapers of the United States
Writings in the National Archives of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison.
Guide to Vietnam War resources: government documents, oral histories, antiwar movements
From College & Research Libraries News, vol.76, no.9 (2015).
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
LIbrary of Congress > Digital Collections
Formerly, American Memory. Historical Collections from the Library of Congress, including many excellent photographs.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Speeches and Interviews
A Project of the Detroit Area Library Network
National Archives and Records Administration
This agency, the official preserver of Federal records, provides access to many documents of historical interest.
National Museum of the American Indian
Search for artifacts and photos in the Smithsonian collection.
Oyez
A multimedia archive of the Supreme Court from Cornell's Legal Information Institute and Justia. It has all of the Court’s audio since October 1955, searchable and with transcripts. It has case summaries,full-text Supreme Court opinions, and provides detailed information on every justice in the Court’s history.
University of Detroit Mercy > Black Abolitionists Archive

Primary Sources in E-books

The American Eras: Primary Sources Series:

Other Reference Sources

Milestone Documents in African American History : Exploring the Essential Primary Sources

Full text primary sources and document analyses. Print version at AH and HL campus libraries.

Milestone Documents in American History : Exploring the Primary Sources that Shaped America