LibGuides: History: Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Search Tips

There are some keywords that you can look for and use to your advantage while searching for historical data. If you are looking for specific documents, you should search for that title information. If you're looking for personal accounts, letters, etc., regarding a specific historical period, there are several things to try.

1. Determine the subject heading for the event or era

2. Consider using words such as:

diaries
letters
narrative
memoirs
stories
primary documents OR primary sources
autobiography, etc.
Don't use all the words at once, try each of them separately

3. Search for key figures from historical events as authors rather than as subjects

Example Electronic Resources in Dugan Library

Code of Hammurabi, C.1780 BCE by Hammurabi; L.W. King (trans.)
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton; John Jay; James Madison
Publication Date: 1787-1788

Historical Periodical Databases

The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) provides five collections of historical periodicals covering the period of 1691–1877. Search all five collections at once using the search box below, or follow the links to the individual collections.

Historical Periodicals Collection 1684-1820 (American Antiquarian Society Series 1) This link opens in a new window
The AAS Historical Periodicals Collection: 1691-1820 presents over 500 titles from 1691 through 1820. Representing over two centuries of print culture from early colonial imports to titles published on American soil during the Revolution and early republic, Series 1 is first of the five series created from periodical holdings from one of the premier repositories in the United States, the American Antiquarian Society. The entire AAS collection features over 7500 titles from the seventeenth through the late nineteenth century. The subject matter covered in Series 1 is broad in scope and covers all aspects of American society during this time period.
Historical Periodicals Collection 1821-1837 (American Antiquarian Society Series 2) This link opens in a new window
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection Series 2 presents over 1000 titles dating from 1821 through 1837. The series two is second of the five series created from serials holdings belonging to one of the premier repositories in the United States, the American Antiquarian Society and featuring about 6500 titles from the seventeenth through the late nineteenth century. The subject matter covered in Series 2 represents the Jacksonian Democracy era in history and is broad in scope and includes agriculture, entertainment, history, literary criticism, and politics
Historical Periodicals Collection 1838-1852 (American Antiquarian Society Series 3) This link opens in a new window
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 3 presents over 1,800 titles dating from 1838 through 1852. Series 3 is the third of five series created from serials holdings of one of the premier repositories in the United States, the American Antiquarian Society. The themes presented in Series 3 reveal a rapidly growing young nation, where industrialization, the railroads, regional political differences, and life on the western frontier were daily realities. Subjects covered in the collection reach into every facet of American life, including science, literature, medicine, agriculture, women’s fashion, family life, and religion.
Historical Periodicals Collection 1853-1865 (American Antiquarian Society Series 4) This link opens in a new window
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection - Series 4 presents over 1,100 titles dating from 1853 through 1865. Series 4 is the fourth of five series created from serials holdings of one of the premier repositories in the United States, the American Antiquarian Society. While the Civil War is a focal point of the collection, we also find a diverse record of the continuance of daily life for many Americans—both leading up to and during the war. News from the battlefront can be found, in addition to the usual breadth of subject matter found in previous collections that include science, literature, medicine, agriculture, women’s fashion, family life, and religion.
Historical Periodicals Collection 1866-1912 (American Antiquarian Society Series 5) This link opens in a new window
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 5 presents over 2,500 titles dating from 1866 through 1877. Series 5 is the fifth of five series created from serials holdings of one of the premier repositories in the United States, the American Antiquarian Society. The themes presented in Series 5 reflect a nation that persevered through a most difficult set of circumstances: a bloody civil war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives; the incorporation of the recently-freed African Americans into American life; a population that rapidly expanded into the Western territories. Broad subject areas covered in the collection reach into every facet of American life, including science, literature, medicine, agriculture, women’s fashion, family life, and religion.

Example Print Resources in Dugan Library

Readings in World Civilizations by Kevin Reilly
Call Number: CB 69 .R43 1988
ISBN: 0312004303
Publication Date: 1987
800 Days on the Eastern Front by Nikolai Litvin
Call Number: D 764 .L533 2007
ISBN: 9780700615179
Publication Date: 2007
The Peloponnesian War by Lawrence A. Tritle
Call Number: DF 229 .T75 2004
ISBN: 9780313324994
Publication Date: 2004
The Warsaw Diary of Adam Czerniakow by Adam Czerniakow
Call Number: DS 135 .P62 W2613 1979
ISBN: 9780812825237
Publication Date: 1978
Until the Rulers Obey by Clifton Ross (Editor); Marcy Rein (Editor)
Call Number: HN 110.5 .A8 U6 2014
ISBN: 9781604867947
Publication Date: 2014
The primary sources of American Government by Randall Hylman Nelson
Call Number: JK 11 1962 .N4
Publication Date: 1962

Helpful Online Resources

CIA World Fact Book
The Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
more...less...
This can also be searched via 'Academic Search Premier' in EBSCOhost.
Government Printing Office
The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) is the Federal Government’s official, digital, secure resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Memory has been created by the Kansas State Historical Society to share its historical collections. The value of the site is in its rich content--letters, diaries, photographs, government records from the State Archives, maps, museum artifacts, and historic structures in Kansas. Content is added continually.
Kansas State Historical Society--Research
The Kansas Historical Society, established in 1875, is a state agency. Designated as the trustee of the state in 1879 and as the repository of official government records in 1905, the Historical Society collects and preserves the story of Kansas history.
Library of Congress--Chronicling America
Chronicling America is a Website providing access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages.
Library of Congress--Digital Collections
The Library of Congress has made digitized versions of collection materials available online since 1994, concentrating on its most rare collections and those unavailable anywhere else. The following services are your gateway to a growing treasury of digitized photographs, manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, motion pictures, and books, as well as "born digital" materials such as Web sites. In addition, the Library maintains and promotes the use of digital library standards and provides online research and reference services.
Library of Congress -- National Screening Room
The National Screening Room showcases the riches of the Library’s vast moving image collection, designed to make otherwise unavailable movies, both copyrighted and in the public domain, freely accessible to the viewers worldwide.
Library of Congress--The Nation's Library
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with more than 162 million items on approximately 838 miles of bookshelves. The collections include more than 38 million books and other print materials, 3.6 million recordings, 14 million photographs, 5.5 million maps, 7.1 million pieces of sheet music and 70 million manuscripts.
Smithsonian Institution
Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian is the world's largest museum and research complex, consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park, and nine research facilities.
United Nations Statistics Division
The Statistics Division is committed to the advancement of the global statistical system. We compile and disseminate global statistical information, develop standards and norms for statistical activities, and support countries’ efforts to strengthen their national statistical systems. We facilitate the coordination of international statistical activities and support the functioning of the United Nations Statistical Commission as the apex entity of the global statistical system.

Census Data

Historical Census Browser
The data and terminology presented in the Historical Census Browser are drawn directly from historical volumes of the U.S. Census of Population and Housing.
US Census Bureau
The Bureau provides an incredible amount of data regarding all facets of life in the United States. Research is constant and data is updated frequently. It's not just population numbers!