How to Find Primary Sources in History: US History

NYPL Digital Picture Collection - The browse page provides a huge drop-down menu of selections from all eras. Free access to high quality photographs and paintings.

• Library of Congress American Memory - They have a searchable "Women's History" database.
• National Archives - Includes teaching resources in addition to primary records.
• New York Times Article Archive - Coverage includes 1851-present. Not all articles are free.
• The Smithsonian Collections - A wide variety of historical artifacts 
• Colonial Williamsburg Podcasts - A wealth of interactive resources
• Founders Online - Primary documents from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison

To locate published primary sources, consider the following search strategies in the Library Catalog:

KEYWORD SEARCHES  Add the following terms to your keyword searches with AND.

     sources

     documents

     diaries

     personal narratives

     (letters OR correspondence)

     public records

     archives

     description and travel

Examples:

      eisenhower AND sources

      holocaust AND (letters or correspondence)

SUBJECT SEARCHES Use Library of Congress Subject Headings.  (Click here to learn more.)

Example:

World War, 1939-1945 -- Sources.

AUTHOR SEARCHES    Use the names of  people and organizations that are central to your topic as authors. (Hint: If you perform this search in WorldCat, limit your search to books.)

Examples of author searches:

   East India Company

   jefferson, thomas