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U.S. History (Dr. Slater and Ms. McKannon): Primary Sources

Primary Sources - for evidence

When historians talk about evidence, they often mean primary sources. Primary sources (propaganda posters, speeches, charters, and documents created during the time period being studied) can offer rich and unique insights into your topic. Thousands of primary documents have been digitized and can be found online on university, government and museum websites. 

NOTE: The easiest way to include primary documents is to identify them from your background reading - make notes on dates of the textual works you read about.  Record the date and author so you can search for the original document (perhaps in translation) later.

Search Across Most Library Databases

The Meadows School Search

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*Off campus access requires "Meadows Discovery Search" username and password found in our Google document, "2024-25 Off Campus Database Passwords." Searches will include search results from EBSCO's database, MEDLINE Complete if relevant.

Databases

Primary Sources on the Web

Many universities have assembled portals of digitized primary documents for students to access online. 

Guide template courtesy of

Qi Huang, E-Resources Librarian at The Harker School