Primary Sources:According to the NHD website...
A primary source is a piece of information about a historical event or period in which the creator of the source was an actual participant in or a contemporary of a historical moment. The purpose of primary sources is to capture the words, the thoughts and the intentions of the past. Primary sources help you to interpret what happened and why it happened. Examples of primary sources include: documents, artifacts, historic sites, songs, or other written and tangible items created during the historical period you are studying. |
Secondary Sources:According to the NHD website...
A secondary source is a source that was NOT created first-hand by someone who participated in the historical era. Secondary sources are usually created by historians, but based on the historian’s reading of primary sources. Secondary sources are usually written decades, if not centuries, after the event occurred by people who did not live through or participate in the event or issue. The purpose of a secondary source is to help build the story of your research from multiple perspectives and to give your research historical context. An example of a secondary source is Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson, published in 1988. They are a great starting point in helping you see the big picture. Understanding the context of your topic will help you make sense of the primary sources that you find. The primary and secondary sources McPherson used are listed in the bibliography. |
Great Databases for Primary Sources:
Library of Congress
Chronicling America (a database of locally-based U.S. newspapers from 1836 through 1922 that is key-word searchable)
Chronicling America (a database of locally-based U.S. newspapers from 1836 through 1922 that is key-word searchable)