Research Guides: English & Literature: Primary Sources

Primary Sources for English & LIterature by Time Period

AM Explorer This link opens in a new window
Dozens of primary source collections in the Humanities and Social Sciences spanning the 15th through 21st centuries.
Associated Press: News Features & Internal Communications This link opens in a new window
An archive of primarily 20th-Century news materials that provide original perspectives on historical events around the world. Includes news features dating from 1940 and internal AP publications dating from the turn of the century.
U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to 500,000+ pages of previously classified government documents. Covers major international events including the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. Underpins studies in international relations and U S. foreign & domestic policy studies.

Drake Heritage Collections
Photographs, articles, oral histories and more, digitized to preserve stories of Drake's history.

Forbes Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
Archive of Forbes Magazine, covering 1917-2000.
Historic Documents Collection This link opens in a new window
Primary sources including presidential speeches, international agreements, Supreme Court decisions, US government reports, scientific findings, and cultural discussions arranged chronologically.
Life Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
Archive of Life Magazine, covering 1936-2000.
Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
Newspapers, television and radio news transcripts.
The Listener - Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
The Listener (1929-1991) was the weekly newspaper published by the BBC. The complete archive of this landmark publication is an essential witness to the intellectual and cultural history of the twentieth century.
Time Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
Archive of Time Magazine, covering 1923-2000.
Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
Entire run of Vogue magazine (US Edition) from 1892 to the present day.
Wall Street Journal (Proquest) This link opens in a new window
Full-text of the newspaper's eastern edition, 1984 - present.
Women's Studies Archive This link opens in a new window
Primary source archive tracing the path of women’s issues from past to present.
Women's Wear Daily Archive This link opens in a new window
Entire run of Women's Wear Daily from 1910 to the present day.

AM Explorer This link opens in a new window
Dozens of primary source collections in the Humanities and Social Sciences spanning the 15th through 21st centuries.
American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new window
Digital access to the most comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912.
American Fiction, 1774-1920 This link opens in a new window
Primary source archive of prose fiction written by Americans from the political beginnings of the United States through World War I.
American Politics: Campaign Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Digitized newspapers from over 30 states covering political campaigns and issues from 1803-1876.
Chicago Tribune (Proquest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Digital version of the Chicago Tribune (1849-1989).
Dickens Letters This link opens in a new window
The Letters of Charles Dickens, (1820-1870) 2nd edition.
Early American Newspapers: Series I, 1690-1876 This link opens in a new window
Digitized American newspapers from 23 states and District of Columbia covering the 18th and 19th centuries.
Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines This link opens in a new window
Collection of historical documents allows you to browse and search HarpWeek's collection of 19th century journals.
New York Times (Proquest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Full-text including scanned digital images of the New York Times, 1851-2020
Nineteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
These archives explore the ‘long’ nineteenth century’s diplomatic interactions, evolving education system, religious reform and social revolutions, and more, all while capturing the human experience through the unique intersections of gender, race, and socio-economic status.
Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full-text database of primary source newspapers from the 19th century in the United States. Includes political party newspapers, dailies, special interest group newspapers, illustrated papers, and major newspapers.
Sabin Americana 1500 - 1926 This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents pertaining to North, Central & South America, the Arctic, Antarctica, & West Indies. Includes original accounts of exploration, pioneering, settlement, the western movement, military actions, Native Americans, slavery & abolition.
Times (London) Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
The Times Digital Archive, 1785-2014, is Gale's online historical archive, delivering every page as published from 200 years of The Times (London) to your library.

AM Explorer This link opens in a new window
Dozens of primary source collections in the Humanities and Social Sciences spanning the 15th through 21st centuries.
American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new window
Digital access to the most comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912.
American Fiction, 1774-1920 This link opens in a new window
Primary source archive of prose fiction written by Americans from the political beginnings of the United States through World War I.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Every significant English-language and foreign-language title printed in Great Britain during the eighteenth century, along with thousands of important works from the Americas.
Sabin Americana 1500 - 1926 This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents pertaining to North, Central & South America, the Arctic, Antarctica, & West Indies. Includes original accounts of exploration, pioneering, settlement, the western movement, military actions, Native Americans, slavery & abolition.

AM Explorer This link opens in a new window
Dozens of primary source collections in the Humanities and Social Sciences spanning the 15th through 21st centuries.
American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new window
Digital access to the most comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639 - 1800 (Readex) This link opens in a new window
Searchable monographs, pamphlets, broadsides, government documents and ephemera enable researchers to explore America's distant and not so distant past.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Supplement from the American Antiquarian Society 1670-1800 This link opens in a new window
Searchable monographs, pamphlets, broadsides, government documents and ephemera enable researchers to explore America's distant and not so distant past.
Early American Newspapers: Series I, 1690-1876 This link opens in a new window
Digitized American newspapers from 23 states and District of Columbia covering the 18th and 19th centuries.
Early English Books Online (Text Creation Partnership) This link opens in a new window
Consists of 25,000+ open access texts from Early English Books Online.
Sabin Americana 1500 - 1926 This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents pertaining to North, Central & South America, the Arctic, Antarctica, & West Indies. Includes original accounts of exploration, pioneering, settlement, the western movement, military actions, Native Americans, slavery & abolition.

Primary Sources on the Web

Guide to Finding and Using Primary Sources on the Web
From the American Library Association.
Smithsonian Institution Libraries - Virtual Exhibitions
Links to online exhibitions that have been created by libraries, archives, and historical societies, as well as to museum online exhibitions with a significant focus on library and archival materials. The scope is international and multi-lingual.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
A searchable database of written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps and sheet music that document the American experience.
Digital.Bodleian
Unique images and documents from the University of Oxford's Bodleian Libraries. Collections include Western manuscripts, John Gould's Ornithological works, maps and atlas images from the 14th-16th centuries, Cobbett's Parliamentary History, and many more.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

What are they?

	Primary Source	Secondary Source
Humanities	Original, first-hand account of an event or time period Original, creative writing or works of art Usually written or created during or close to the event or time period Not interpretive	Analyzes and interprets primary sources Second-hand account of an historical event Interprets creative work
Sciences	Report of scientific discoveries Results of experiments Results of clinical trials Social and political science research results Factual, not interpretive	Analyzes and interprets research results Analyzes and interprets scientific discoveries

Examples

	Primary Sources	Secondary Sources
Humanities	Diaries, journals, and letters Newspaper and magazine articles (factual accounts) Government records (census, marriage, military) Photographs, maps, postcards, posters Recorded or transcribed speeches Interviews with participants or witnesses (e.g., The Civil Rights Movement) Interviews with people who lived during a particular time (e.g., genocide in Rwanda) Songs, plays, novels, stories Paintings, drawings, and sculptures	Literary criticism Biographies Books and articles presenting the research of others
Sciences	Published results of research studies Published results of scientific experiments Published results of clinical trials Proceedings of conferences and meetings	Publications about the significance of research or experiments Analysis of a clinical trial Review of the results of several experiments or trials

Specific Examples

	Primary Source	Secondary Source
Literature	“Song of Myself” (Poem)	Journal article about the poem’s historical importance
Psychology	Results of clinical trial to treat ADD by modifying diet	Book about ways to treat childhood ADD without drugs
Government	U.S. Census Statistics	Book about suburban population changes in U.S.
History	Text of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech	Journal article about King's role in the Civil Rights Movement
Art	Ding Darling cartoons	Magazine article about political cartoonists of the 20th century
Sociology	Diary of Anne Frank	Book contrasting personal accounts of the German occupation

Cowles Library

English & Literature: Primary Sources

What are Primary Sources?

Primary Sources for English & LIterature by Time Period

Primary Sources on the Web

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

What are they?

Examples

Specific Examples