Douglas D. Schumann Library & Learning Commons: HIST 4175: Modern American History: Primary Sources for Finding Objects

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What Are Primary Sources?

Primary source materials provide "eyewitness" accounts of a particular person, era, or event that is under study. Such materials may include books, maps, diaries, manuscripts, letters, artwork, contemporary newspaper articles, advertising, photographs, films, and recordings.

Wentworth Find Primary Sources How-To Guide

Find Primary Sources from Schumann Library

ARTstor
Find high resolution art images from libraries, museums, and private collections.
As of August 1, 2024, Artstor content is now hosted on JSTOR. Users can download and save images. To save images, users can create a free account. To download images, no account is needed.
Boston Globe (1872 - 1989)
Historical coverage of the Boston Globe from 1872 to 1985 with an additional year of content added annually.
Films On Demand
Enter search terms and then filter your results to Primary Sources and Newsreels.
JSTOR
Find scholarly journal articles and book chapters about the humanities and social science topics. Also find primary sources by choosing primary sources (serials, documents, books and images) fom the search results page.
Women and Social Movements in the United States,1600-2000
Find primary sources (books, pamphlets, newspaper articles, manuscripts) organized into topical areas.

Find Primary Sources from Large Digital Repositories

One option is to begin looking for objects in the far ranging aggregated digital collections in the humanities and social sciences.

Digital Commonwealth - Massachusetts Collections Online
Photos and other materials digitized by MA libraries, museums, archives & historical societies.
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Millions of digital primary source items from U.S. libraries, museums, and archives.
Europeana
Cultural heritage from European museums, galleries, libraries and archives.
Internet Archive
Archives of Boston Public Library's collection of historical Boston planning documents.
Library of Congress
Largest library in the world, with books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its digital collections. Good site for political cartoons.
Library of Congress -Chronicling America
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963.
National Archives and Records Administration
Search the National Archives collections for federal government primary sources.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian collections from museums, archives, libraries, and research units relating to areas for Art & Design, History & Culture, and Science & Technology. Includes images, videos, audio files, podcasts, blog posts and electronic journals.

Find Primary Sources from Open Access Collections

Another option to find objects is to examine smaller, specialized collections

Avalon Project
Documents in law, history, and diplomacy from the ancient world to the present day.
The Making of America
19th-century book and magazine primary source materials on American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction
Harvard University Women Working, 1800-1930
An exploration of women's impact on the economic life of the United States between 1800 and the Great Depression.
Michigan University Library’s Making of America
a digital library of primary sources in American social history primarily from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
NYPL Digital Collections
Drawings, maps, photos, books, videos, audio, and more in the applied sciences, fine and decorative arts, history, performing arts, and social sciences.
University of Wisconsin Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture
Electronic resources for study and research of the decorative arts, with a particular focus on Early America. Included are electronic texts and journals, image databases, and information on organizations, museums and research facilities.

HIST 4175: Modern American History

Questions?

What Are Primary Sources?

Find Primary Sources from Schumann Library

Find Primary Sources from Large Digital Repositories

Find Primary Sources from Open Access Collections

Explore Primary Source Exhibits