What's a Primary Source?
Primary sources are documents created at the time of interest. They offer a firsthand or "primary" view of historical events, people, and topics. Examples include:
- Letters
- Diaries
- Sermons
- Financial records
- Newspaper articles published at the time
- Government and institutional documents
Primary Sources in Library Databases
Use your NetID and password to access databases off campus.
- Access World News: Research Collection This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Full text current and archived articles from U.S. and global news sources. Date coverage varies with individual newspaper.
- American Periodicals Series This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Full text digitized reproductions of more than 1,500 eighteenth and nineteenth century American newspapers and periodicals archived at the Center for Research Libraries (CRL). Titles include general interest, children's, women's, early scientific, and professional publications that chronicle the development of America across 150 years published from 1740-1940.
- Black Abolitionist Papers This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Full text of over 15,000 digitized primary sources including correspondence; speeches, sermons, and lectures; articles, essays, and editorials from more than 200 newspapers; and poems and other miscellaneous documents from African Americans involved in the abolition movement between 1830-1865, with the majority of content coming from the U.S., Canada, and the British Isles.
- Chicago Defender Historical This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
(1909-1975) Full text digitized newspaper covering politics, society, and events of the time from an African-American perspective
- Chicago Tribune Historical This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
(1849-2014) Full text digitized newspaper. Includes the complete paper, cover-to-cover.
- History Vault This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Full text of several million pages of digitized primary source materials drawn from the National Archives, presidential libraries, and the archival papers of key organizations and individuals, presented in eight modules: (1) Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Federal Government Records, (2) Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records and Personal Papers, Part 1, (3) NAACP Papers: Board of Directors, Annual Conferences, Major Speeches, and National Staff Files, (4) NAACP Papers: The NAACP's Major Campaigns--Education, Voting, Housing, Employment, Armed Forces, (5) Slavery and the Law (1775-1867), (6-7) Southern Life and African American History, 1775-1915, Plantations Records, Parts 1 and 2, (8) Vietnam War and American Foreign Policy, 1960-1975. Note: Beginning July 2024, History Vault moved to a new interface. The former version is available from History Vault (Legacy).
- New York Times Historical This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
(1851-2021) Full text digitized newspaper articles. Includes complete paper, cover-to-cover.
- Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Full text digitized newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S. Includes major newspapers as well as those published by African Americans, Native Americans, women's rights groups, labor groups, the Confederacy, and other groups and interests. Also included are illustrated papers that bring the nineteenth century to life through the drawings of many artists. Note: Access the collection from Gale Primary Sources to cross-search a wider range of digital collections.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window- This link opens in a new window
Index to over three million articles from 550 magazines, includes all content from the print volumes of the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, a comprehensive index of popular general interest periodicals published in the U.S. during the 20th Century. Produced by H.W. Wilson.
- Washington Post Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
(1877-2008) Full text digitized newspaper. Includes the complete paper, cover-to-cover.
Primary Sources in Print and Microfilm
The Mansfield Library owns thousands of books, ebooks, and microfilm reels that contain transcriptions or reproductions of personal papers (such as letters and diaries), business records, and government agency records held in archives around the world. Good keywords to use as you search for these primary source materials are: sources, letters, papers (and papers of), documents (and documents of), manuscripts, and records.
Examples:
Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs: Central Classified Files, 1907-1939 (Microfilm)
Series A. Indian delegations to Washington (25 reels); Series B. Indian customs and social relations (23 reels); Series C, pt.1. Reports on Medical and Nursing Activities (29 reels); Series D, pt.1. General Organization, Regulations, and Types of Schools (12 reels); Series D, pt.2. Correspondence and Reports on Reservation Day and Boarding Schools (30 reels). The microfilm collection is located at call number 970.5 R311 on Level 1 of the Mansfield Library. A guide to the collection is located on top of the Microfilm shelves at call number 970.5 R311.
Women’s Studies Manuscript Collections from the Schlesinger Library, Series 2, Women in National Politics (Microfilm)
52 reels of microfilm of women's papers housed at the Schlesinger Library. The microfilm collection is located at call number 973.91 R211Z on Level 1 of the Mansfield Library. Guides for this collection, including biographical sketches, bibliographies, reel indexes, and subject indexes, are located on top of the microfilm cabinets on level 1 at call number 973.91 R211Z.
Addams, Jane. The Selected Papers of Jane Addams. Edited by Mary Lynn McCree Brian, Barbara Bair, and Maree de Angury. (2 volumes) University of Illinois Press, 2003. Located on Level 2 at call number 361.92 A222Z.
Archives West
Archives West provides access to guides to archival collections and to descriptions of primary source collections held at repositories in the Western United States, including Montana, Idaho, Utah, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Examples of primary source materials held in archival collections include letters, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, business records, oral histories, official papers of senators and congressmen, and the records of organizations.
- Archives West Search TipsThis pdf file has text and screenshots demonstrating basic search strategies for Archives West.
Library of Congress
- Library of Congress Digital CollectionsThe Library of Congress provides access to primary-source material relating to the history and culture of the U.S. Find correspondence, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, sheet music and more.
Secondary Sources
Use your NetID and password to access databases off campus.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Full text scholarly journal, trade publication, magazine and newspaper articles, books, book reviews, reports, and Associated Press video content, covering all subject areas.
- America: History & Life with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Index to scholarly journal and magazine articles, books, dissertations, and conference papers covering the history and culture of the U.S. and Canada, from prehistory-present. Includes full-text coverage for 200 journals and 80 books, with indexed publications dating back to 1863. Access limited to 6 users. - American National Biography Online This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Biographical dictionary of over 19,000 notable American figures from all eras of history who are no longer living, with illustrations and links to other websites. Produced by the American Council of Learned Societies and Oxford University Press. Access limited to 1 user at a time. - Dissertations & Theses Global, ProQuest This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Index to dissertations and theses from over 3,000 institutions in 88 countries. Full text coverage spans from 1743-present, with citation coverage dating back to 1637. Note: Dissertations & Theses Global may also be searched and accessed via Web of Science, as well as OneSearch.
- Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective: 1907-1984 This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Index to articles and book reviews covering a wide-range of humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary fields from core scholarly English-language periodicals, as well as a number of lesser-known specialized magazines. Produced by H.W. Wilson.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Full text of all 2,800+ academic journals on JSTOR that span more than 60 disciplines across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, along with millions of primary sources across four collections: Global Plants, 19th Century British Pamphlets, Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa, and World Heritage Sites: Africa. Also explore 3+ million images from ARTstor and over 10,000 open access books. Note: The library does not license any collections of fee-based books from JSTOR.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Index to professional and scholarly journals, chapters, books, reports, theses, and dissertations published internationally in psychology and related disciplines such as psychiatry, education, business, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, law, linguistics, and social work from 1967-present. Produced by the American Psychological Association.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Index to over three million articles from 550 magazines, includes all content from the print volumes of the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, a comprehensive index of popular general interest periodicals published in the U.S. during the 20th Century. Produced by H.W. Wilson.
- Social Services Abstracts This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Index to over 1,300 serials, abstracts of journal articles and dissertations, and citations to book reviews focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. Coverage is 1979-present.
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Index to international journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers, and working papers of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences, includes the Social Services Abstracts database. Coverage is 1952-present.
- WorldCat (Discovery) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Catalog of library resources held by institutions around the world. Find materials and place interlibrary loan requests for resources not owned locally.
Sample Ebooks on Social Policy
... and Economic Justice for All by Publication Date: 1997The author presents an argument for a system of social insurance that replaces welfare with a Guaranteed Adequate Income. The book reviews public assistance programmes, and evaluates other plans that have been proposed.
Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North America by Publication Date: 2004The Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North Amercia is a unique reference book that will provide users with basic information about the history of social welfare in North America, including Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Since many themes and issues are similar in the three nations, entries will provide comparative information about common as well as distinctive concerns and developments. Significant events, influential persons, legislation, social problems, and societal responses are described in detail. Editors include specialists in the social welfare history of each nation, and they have collaborated with scholars from a variety of academic disciplines to prepare entries of varying length addressing these issues. Included in each entry are suggestions for further reading that will guide readers to the rich resources available for learning about the history of North American social welfare. The encyclopedia also provides cross-references for important topics.
Ensuring Poverty by Publication Date: 2018In Ensuring Poverty, Felicia Kornbluh and Gwendolyn Mink assess the gendered history of welfare reform. They foreground arguments advanced by feminists for a welfare policy that would respect single mothers' rights while advancing their opportunities and assuring economic security for their families. Kornbluh and Mink consider welfare policy in the broad intersectional context of gender, race, poverty, and inequality. nexus between racialized gender inequality and the economic vulnerability of single-mother families. Since passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) by a Republican Congress and the Clinton administration, the gendered dimensions of antipoverty policy have receded from debate. Mink and Kornbluh explore the narrowing of discussion that has occurred in recent decades and the path charted by social justice feminists in the 1990s and early 2000s, a course rejected by policy makers. They advocate a return to the social justice approach built on the equality of mothers, especially mothers of color, in policies aimed at poor families.
The Workfare State by Publication Date: 2015In the Great Recession of 2007-2009, the United States suffered the most sustained and extensive wave of job destruction since the Great Depression. When families in need sought help from the safety net, however, they found themselves trapped in a system that increasingly tied public assistance to private employment. In The Workfare State, Eva Bertram recounts the compelling history of the evolving social contract from the New Deal to the present to show how a need-based entitlement was replaced with a work-conditioned safety net, heightening the economic vulnerability of many poor families. The Workfare State challenges the conventional understanding of the development of modern public assistance policy.
