Primary sources are materials that provide firsthand testimony to a subject under investigation. Researchers often use these firsthand accounts of specific events to understand events from the viewpoint of people living during that time period. Primary sources include letters, diaries, photographs, newspaper articles, and pamphlets. Primary sources also include writings and recordings by witnesses who experienced the events or conditions being documented. For example, oral histories, autobiographies, and memoirs are primary sources.
Use the tabs below to find information on finding primary sources in databases, books, and websites.
Search full text and images 1851-2020 including news, illustrations, editorials, and advertisements.
In the New York Times Historical database, go to the Advanced Search page and enter your keywords. Under Publication Date, select "Specific Date Range," and enter the dates you are studying.
Online archive of eBooks and complete backruns of scholarly journals in a variety of academic fields.
To find primary sources in JSTOR, enter your keywords. On the search results page, go to the "Primary Source Content" filter on the left, and select Serials, Documents, Books, and/or Images.
Sometimes collections of primary source documents are republished in books. To find books like these, search WPI Library Search for books about your topic and add keywords like sourcebook, documents, primary sources, documentary history, papers, letters, speeches, journal, diary, memoir, or autobiography to your search terms.
Here are some examples of books containing primary sources:
Watergate Special Prosecution Force: Final Report by 
Watergate: A Brief History with Documents by 
Eyewitness to Watergate: A Documentary History for Students by 
Charleston and the Great Depression: A Documentary History, 1929-1941 by 
Environmental Issues in American History: A Reference Guide with Primary Documents by 
Documenting American Violence: A Sourcebook by 
The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader by 
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr by 
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. by 
King, Malcolm, Baldwin: Three Interviews by 
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by 
Malcolm X: The Last Speeches by 
A Vietnam War Reader: A Documentary History from American and Vietnamese Perspectives by 
Gorbachev and Bush: The Last Superpower Summits. Conversations that Ended the Cold War by To find primary sources via Google, try adding keywords like primary sources, documents, archives, journals, papers, letters, or documentary history to your search terms. Primary sources can often be found on library, museum, and government websites.
Here are some examples of websites that have primary sources for post-1920 America:
Use the resources below to find primary sources related to advertising and American culture, 1920s - 1950s.
Use the resources below to find primary sources related to women, work, and the family, 1950 - present.
