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HY 135: U.S. History to 1877: Primary Sources

This guide is for the HY 135 class at USA.

What is a Primary Resource?

Primary resources are items that directly relate to your research topic. The difference between a primary resource and secondary resource depends on your research topic. A secondary resource for one project might count as a primary resource for a different project.

Primary resources are:

  • Directly limited by your topic
  • Actual proof for what you claim
  • Examples of your research topic in life

If you were writing about how boxing champions were trained in the 1920s, your primary resources should all be direct proof of how 1920s boxing champions were trained. Some primary resources could be:

  • a newspaper article written in 1920 by a direct observer of a boxing match
  • 1920s boxing gloves
  • a journal entry written in 1921 by a boxing trainer
  • a boxing training plan dated 1923

For your topic, a book written in 1993 about the history of boxing coaches would not be a primary resource for that specific topic.

If you were writing about how the history of boxing has been represented over the years, then the 1993 book would be a primary resource. You could use the 1993 book as direct proof for your argument about how boxing history has been represented.

Primary Sources Online

Selected Print Primary Sources

Include one or more of the following search terms in a keyword search to limit a search in SOUTHcat to primary sources: correspondence, diaries, personal narratives, interviews, letters and sources.
Use truncation symbol (?) to broaden search terms.