Introduction to Primary Sources Definitions and Examples

Secondary Sources  Accounts written after the fact by scholars. Interpretations of history based on an analysis of primary sources.  Formats:  Books  Journal articles  Dissertations  Conference reports

Primary Sources: Definitions  “is material -- a document or other evidence -- that was created during the period or the event”  “historical raw materials”  “the leavings, the shards, the remnants of people who once lived and don't live anymore”

Historians & Primary Sources  Primary sources are the evidence used by historians in their analysis/interpretation of the past.  Good history books and scholarly journal articles (secondary sources) carefully cite the evidence in footnotes.  Primary sources help us make personal connections with the past.

Written primary sources  Public/published Newspapers Magazines Books  Written during time  Written later by participants (memoirs) Government reports

Written primary sources  Private Letters Diaries  Can later be published in book, microfilm, web formats  Unpublished material found in manuscript archives

Unwritten primary sources  Graphics photographs posters art maps  Artifacts buildings furniture Coins clothing tombstones

Analysis of primary sources  Time and Place Rule The closer in time and place a source and its creator are to an event, the better the source  Direct traces  contemporary accounts by firsthand observers/participants  accounts of the events created later by first hand observers/participants  Congressional debate  newspaper accounts of the debate/diary entries by participants/letters of observers  memoirs of participants published years later

Analysis of primary sources  Bias Rule Every source is biased in some way  Evidence must be read or viewed skeptically and critically  Creator’s point of view and motives must be considered  Each piece of evidence must be compared with other evidence

Primary Sources in the UW Libraries Books, magazines and microfilm

Formats in the UW Libraries  Books Published primary sources Books published during the time  Magazines, Journals and Newspapers  Microfilm Copies of published books Runs of old newspapers and magazines Collections of unpublished material (manuscripts)

Finding Books  Search for books written by key people  Search for books published during the time period  Keyword search for books that include the special subject headings: sources, personal narratives, diaries, correspondence, registers, interviews  Women and employment and interviews  african americans and personal narratives  immigrants and (diaries or correspondence) and united

Finding Articles  Use fulltext databases (if available) American Periodical Series Online Historical New York Times  Use indexes (if available) 19 th Century Masterfile Reader’s Guide Retrospective  Follow footnotes in secondary sources  If looking for primary sources on an event, browse newspapers for that time period

Microfilm Sets  Collections of published materials History of Women Early English Books  Collections of manuscript material Records of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, D.W. Griffith Papers, The Will Hays Papers, Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service pt. 1. Asian immigration and exclusion,

Language Over Time  Important to realize changes in words over time when using historical indexes. Negro – Afro-Americans – Blacks – African Americans Moving Pictures – Motion Pictures – Film Belgian Congo – Zaire – Democratic Republic of the Congo European War – World War – World War I