1. PRIMARY SOURCES IN HISTORYBy
Ben Amata

2. What do historians do?

3. “Historians, however, make a serious and systematic attempt to explain the past and attempt to use the knowledge they gain to help explain human nature and contemporary affairs.”
Benjamin, J.
Student’s Guide to History
p. 1

4. Definitions

5. Evidence:
Anything within the range of the historian’s experience-document, opinion, monument, artifact, tradition, and so on-that can be used as a basis for statements about the past; often called “sources.”
Ritter, S.
Dictionary of Historical Concepts
Ref D 13 R
p.143

6. Sources are artifacts that have been left by
the past. They exist either as relics, what
we might call “remains,” or as the test-
imonies of witnesses of the past.
Howell, M & Preveinier, W.
From Reliable Sources: an introduction to
Historical Methods
D 16 .H
p. 17

7. Primary sources record the actual words of someone who participated in or witnessed the events described or someone who got his or her information from participants.
Benjamin, J.
Student’s Guide to History
D B4 2001
p. 6.

8. Secondary sources record the findings
of someone who did not observe the event but who investigated primary evidence.
Benjamin, J.
Student’s Guide to History
p. 9.

9. Yale University Library Primary Sources Research
Colloquium: “A primary source is firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. The nature and value of the source cannot be determined without reference to the topic and questions it is meant to answer. The same document or other piece of evidence may be a primary source in one investigation and secondary in another. The search for primary sources does not, therefore, automatically include or exclude any category of records or documents.”
Craver, K.
Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills In History
D C
p. 15

10. Written Transmissions
Books
Journals
Letters
Annals
Dissertations
Public records
Census data
Eyewitness accounts
Scripture
Inscriptions
Newspapers
Diaries
Chronicles
Government documents
Personal or institutional papers
Genealogies
Manuscripts
Laws
Scrolls
Period literature and poetry
From Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History Craver, Kathleen, D C , p.18

11. Oral Transmissions Speeches Anecdotes Sagas Oral histories Music
Interviews (not videotaped)
Ballads
Legends
Telephone conversations
Recordings (tape & records)
Myths
From Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History Craver, Kathleen, D C , p.19

12. Visually Transmitted Sculpture Photographs Portraits Maps Cartoons
Coins
Videotapes
Films
Posters
Engravings
Models & dioramas
Woodcuts
Architecture
Etchings
Relics
Historical paintings
Artifacts
Computer generated graphics
From Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History Craver, Kathleen, D C , p.19

13. Electronically Transmitted
Faxes
Electronic mail
Machine readable databases
[Web pages]
From Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History Craver Kathleen, D C , p.19

14. All Things Considered
Authenticity
Reliability
Disagreement

15. Helpful Resources
History - Methodology
History - Research
D 16’s

16. Selected Titles Databases in Historical Research D 16.12 H37 1996
Image as Artifact: the historical analysis of film and television D I
Newspapers as Tools for Historians D 16 T22
Photographs and Local History D O45
Public History: essays from the field D P
Research in Archives: the use of unpublished primary sources D 16 .B

17. Locating Primary Sources

18. Selected Relevant LC Subject Subheadings
Personal narratives
Correspondence
Sources

19. Examples Slavery - United States - Personal narratives
Hamilton Alexander Correspondence
Women – England - History – Sources
Women’s Worlds in Seventeenth-century England: a sourcebook
HQ E5 W

20. Other Subheadings Manuscripts Archives Papers Newspapers
Pictorial Works
Cartoons

21. Examples Presidents United States Manuscripts
African Americans -- California -- Newspapers
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), –
Pictorial works
World War, United States –
Caricatures and Cartoons

22. CSUS Microfilm History web page – CSUS Primary Resources
American Periodicals
CSUS Historical Directory of Periodicals
Newspapers:
Sacramento Bee [indexed Sacramento Bee Historical Index]
Sacramento Union , :(1/15).
[not indexed]
Sacramento Observer [not indexed]
New York Times [indexed ]
London Times [indexed ]
Early English Books [indexed]
reels
reels

23. Government Documents Indexes Large Sets American State Papers
U.S. Foreign Relations
Congressional Record
Public Papers of the Presidents
British Parliamentary Papers
United Nations ( Microcard; 1982 – present microfiche; selectively on the web)

24. World Wide Web Archives Historical Books
American Memory and Making of America
Cataloged Web Sites: BUBLINK, INFOMINE, SCOUT REPORT
BUBLINK
History
Internet Classics Archive

25. The End