"Primary sources are materials produced by people or groups directly involved in the event or topic under consideration, either as participants or witnesses." Secondary sources, on the other hand, "comment on and interpret primary sources".*
*Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 4th ed. (Boston: Bedford, 2004), pp. 5-6.
See Primary Sources in American History for details on primary sources and how to find them.
American Slavery Collection, 1820-1922 (online)
Materials addressing every facet of American slavery, including books, pamphlets, graphic materials, and ephemera,
among them are a large number of invaluable Southern imprints. Over 3,500 works
from the American Antiquarian Society's holdings of slavery and abolition materials.
American Civil War Collection, 1860-1922 (online)
Materials addressing all facets of the Civil War and its aftermath, including broadsides, lithographs, maps, books, pamphlets,
photographs, political cartoons, stereographs, and more. From the holdings of the American Antiquarian Society.
See other primary sources listed on the "Africana Studies" research guide.
Overland journeys: travels in the West, 1800-1880 "Comprised of selections from the microfilm collections Travels in the West and Southwest and the Plains & Rockies, this digital collection provides a unique window on Western History. Selections are based on the bibliographies, The Plains and Rockies: A Critical Bibliography of Exploration, Adventure, and Travel in the American West, 1800-1865, and The Trail West: A Bibliography-Index to Western American Trails, 1841-1869."
George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, located on the third floor of HL Library, has an extensive collection of old and rare published materials, family papers, documents and manuscripts. Many Special Collections materials are recorded in Compass, but some are not yet cataloged, so consulting the Special Collections staff and their card file is important. The Archives area contains materials relating to the history of the college and its graduates, many of whom have been prominent in U.S. history, such as George J. Mitchell and Thomas Brackett Reid. The manuscript collections are strong in the early history of Massachusetts and Maine, the Civil War and Reconstruction, 19th century American literary life, and Arctic exploration.
Below is list of links to often-overlooked sets of primary documents for American history that the Library holds in microform. To facilitate better use of these collections, this guide lists the names of the collections and their corresponding indexes/guides.
American culture 1493-1806; guide to the microfilm collection. [Series I, reels 1-26]
Accompanies the microform collection filed as Film 0750-0775 under various titles.
Main Micro Index Z1215 .A584
Microfilms of the Adams papers, owned by the Adams Manuscript Trust and deposited in the Massachusetts Historical Society
Main Micro Film 1001-1608
Guide: Microfilms of the Adams papers, owned by the Adams Manuscript Trust and deposited in the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Main Micro Index E322.1 .A23 1954 guide
Records of the Department of State relating to internal affairs of Mexico, 1910-29 [microform]
Main Micro Film 2743-2985
Guide: Bowdoin Main Micro Index F1234 .U5 1961
Map room messages of President Roosevelt (1939-1945), [edited by Paul Kesaris]
Main Micro Film 0981-0989
Guide: A guide to Map Room messages of President Roosevelt (1939-1945): The presidential diaries of Henry Morgenthau, Jr. (1938-1945) / compiled by Joan Gibson
Main Micro Index E806 .M35 1981 guide
Confidential U.S. State Department central files. Cuba, 1955-1959: internal affairs, decimal numbers 737, 837, and 937 and foreign affairs, decimal numbers 637 and 611.37 / [project coordinator, Gregory Murphy]
Main Micro Film 2620-2644
Guide: A guide to the microfilm edition of Confidential U.S. State Department central files. Cuba, 1955-1959: internal affairs decimal numbers 737, 837, and 937 and foreign affairs, decimal numbers 637 and 611.37 / project co-ordinator, Gregory Murphy ; guide compiled by Blair D. Hydrick
Main Micro Index F1787.5 .C6 guide
The John F. Kennedy national security files. Africa: national security files, 1961-1963
Main Micro Film 3015-3026
Guide: A Guide to the microfilm edition of the John F. Kennedy national security files. Africa national security files, 1961-1963: microfilmed from the holdings of the John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, Massachusetts
Main Micro Index Z6465.U5 G8469 1993
The Lyndon B. Johnson national security file. Africa: national security files, 1963-1969 / general editor, George C. Herring
Main Micro Film 3027-3037
Guide: A Guide to the microfilm edition of the Lyndon B. Johnson national security files. Africa: national security files, 1963-1969
Main Micro Index Z6465.U5 G847 1993
Guide: Periodicals on Women and Women's Rights
Main Micro Index Z7964.U49 P4
Moravian mission records among the North American Indians / from the archives of the Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Main Micro Film 1901-1940
Guide: Guide to the records of the Moravian mission among the Indians of North America from the archives of the Moravian church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Main Micro Index E98.M6 M6 guide
Guide: Iroquois Indians: a documentary history of the diplomacy of the six nations and their league: guide to the microfilm collection
Main Micro Index E99.I7 I68 1984 guide
