Research & Subject Guides: History: Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied.

In historiography, a primary source (also called original source) is a document, recording, artifact, or other source of information that was created at the time under study, usually by a source with direct personal knowledge of the events being described. It serves as an original source of information about the topic.

Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources, which cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources, though the distinction is not a sharp one. "Primary" and "secondary" are relative terms, with sources judged primary or secondary according to specific historical contexts and what is being studied. [From Wikipedia]

Microform Collections at Stony Brook

Primary source collections include:

Early American Imprints (1639-1800)
Early American Books (1801-1819)
Early American Newspapers
American Culture Series
American Periodical Series
U.S. Presidential Papers
British Sessional Papers
Oberlin College Anti-Slavery Collection
Columbia University Oral History Collection
Cornell University Collection of Women's Rights Pamphlets
Selections from Archivo General de Indias

Special Collections & University Archives

Special Collections and University Archives select, acquire, preserve and provide access to rare, valuable, and scarce primary and secondary materials in a variety of formats in support of the educational and research endeavors of Stony Brook University's students, faculty, and staff.

The department also extends its services to researchers in the wider geographic region, nationally, and internationally.

The collection includes: books, manuscripts, and maps dating from the 15th century; the University Archives; audio/visual materials; and a digital repository. All are welcome to explore the library's unique collections.

Newspapers in Microforms at Stony Brook

Major Historical Sets

Early American Newspapers – Microfilm A565
Early American Newspapers, 1704-1820 – Microprint 4
Underground Newspaper Collection* – Microfilm A178 [1963-1985]

Index to Underground Newspaper Collection: Microforms Library Z6944.U5 B4 [1963-1985]

Alternative Press Collection* – Microfilm A178 [1986 – present]

Alternative press. A guide to the microform collection Z6944.U5 B4 [1986-present]

Other Major Papers

New York Herald [1840-1919] – Microfilm A1
New York Tribune / Daily Tribune / Herald Tribune [1841-1966] Microfilm 123
Christian Science Monitor [1908-1925, 1960-present] Microfilm A26

Major Foreign Newspapers

The Times (London, England) [1788-present] – Microfilm A6
Le Monde (Paris, France) [1944-present] – Microfilm A4
Le Temps (Paris, France : 1861) [1861-1942] – Microfilm A3
Pravda (Moscow, Russia) [1917,1921-1975] – Microfilm A161

African-American Newspapers

New York Amsterdam News (1919-present) – Microfilm A128
Chicago Defender (1905-1966) – Microfilm A395
Pittsburgh Courier [weekly] (1923-1947) – Microfilm A238

Special Collections

Have historic newspapers for Long Island. Original newsprint copies and microfilm. Most but not all titles are in STARS. Consult with Kristen or Jason.

Indexes

ONLINE

New York Times Historical Archive [1851 to 3 years ago]
National Newspaper Index: A few major papers. Mostly from 1980 forward.
New York Tribune Index (Library of Congress) - 1875-1884, 1895. ]

New York Times: Newspaper Indexes AI21 .N44 [1851- present]
The Times (London, England) Newspaper Indexes AI21.T5 [1790-present]
Christian Science Monitor: Newspaper Indexes AI21.c3 [1946-1994]
Le Monde: Newspaper Indexes AI21.m6 [1944-1968]
Wall Street Journal: Newspaper Indexes HG1.W26 [1955-present]
Washington Post: Newspaper Indexes AI21.W33 W36 [1971-1995]
Newsday: Newspaper Indexes AI21.N5 [1977-1985]
Alternative Press Index: Main Stacks [1969-5 years ago-ish].

Card Catalog Drawer

Located at the Reference Desk. Indexes newspapers by state/region.

Subscription Databases: Historical Newspapers

African American Newspapers (1827-1998)
1827-1998. Full-text. Online access to approximately 270 U.S. newspapers from more than 35 states—including many rare and historically significant 19th century titles. Beginning with Freedom's Journal (NY)—the first African American newspaper published in the United States—the titles in this resource include The Colored Citizen (KS), Arkansas State Press, Rights of All (NY), Wisconsin Afro-American, New York Age, L'Union (LA), Northern Star and Freeman's Advocate (NY), Richmond Planet, Cleveland Gazette, The Appeal (MN) and hundreds of others from every region of the U.S.
Gale Primary Sources: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Burney Newspapers Collection
1604–1800. Full-text. The newspapers and news pamphlets gathered by the Reverend Charles Burney (1757 - 1817) represent the largest single collection of 17th and 18th century English news media. The Burney Collection provides rare and often unique content for scholarly research into a wide range of political, educational, economic or journalistic study. Digitized from important holdings in the British Library, the collection contains nearly 1 million pages, more than 700 bound volumes and over 1,200 titles, including pamphlets, proclamations, newsbooks and newspapers published in London, the English provinces, Ireland, Scotland, the American colonies, Europe and India.
America's Historical Newspapers
1755-1922. Fulltext. More than 135 historic newspapers from all 50 states. Titles include The Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison's anti-slavery newspaper; New Orleans Daily Creole, the first African-American newspaper in America; Siwinowe Kesibwi (Shawnee Star), the first newspaper printed wholly in a Native American language; and the Maryland Gazette, the oldest continuously published newspaper in America. Regional newspapers include The New York Herald, Irish World, and Jewish Daily News.
Latin American Historical Newspapers
1805-1922. Full-text. Over 300 Latin American newspapers published in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Combining Latin American Newspapers Series I & II, the collection features papers in English, Spanish and Portuguese from 20 countries, including key titles such as La Nacion, La Prensa and Vanguardia (Buenos Aires), Jornal do Commercio (Rio de Janeiro), O Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo), Mercurio (Santiago), La Prensa (Havana), La Patria, Mexican Herald and El Monitor Republicano (Mexico City) , El Peruano and West Coast Leader (Lima) and Venezuelan Herald (Caracas).
New York Times (Historical)
Coverage: 1851-3 years ago.

Online access to page images and fulltext articles from the New York Times as far back as the first issue.
Gale Primary Sources: The Times Digital Archive, 1785-2014
1785-1985. Full text. Digital edition of The Times (London) with searching capability and facsimile images of individual articles or the complete page. Includes parliamentary debates, editorials, birth and death notices, advertisements, illustrations/photos and classified ads. More than 7 million articles. Does not include the Sunday Times, the Times Educational Supplement, the Times Higher Education Supplement, or the Times Literary Supplement.
Washington Post (Historical)
1877-1997. Fulltext. Digitized historical archive of The Washington Post. Complete issues, cover to cover, from its beginning in 1877 until 1997, including news articles, photos, advertisements, marriage announcements, obituaries, cartoons, and more. In searchable pdf format.

American Indian Newspapers
From historic pressings to contemporary periodicals, explore nearly 200 years of Indigenous print journalism from the US and Canada. With newspapers representing a huge variety in publisher, audience and era, discover how events were reported by and for Indigenous communities.
Regional Business News
Date coverage varies, mostly 1990s-present. Citations and some fulltext. Includes 75 business journals, newspapers and newswires covering all metropolitan and rural areas within the U.S.

Subscription Databases: Oral Histories

HistoryMakers Digital Archive
The HistoryMakers was founded to address the lack of documentation and preservation of the African American historical record. It captures – one person at a time – the untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans, and by creating a priceless video collection giving those involved their special place in history.

The testimonies captured in The HistoryMakers Collection – conducted in homes and offices across the United States and abroad – reveal the broad scope of narratives of African American men and women who have made significant contributions to American life, history, and culture during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.

Primary Sources on the Web

Library of Congress Digital Collections
Coverage varies. Free and open access to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. A digital record of American history and creativity. From the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions.

EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History
Links to sites with primary historical documents for European countries and regions. Includes prehistoric and ancient Europe.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts. The main sourcebooks have primary documents for Ancient, Medieval, and Modern history. Other subsidiary sourcebooks include: African, East Asian, Global, Indian, Jewish, Islamic, Lesbian/Gay, Science, Women.
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: A Selection of Primary Sourcess
This website contains approximately 1,600 documents focused on six different phases of Black Freedom:

Slavery and the Abolitionist Movement (1790-1860)
The Civil War and the Reconstruction Era (1861-1877)
Jim Crow Era from 1878 to the Great Depression (1878-1932)
The New Deal and World War II (1933-1945)
The Civil Rights and Black Power Movements (1946-1975)
The Contemporary Era (1976-2000)

The documents presented here represent a selection of primary sources available in several ProQuest databases.

Magazine & Journal Collections (Use Net ID)

American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection

The American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection is the largest collection of North-American-focused historical periodicals available for purchase. Comprised of over 10 million pages, this collection contains approximately 7600 distinct periodical titles, all published between 1691 and 1877. The collection touches on a range of subject areas, including, but not limited to: science, technology, medicine, Native American and African American populations, law, politics, government, music, the arts, literature, language, publishing, agriculture, business and industry, advertising and marketing, religion, philosophy, social movements, military matters, and leisure activities.
American Periodicals Series

Full-text. 1741-1930. Over 1,100 American magazines spanning 200 years and covering nearly every aspect of American culture, especially its history, science, literature, music, legal structures, agriculture, theater, and politics. Titles range from Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine (first published in 1741) and America's first scientific journals, Medical Repository, as well as Scientific American, to literary and professional journals, specialized titles, and such well-known popular magazines as Vanity Fair, Ladies' Home Journal and The Dial.

Audio and Visual Resources

There are an increasing number of excelent web sites that have audio-visual proimary source material.

Internet Archive - Probably the best overall collection of audio-visual material that could be used for primary sources. The Archive currently contains almost 400,000 moving images and nearly 700,000 audio items, along with software and other material.

YouTube - Great resource for finding speeches and hidtoric news items, as well as musical and cinematic trasures.

History