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Primary Sources
Primary source material is essential to the historian but they are not necessarily easily identified in the vast amounts of information available.
A good definition from the Research Users Services Association's helpful guide Primary Sources on the Web: Finding, Evaluating, Using states "Primary sources are the evidence of history, original records or objects created by participants or observers at the time historical events occurred..." [emphasis mine]
There is leeway in this definition as materials created well after the event such as oral histories or memoirs will also be considered primary source since the person who experienced the event is the one recording the oral history or writing the memoir. Just keep in mind, that the longer it has been since the event, memories become increasingly selective.
Even with primary source material, ask yourself if what you have is complete or biased in any way. If you are looking at a set of letters or a published memoir, consider how the editor or compiler made decisions about what to include. It may be certain materials were not included to portray a person or event in a certain light, material was considered irrelevant, or new evidence has come to light since the publication of the source you found.
Searches including the term 'primary' will usually return an unsatisfactory result set. This is because it is actually difficult to label an item as primary--what a primary document is varies with the need of the researcher and the situation in which the item was created.
- A photograph from 1911 of women soldiers in the Mexican Revolution is a primary source since the photograph was taken during the Revolution.
- A woodcut of Adelitas (women revolutionaries) created in 2010, while it may look old, is not primary and should not be used.
The only time the woodcut could be used as a primary source would be if you were writing a paper on the modern representation of women who fought during that war. This might be a paper on how memory alters or romanticizes the past and as that is not the point of this project in this class, do not use it.
Primary source material may be found within what appears at first glance to be a secondary source. Sometimes a secondary source item will look like a primary source. When in doubt, ask for help!
These are some possible categories/formats of materials you might find. Of course, technologies available at the time of the event will determine some categories. Film newsreels are not going to be found if you are searching the Dark Ages for primary images. Instead you will find photographs of such such as paintings, carvings or tapestries.
- Newspapers
- Memoir
- Diary or diaries
- Letters (note the term 'Correspondence' is the LoC subject heading subdivision)
- Maps
- Personal narrative (this is a LoC subject heading subdivision)
- Journal (not the scholarly publication, but more like a diary)
- Government reports and publications
- Oral history transcriptions
Image or sound file
- Photographs/slides/prints (may be of items such as paintings)
- Paintings and drawings
- Newsreels
- Television shows
- Newscasts
- Music recordings and videos
- Oral history recordings
Realia (objects)
- Artwork
- Buildings
- Toys and games
- Clothing
- Furniture
- Souvenirs
- Scrapbooks
- Ephemera (items created for short-term or one-time use such as flyers, brochures, ticket stubs)
President and First Lady Kennedy and First Lady at a folkloric dance performance, Mexico City, 1962.
Whenever possible, search a reputable collection for original, high-quality scans. You are more likely to find accurate information as well as usage guidelines.
A good quality site, such as university, museum or special collection archive, provides basic information such as artist/photographer, date and location.
In addition, you may find helpful notes or description to place the image in historical context. Do not use this information as your secondary source as it will not have gone through the rigor of peer-review, but do use it as a 'launch pad' to understanding your image, its importance, and application to your historical topic.
The links below are great starting points for finding primary source images:
- Library of Congress Prints and Photograph CollectionsDigitized copies of photographs from their extensive collections.
- Online Archive of CaliforniaNot only California history, these collections are held by California institutions. Searching is very limited and you will want to add the word photograph to your topic term. Once you have results, limit to 'online items available.'
- CalisphereDigitized images and documents from a variety of California universities, museums and archives. Some collections offer more photographic images than others. Overlaps the Online Archive of California.
- Internet ArchiveVaried collections including images from a broad range of topics, countries and time periods.
- Life Photo ArchiveLife Magazine was famous for its image-rich publications. Very little text was included with the photographs that were published, depending on the image to tell the story. Sorted by decade and by topic as well as keyword search.
- Pageant of AmericaCollection of photographs covering the US and North American continent from early discovery artifacts to the early 20th century.
Google Image Search
Google Images is one way to locate historical images but has some challenges as well.
- There is no way to limit the search to primary sources.
- You will find historical and modern images mixed together from sources ranging from hobbyist sites (Pinterest) to scholarly museum collections.
- What you see in Google Images may not be the entire original image. Clipping a piece out of a larger image alters the context and meaning.
- Do NOT cite Google Images as your source. You must follow the trail to the original digitized image source.
- Check for permissions. Finding it on the internet does not mean you have permission to use. Most institutions allow no-fee use for educational purposes such as student papers, but there are some that do not (Getty Images for one.) Others require you to request permission to use and will generally grant for student use.
Here is a video on following a 'breadcrumb trail' in a Google Image search to a source you can cite.
These collections are assembled by universities, archives, museums and other organizations for free access. You will need to give citation credit for materials used even if they are free of charge. Some collections are more US-centric than others, but because the two countries share a border and have trade relations, etc., the history of Mexico is well-represented in these collections.
Library of Congress Digital Collections includes documents and images held in the Library of Congress. Options for limiting results to photographs or documents are on the left of the results list.
American Memory from the Library of Congress covering topics ranging from advertising to Westward Expansion, containing documents, photographs, music files and more.
Chronicling America contains newspapers not available in fee-based digital databases, generally smaller papers with localized coverage. Date range 1789-1963.
Calisphere is a cooperative effort between California scholarly institutions to provide access to image collections and digitized materials. A companion site is the Online Archive of California but much of the content listed in OAC is not digitized.
Internet Archive offers an interesting range of digitized materials including books, moving images, and sound files. This collection depends on volunteer contributions so the range of topics is widespread and not necessarily deep on some topics.
Historic Mexican and Mexican America Press covers over 100 years of press publications (1800s-1970s) from both sides of the border.
Bexar Archives Online from University of Texas at Austin contains original documents with English-language translations from the 18th and early 19th century pertaining to Texas prior to statehood and nearby regions in Mexico.
Dupee Mexican History Collection Broadsides from Brown University contains documents published since 1821 expressing contemporary opinions on a variety of topics. Most in Spanish.
Mexican Presidential Messages 1821-1994. There is no search function and Spanish language only, but all content is browsable in chronological order.
Jose Guadalupe Posada collection, circa 1875-1913 (Digital items only) from Stanford University contains political cartoons, corridos lyrics, and more as Posada worked to express the voice of the people.
Zapatistas! Documents of the New Mexican Revolution (referring to the 20th Century revolution as opposed to earlier.) Materials have been translated and some are excerpts due to difficulties with the original.
National Archives of Chile (all in Spanish)
Bay of Pigs (Cuba) CIA papers
Digital Archive of Latin American and Caribbean Ephemera (leaflets, posters, etc.)
Castro Speech Database (translated) in the Latin America Network Information Center (LANIC) site
Beisbol Diplomacy a selection of materials from the National Security AgencyMake the Dirt Fly! (Smithsonian exhibit on the Panama Canal)
Slavery and Revolution: Jamaica and Slavery in the Era of the Revolution is mostly a collection of letters from a Jamaican slave owner with ties to Britain.
Perry-Casteñada Historical Map Collection from the University of Texas offers digital maps of the world, specific regions and a wide variety of time periods.