Chapin LibGuides: Class 11: Memorial Project: primary sources

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American History 1493-1945
A unique collection of primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection that document American history from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century.
American History Online
This source features thousands of reference articles on American political, military, social, and cultural history over the past 500 years. Some primary sources may also be found here.
ARTstor on JSTOR
The Artstor on JSTOR digital library features a wide range of multidisciplinary content from some of the world’s top museums, artists, libraries, and photo archives.
Historical Newspapers: United States (1764-Present)
Full access to the archives of U.S. newspapers like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and Newsweek.

You can find primary sources in three places:

Books: The secondary sources you've already read and taken notes on may either contain primary sources, or provide the citations so you can track them down yourself. When searching in the catalog for books with primary sources, look for words like "a documentary history" or "sources." Also look for clues within the text like block quotes and distinct sections with a different author.
Databases. Many of the databases you looked at in the Reference Sources tab have primary sources within them. Those with primary sources are relisted below. Try playing with search filters to make sure you are looking at primary sources in the search results.
Websites. Below are a few websites with primary sources. Make sure to note the difference between any introductory text and the primary source itself.

Right: “YMCA English class, Minneapolis, Minnesota,” Digital Public Library of America.

Chinese Railroad Works in North America Project (Stanford)
A collection of primary sources, including payroll records, artifacts, and oral histories from the descendants of workers. Also look at the "Key Questions" section for secondary source information.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers (Library of Congress)
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963.
Excerpts from Slave Narratives (University of Houston)
Excerpts from slave narratives regarding the Middle Passage, family, religion, and more. Note that each source will have the original book citation at the bottom of the page.
History Matters (George Mason University)
Primary documents in text, image, and audio about the experiences of ordinary Americans throughout U.S. history.
Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents in American History (Library of Congress)
This guide contains digital materials at the Library of Congress related to the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and its after-effects.
Primary Source Sets at the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Primary source collections exploring topics in history, literature, and culture.