Detail of Plan of the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia by Robert Knox Sneden

Primary sources are first-hand evidence from the historical period being studied. Historians use this evidence to establish historical facts.

The Department of History and American Studies at UMW says this about primary sources:

Primary sources are the core of historical research. Broadly defined, they include all materials produced by people. They include obvious sources like diaries, letters, speeches, government documents, contemporary publications, laws, police and court records, maps, newspapers, and photographs. Remember, however, that there are other primary sources too: public opinion polls, telephone directories, coins, inscriptions, advertisements, business records, works of art, city directories, poetry, music, buildings, statues, organizational minutes, railroad schedules, birth, marriage, and death records, novels, political debates, films, furniture, and tombstones. This list is far from exhaustive.

Primary sources are different from secondary sources, such as journal articles. Secondary sources do not provide first-hand evidence; instead, they analyze evidence provided by other sources.

Here are several strategies for finding primary sources. Try more than one strategy!

• Check the citations within secondary sources to see which primary sources they cite. When you know that a certain primary source exists, you can search for it by its name, either in the library or on the internet.

• To find library books that contain primary sources, search the library and use any of these subject subdivisions in your searches:
  • Sources
  • Personal narratives
  • Diaries
  • Correspondence
  • Interviews
  • Speeches
  • Facsimiles
  • Pamphlets
  • To find additional subdivisions for your subject, search for a subject heading in the Browse by Subject search tool.

• Newspapers, magazines, and advertisements are often used as primary sources. To find newspapers, see the Newspapers guide. To find magazines, see the Magazines guide. To find advertisements, see the Advertisements guide.

• Search the databases of primary sources that UMW subscribes to (listed below).

• Search free online archives of primary sources. Some recommendations are listed below.

• Use any internet search engine, such as Google or Bing. Search for your topic and add primary sources or archive to your search. Or, add more specific terms to find specific types of primary sources, such as letters or speeches or photographs.

For additional advice, see the UMW History and American Studies Resources page.