Databases with Primary Sources

• Archive of Americana:** Use this database to cross-search the databases listed below. To search the databases individually, click on the hyper linked titles. Archive of Americana is a family of historical collections containing books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, government documents and ephemera printed in America over three centuries. 
• America's Historical Imprints:** Searchable monographs, pamphlets, broadsides, government documents and ephemera enable researchers to explore America's distant and not so distant past. Available here: American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I; Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800; Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819. 
• America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922:** Searchable American newspapers enable users to explore America's past. Available here: Early American Newspapers, Series 1, 1690-1876; Series 1 (2009 ETC); Series 2, 1758-1900; Series 2 (2009 ETC); Series 3, 1829-1922 and Series 3 (2009 ETC). 
• American State Papers:** Legislative and executive documents, many originating from the important period between 1789 and the beginning of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set in 1817. 

• Daily News Tribune: This database covers the Waltham News Tribune dating back to 2001, as well as several other town and regional newspapers such as The Metrowest Daily News and The Boston Herald. Issues of The Waltham Tribune earlier than 2001 are on microfilm at the Waltham Public Library. Requires a Minuteman Library Card #: Visit Your Library 24/7 

• Historical Newspapers: Boston Globe and The New York Times: Search through copies of The New York Times rom the 1850's through 2008 and copies of The Boston Globe from the 1870's through 1979. Read about the Boston Molasses Flood after it happened. Read a New York perspective about the 2004 ALCS. You can even search paid death notices from those eras. Requires a Minuteman Library Card #: Visit Your Library 24/7 ​

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Websites with Primary Sources

• Gilderman Lehrman Institute of American History: Provides and overview of American history by era with corresponding primary sources and essays by leading scholars. To access all of the site's resources, create a free student account OR log in using the info below:
  • Username: whslibrary
  • Password: Ask your library teacher: Waltham1.
• Internet Modern History Sourcebook: A collection of primary and secondary sources from modern European history and American history, as well as in modern Western Civilization and World Cultures.
• Library of Congress, American Memory Project: A huge collection of "written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience."
  • Library of Congress, Primary Documents in American History: Browse documents from the following eras: The American Revolution and the New Nation 1763-1815, National Expansion and Reform 1815-1860, and Civil War and Reconstruction 1860-1877.
  • Library of Congress, Chronicling America: A searchable collection of newspapers from around the United States (1836-1922).
• LIFE Photo Archive: A searchable collection of LIFE Magazine's photographs from the 1860s to the 1970s.
• National Archives DOCS Teach: Primary Sources: Primary sources from the American Revolution to contemporary United States.
• National History Day Primary Sources: Contains links to collections of primary sources on the web. Topics include, women's history, African American history, Native American history, Colonial History, the Civil War, etc.
• Oral History Online: Contains links to several oral history websites.
• Our Documents: 100 milestone documents in American history. View the original documents, read the transcripts, and download the PDF.
• Smithsonian Sources: Search the Smithsonian collection for primary sources on westward expansion, civil rights, transportation, invention, colonial America, and Native American history.
• Smithsonian: Look up background information on your topic in the Smithsonian Encyclopedia, browse the Smithsonian's online collections of artifacts and primary source documents, and explore the online exhibitions.

Early America Primary Sources

• Colonial and Early America (LOC): Primary sources pertain to the Jamestown settlement and the early celebrations of Thanksgiving.
• Archiving Early America:

U.S. Civil War Primary Sources

• Mr. Lincoln's Virtual Library
• American Slave Narratives
• Documenting the American South:"Primary sources for the study of southern history, literature, and culture." Contains primary source slave narratives.
• The Papers of Jefferson Davis

The Great Depression & New Deal Primary Sources

• Miller Center: U.S. Depression, FDR, and the New Deal: A collection of primary resources ranging from FDR's Fireside Chats, to newspaper ads (1911-1955), and images of the Dust bowl.

Speeches

• American Rhetoric: "Database of and index to 5000+ full text, audio and video versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, other recorded media events, and a declaration or two."
• Robert G. Vincent Voice Library: A collection of over 40,000 hours of spoken word recordings, dating back to 1888. Includes the voices of over 100,000 persons from all walks of life. Political and cultural leaders and minor players in the human drama are captured and cataloged to serve the research needs of a local, national and international user base.

**These databases require a BPL library card number. Visit Your Library 24/7 for the WHS Library's BPL number.