LibGuides: HIST 251 (Mehler): Finding Primary Sources

Primary Sources

In the study of History, a primary source is an artifact, a document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, a recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under study.

HIST 251 - Mehler

Finding Primary Sources

Use FLITE's subscription databases to find primary sources. To access FLITE databases from off-campus, login using your MyFSU username and password.

Images from MorgueFile: http://www.morguefile.com/

Access World News This link opens in a new window
News coverage at the local, state, regional, national, and international level from over 12,400 print and online newspapers, blogs, newswires, journals, broadcast transcripts, and videos.
American Periodicals (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized pages of over 1,240 American special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, and children’s and women’s magazines published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century.
Empire Online This link opens in a new window
Manuscript, printed, and visual primary source documents on the study of 'Empire' and its theories, practices and consequences from 1500 to 2000. Includes manuscripts, rare printed materials, letterbooks, periodicals, diaries, and photographs accompanied by a host of secondary learning resources including scholarly essays, interactive maps, and an interactive chronology.
Global Commodities This link opens in a new window
Manuscript, printed, and visual primary source materials from over twenty key libraries and more than a dozen companies and trade organizations around the world depicting the history of fifteen major commodities and examining the ways that they have changed the world. Commodities include chocolate, coffee, cotton, fur, opium, oil, porcelain, silver and gold, spices, sugar, tea, timber, tobacco, wheat, and wine and spirits.
Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive This link opens in a new window
Videos of over 56,000 testimonies from survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides including the Nanjing Massacre, the Tutsi in Rwanda, and others. All recordings have digitized transcripts and are searchable to the minute.

Historical Newspapers
Historical Newspapers is a collection of eight databases, each covering an individual newspaper title, providing full-text access to the content of major U.S. newspapers (including articles, editorials, ads, and obituaries). Coverage begins with each paper's first issue and continues through recent years.

Chicago Defender: 1909-1975 (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized pages of every issue of the Chicago Defender from 1909 through 1975 including articles, editorials, ads, and obituaries.
Chicago Tribune: 1849-1998 (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized pages of every issue of the Chicago Tribune from 1849 through 1998 including articles, editorials, ads, and obituaries.
Detroit Free Press: 1831-1999 (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized pages of every issue of the Detroit Free Press from 1831 through 1999 including articles, editorials, ads, and obituaries.
New York Times: 1851-2020 (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized pages of every issue of the New York Times from 1851 through 2020 including articles, editorials, ads, and obituaries.
Washington Post: 1877-2008 (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Digitized pages of every issue of the Washington Post from 1877 through 2008 including articles, editorials, ads, and obituaries.

Next: Finding Secondary Sources >>