Primary Sources

Primary Source Overview

A primary source is a record of a person, event, or occurrence created by an eyewitness or a participant's version of an event. Primary sources allow researchers to gain better insight into historical figures and events.
Primary sources emphasize the lack of intermediaries between the things or events being studied and reports of those things or events based on the belief that firsthand accounts are more accurate.
Examples of primary sources include diaries, letters, notes from lab experiments, photographs, blogs, e-mails, maps, scrapbooks, Facebook pages, poetry, artwork, birthday cards, office records, and artifacts.

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR offers journals, ebooks, and primary source collections, allowing researchers to retrieve high-resolution scanned images as they were originally designed, printed, and illustrated. The resources archived in JSTOR span many disciplines.
Library of Congress Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
Comprising more than 9 million items that document U.S. history and culture, the site is organized into more than 100 thematic collections based on their original format, their subject matter, or who first created, assembled, or donated them to the Library. LC's Digital Collections provides free and open access to manuscripts, prints, photographs, posters, maps, sound recordings, motion pictures, books, pamphlets, and sheet music. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. Collections may be browsed individually, searched individually (including full-text searching for many written items), or searched across multiple collections.
National Archives This link opens in a new window
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records.

Diary of Cotton Mather by Cotton Mather
Call Number: F67 .M4213 v.1
Publication Date: 1957

St. Thomas Aquinas | Summa Theologica Part I
Question 114 refers to Aquinas' thoughts on the assault of demons.
St. Thomas Aquinas | Summa Theologica Part II-II
Aquinas discusses general superstitions, idolatry, and divination in Questions 94-96.
The National Archives UK | Early Modern Witch Trails
This document collection includes various documents relating to the witch craze in 17th century England.
University of Virginia | Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project
An electronic collection of primary source materials relating to the Salem witch trials of 1692 and a new transcription of the court records.
The Cornell University Witchcraft Collection
Cornell’s Witchcraft Collection contains over 3,000 titles documenting the history of the Inquisition and the persecution of witchcraft, primarily in Europe.