HSTR120: History of Human Rights

The easiest way to find relevant primary sources is to find them within your secondary sources. They'll be in the citations, as scholarly sources in history use and cite primary sources, and they'll be part of the historical narrative.  Look for references to documentary and other primary evidence in your events (a speech was given, a law was passed, a treaty was signed, etc) and look for clues that can lead you to primary sources: newsworthy events, key actors who may have authored an autobiography or reflections, representative images and more.  

Once you do your preliminary research and understand the background of your topic, including the key people, places, events, and dates involved, you can start to think about finding primary sources in addition to those found within your secondary sources.   Ask yourself: 

1. What kind of information am I seeking? (Public, private, personal?)
2. What documents would have been creating during this event? (Government documents, newspapers, diaries?)
3. Which perspective am I looking for? (Civilian, soldier, general, president, enemy?)

Here are some frequently used categories of primary sources:

• Newspapers: Find newspapers on the Newspaper Guide.  We also have some newspaper archives available online.  Newspapers are usually considered primary sources, as they are artifacts of their time and place, even though they most often do not contain first-hand accounts of events.  Consider the bias of the journalist, any external factors that may influence the articles (political leanings, wartime news blackouts, public opinion).  
• Government Publications:  Find these on the Goverment Publications guides.  Each has a section for "Primary and Official Sources, Debates", which contains links to legislation, verbatim reports of what was said, and other useful sources. 
• Diaries:  Find these in the catalogue by adding the word "Diaries" to your  keyword search, "world war diaries". 
• Speeches:  Find these in the catalogue by adding the word "speeches" to your keyword search for an individual person, "Hitler speeches". 
• Letters: Find these in the catalogue by adding the world "letters" to your  keyword search for an individual person, "Churchill letters".