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HIST 300 Historical Methods Henold: Primary Resources

Primary vs. Secondary Resources

A primary source is a document or physical object written/created during the moment in time you are interested in researching. A primary source provides information directly from the source (a book written by Adolf Hitler). A secondary source provides information indirectly (a historian's recounting of research done on Hitler).

American University has helpful guide explaining the differences between primary and secondary sources here.

Primary Source Collections

Here are a few digitized titles of interest for American history projects. Some have particularly good examples of American advertising.

Subject Guide

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