Links to online primary sources

Historians visit archives and museums to research primary sources - but you can also find many digitized primary sources online.

Broad collections

• American Archive of Public Broadcasting: https://americanarchive.org/
• David Rumsey Map Collection: https://www.davidrumsey.com/
• Digital Commonwealth - Massachusetts Collections Online: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/
• Digital Public Library of America: https://dp.la/
  • Primary Source sets: https://dp.la/primary-source-sets
• Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collections
• Google Books: https://books.google.com/
  • Many digitized historic books. Check out the Vermont Historical Gazetteer by Abby Hemenway.
• HathiTrust Digital Library: https://www.hathitrust.org/
• Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/texts
• Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/
  • Using the Library of Congress Online: A Guide for Middle and High School Students: https://guides.loc.gov/student-resources 
  • Chronicling America - Historic Newspapers: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
  • Legislation: https://www.congress.gov/
  • Manuscripts: https://www.loc.gov/manuscripts/collections/
  • Maps: https://www.loc.gov/maps/collections/
  • Motion Pictures: https://www.loc.gov/film-and-videos/collections/
  • National Jukebox: https://www.loc.gov/collections/national-jukebox/about-this-collection/
  • Prints & Photographs: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/
  • World Digital Library: https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-digital-library/about-this-collection/
• Museums for Digital Learning: https://museumsfordigitallearning.org/
• National Archives and Records Administration:  https://www.archives.gov/
  • Docs Teach History Day resources: https://docsteach.org/topics/nhd
  • National Archives Digital Vault: https://www.docsteach.org/digital-vaults
  • Our Documents: https://www.ourdocuments.gov/
  • Presidential Libraries: https://www.archives.gov/presidential_libraries/index.html
• National Gallery of Art: https://www.nga.gov/collection.html
• New York Public Library Digital Archives: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/
• New York State Archives: https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/
• New York State Library Digital Collections: https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/scandocs/
• Osher Map Library: https://www.oshermaps.org/
• Smithsonian Institution: https://www.si.edu/
  • History Explorer: https://historyexplorer.si.edu/home/
  • Learning Lab: https://learninglab.si.edu
  • Smithsonian Open Access: https://www.si.edu/openaccess
• Stanford Libraries Map Collections: https://exhibits.stanford.edu/nhdmaps/browse
• United Kingdom National Archives: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Primary source sets

• Library of Congress Primary Source Sets: https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/
• State Historical Society of Iowa Primary Source Sets: https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets
• Thinkport (Primary Source Inquiry Kits): https://www.thinkport.org/tps/

Vermont collections

• Bennington Museum: https://benningtonmuseum.org/collections-overview/collection-highlights/
• Champlain College Special Collections: https://www.champlain.edu/academics/library/special-collections
• Green Mountain Digital Archive from DPLA: https://libraries.vermont.gov/GMDA
• Middlebury College Library and Special Collections: https://www.middlebury.edu/library/special-collections
  • Vermont Maps: https://archive.org/details/middleburycollegemaps
  • Vermont Postcards: https://archive.org/details/vermontearlypostcards
• Norwich University Archives & Special Collections: https://archives.norwich.edu/digital/
• Old Maps of New England: http://www.old-maps.com/
  • Vermont maps: http://www.old-maps.com/vermont/vt-state-dir.htm
• University of Vermont Special Collections: https://specialcollections.uvm.edu/
  
  • Center for Digital Initiatives: https://cdi.uvm.edu/
  • Vermont Eugenics, A Documentary History: https://www.uvm.edu/~eugenics/
  • Vermont Landscape Change:  https://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape_new/
• Vermont Historical Society:
  • Digital Resources: https://vermonthistory.org/digital-resources/
  • Vermont History Explorer: https://vermonthistoryexplorer.org/
  • Green Mountain Chronicles (oral history): https://vermonthistory.org/green-mountain-chronicles
  • Digital Vermont: https://www.digitalvermont.org/
  • Vermont Census Records: https://vermonthistory.org/vt-census-records
  • Freedom & Unity Online Exhibit: https://vermonthistory.org/freedom-unity-one-ideal-many-stories/
• Vermont in the Civil War: http://vermontcivilwar.org
• Vermont Life Magazine: https://archive.org/details/vermontlifemagazine?sort=titleSorter
• Vermont State Archives: https://sos.vermont.gov/vsara/

Specialized collections

• Amistad Research Center: https://www.amistadresearchcenter.org/digital-projects
• American Journeys: https://www.americanjourneys.org/
• Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History & Diplomacy: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/
• Civil Rights Movement Veterans: https://crmvet.org/
• Digitizing Immigrant Letters: https://ihrca.umn.edu/immigrant-letters/
• Google Patent Search: https://www.google.com/?tbm=pts
• History Matters: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/
• Memorial Hall Museum - American Centuries: http://americancenturies.mass.edu
• National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/teachingwithhistoricplaces/index.htm
• Story Corps (Collection of oral histories): https://storycorps.org/
• US Census Decennial Reports: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html

More links from National History Day: https://www.nhd.org/student-resources