Primary Sources
Primary sources are the building blocks of history. Historians – and History Day students – use both primary and secondary sources to research what happened in the past and to develop their own interpretations of historical events.
For a topic related to Breaking Barriers in History, like the history of women's suffrage in Vermont, students could explore:
The Drive for Women's Municipal Suffrage in Vermont, 1883-1917, a secondary source article from the Vermont History journal for background information about the suffrage movement.
Women Get the Vote, a secondary source website page and audio program with a lead to primary source transcripts of oral history interviews. (According to page 8 of the History Day rule book, sources like the radio program that include clips of primary source oral histories are considered secondary sources.)
Finding Aid for the Vermont Equal Suffrage Association Papers, 1883-1927 to discover what primary sources are available to view at the Vermont Historical Society research library.
National American Woman Suffrage Association Records, General Correspondence, 1839-1961, with a Vermont connection, a selection digitized primary sources available at the Library of Congress.
