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Home > For Undergraduates > How to > Find Primary Sources >Primary Sources Database

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Primary Sources Databases

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Newspapers

May be considered primary sources or secondary sources, depending on who wrote the article and what you are researching:

• African American Newspapers – 1827-1902
• America’s Historical Newspapers  – 1690-1922
• American State Papers – 1789-1838
• American Periodical Series – 1741-1900
• Civil War:  A Newspaper Perspective – 1860-1865
• Dallas Morning News Archive – 1885-1977
• Hispanic American Newspapers – 1808-1980
• Los Angeles Times – 1881-1985
• New York Times – 1851-2004
• Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers – 1800-1900
• Washington Post – 1877-1990

Speeches

• American Rhetoric
  Find audio, video and text transcripts of speeches in American history, politics and culture.
• Vital Speeches of the Day
  Find speeches on politics, government, business and more dating back to 1934.  Search this collection in Academic Search Complete following these tips.
  
  

Government Documents

Information produced by different agencies of the federal government such as reports, manuals and studies are primary sources for the actions of the government.  Researching local and state government documents may help contextualize your research topic. 

• USA.gov
  Find federal, local, tribal and international government information.  Search by government agency or by topics.
• LexisNexis Congressional – 1789-present
  Find congressional information including public policy, federal regulations, and voting records of members of congress
• More on Government Documents…
  A guide to more databases and websites containing government documents and information, including historic or foreign government documents.  Offers helpful search tips.  Or try Getting Started with U.S. Government Information
  
  

Legal Documents

Legal documents can be helpful for understanding the exact wording of legislation and what the law covers.  Case law and court rulings are primary sources for court cases and related controversies

• LexisNexis Academic – 1789-present
  Choose the Legal tab to find federal and state law and court cases. Search full-text articles from law reviews.  More Lexis Nexis tips...
• FindLaw – 1893-present
  Find the US Constitution, Supreme Court opinions since 1893 and cases from other federal courts.  Find cases, codes, statutes and regulations from each state.
• Avalon Project – 18th century-present
  From Yale Law School.  Find legal documents and related government information
• More on Legal Documents…
  A guide to more databases and websites containing legal documents and information.  Offers helpful search tips.

Public Opinion Polls

Polls and surveys are a common way to measure public opinion.  They offer raw data on the public’s attitudes towards certain issues and provide context for historical movements

• Recent Polls
  Polling the Nations – 1986-present
  Find responses from 14,000 surveys conducted in the United States and 80 other countries
• More on Public Opinion…
  A guide to more databases and websites containing public opinion poll data, including historical polling data.  Offers helpful search tips.
  
  

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