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ENGL B2: American Progressive Era: Finding Primary Sources

This guide was created for Professors Eagan and Llamas' ENGL B2 assignment analyzing history & literature from the American Progressive Era and finding primary sources.

Primary Sources

A primary source is something that was created and/or experienced at the time being studied. They provide a first-hand or eye witness account. Examples of primary sources include: historical documents, artifacts, diaries or journals, speeches, oral histories, photos, newspaper clippings, letters, etc. Reproductions of primary sources (remember, we won't have the originals) can often be found in books and on websites. 

You must find at least 2 primary sources for this assignment, and they will be able to provide you with the historical context of the literature you're reading. Look for historical newspapers or reviews of the books or other literature you're researching to see what critics and others thought of this literature at the time it was published.

Tips for finding primary sources

  • To find primary sources using OneSearch type in your topic search term(s) and on its own line type sources OR documents.  Books and eBooks are tagged or labeled with the word sources when they contain primary sources, and often the titles or descriptions include the word documents.
  • To find primary sources using databases type in your topic search term(s) in either a primary sources database or limit the search results (Refine Results) to primary sources, primary documents, or newspapers. Limiting to images and audio files are available in some databases, as well.

A group of women holding a sign related to women's rights during the Progressive Era.  Progressive Era newspaper front page.

Be sure to check out our Primary Sources LibGuide for more assistance.

What is a Primary Source?

Types of Primary Sources

There are many types of primary sources.

Literary or cultural sources

  • novels, plays, poems
  • television shows, movies, videos
  • paintings, photographs

Accounts that describe events, people, or ideas

  • interviews
  • eyewitness accounts
  • essays, speeches
  • memoirs, diaries, letters
  • government documents 

Information about people

  • census records
  • obituaries
  • newspaper articles

Information about places

  • maps, atlases
  • census information
  • photographs

Objects

  • clothing
  • furniture
  • artifacts

Empirical Works

  • research articles
  • clinical reports
  • case studies
  • original data

Adapted in part from University of Michigan Library 

eBooks for Primary Sources

Print Books for Primary Sources (you can check out)

The following books can be found in the library's General Collection, or the white-labeled book shelves. Use the call number to find the book on the shelves. You can check out 20 general books at one time. Each book can be checked out for 3 weeks, with up to two renewals of 3 weeks each.

Primary Sources in Library Databases

Search in these databases to find primary sources on your topic.

Reference Books for Primary Sources