Subject & Course Guides: Primary Source Information: Library of Congress Primary Source Sets

A-J

Abraham Lincoln: Rise to National Prominence
Speeches, correspondence, campaign materials and a map documenting the free and slave states in 1856 chronicle Lincoln’s rise to national prominence
American Authors in the Nineteenth Century: Whitman, Dickinson, Longfellow, Stowe, and Poe
A selection of Library of Congress primary sources exploring the topic of American authors in the nineteenth century, including Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Edgar Allan Poe. This set also includes a Teacher's Guide with historical context and teaching suggestions
Assimilation through Education
Photos, early film footage, federal government reports, cartoons, and maps tell the complex tale of the efforts to assimilate Native Americans through education
Baseball: Across a Divided Society
Song sheets, video clips, images, trading cards, and photographs tell the story of how baseball emerged as the American national pastime. Featured primary source items show Americans from different backgrounds and social experiences embracing the sport
Children’s Lives at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Images, film, and books shed light on the ways in which children worked, learned, and played around the year 1900. Especially suitable for early grades
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
The Civil War: The Nation Moves Towards War, 1850-61
Conflict between abolition and slavery marked the 1850s, preceding the election of 1860 and the attack on Fort Sumter. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown, and secession in maps, newspapers, political cartoons and song sheets
Civil War Images: Depictions of African Americans in the War Effort
Photographs, lithographs, and visual images representing varied roles and experiences of African Americans during the American Civil War
Civil War Music
Sound files, sheet music, and photographs help students better understand the American Civil War through study of popular songs
Civil War Photographs: New Technologies and New Uses
Tintypes, ambrotypes, stereographs, and more. Innovative photographic technologies and formats of the Civil War era document the era’s changing visual culture
Civil War Soldiers’ Portraits: The Liljenquist Family Collection
Photographs and letters from the Civil War provide a window into the lives of ordinary Union and Confederate soldiers
The Constitution
Newspaper articles, notes, and original documents trace the process of drafting and adopting the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Speeches and song lyrics show how later generations used and interpreted the original ideals of the United States.
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
The Dust Bowl
Photographs, recorded music, and song lyrics document the daily ordeals of rural migrant families from the Great Plains during a decade marked by both the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Found Poetry
Using primary source texts on a variety of subjects, students select words to retell the historical content in poetic form
The Harlem Renaissance
Photographs, authors' drafts, sheet music, an audio recording, and newspaper articles let students explore the artistic and literary legacy of the Harlem Renaissance.
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Hispanic Exploration in America
Songs, maps, drawings, paintings, written documents and presentations outline the role of Hispanic explorers in the discovery, exploration, and development of America
Immigration: Challenges for New Americans
Photographs, maps detailing immigration patterns, official documents, song sheets and streaming audio recount the immigrant experience in America, their reasons for leaving their homelands, and the reactions of established Americans.
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
The Industrial Revolution in the United States
Maps, songs, photos, and political cartoons tell the story of the United States' transition to an industrial nation
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
The Inventive Wright Brothers
Wilbur and Orville Wright went from repairing bicycles to inventing the airplane. Photographs, newspapers articles, personal letters and telegrams, and official army documents record their experiences and their experiments
Jamestown
Maps, images, and text tell the story of the first English settlement in North America, and how it came to be regarded in later years

J - Z

Japanese American Internment
Official documents, newspapers, and images offer perspectives on the Japanese American experience of forced relocation to internment camps during World War II
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Jim Crow and Segregation
After the Civil War, most Southern states limited the economic and physical freedom of former slaves by enacting laws that came to be called Jim Crow laws. This primary source set presents popular views on, and the causes and effects of, these laws
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Maps From The World Digital Library
Explore maps from different cultures and eras to discover diverse perspectives on the world's geography. All the items in this set are from the World Digital Library, a project that makes available significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world
Mexican American Migrations and Communities
Mexican American communities grew and changed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Photos, historic newspapers, oral history interviews, and maps are included
The NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom
The story of America's oldest and largest civil rights organization, told through letters, photographs, maps, and more
The New Deal
Photographs, posters, oral histories, and music recount how Federal programs sought to end the Great Depression
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Political Cartoons and Public Debates
Political cartoons paired with other historical documents let students explore the ways in which cartoonists try to persuade their audience
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Primary Sources By State
The Library of Congress has rich documents and artifacts from every state, the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. Browse some of the best primary sources by state
Scientific Data: Observing, Recording, and Communicating Information
Reports, maps, notes, letters, diagrams, sketches, and more represent a broad sample of communication styles, formats, and methods in a wide range of scientific disciplines
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
The Spanish-American War: The United States Becomes a World Power
The Spanish-American War launched the United States as a world power. Yellow journalism, the USS Maine and Theodore Roosevelt's rise to political power through his leadership of the Rough Riders
Symbols of the United States
Posters, sheet music, newspaper cartoons, and photos illuminate several of the most recognizable symbols of the United States. Especially suitable for early grades.
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Thanksgiving
Letters, photographs, historic newspapers, magazines, presidential proclamations and more trace the ways in which Thanksgiving has been celebrated throughout history.
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Understanding the Cosmos: Changing Models of the Solar System and the Universe
Models of the solar system and universe, including drawings and illustrations by Ptolemy, Copernicus, Descartes, and Galileo.
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Veterans' Stories: The Veterans History Project
The personal stories of American war veterans and civilian workers who supported them, as recorded in interviews, diaries, letters, photographs, and drawings
Veterans' Stories: Struggles for Participation
Women and people of color have often had to overcome obstacles in order to participate fully in the U.S. armed forces. Veterans tell their stories through interviews, memoirs, and photographs
Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln
Images and documents that introduce three important U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. Especially suitable for early grades
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Weather Forecasting
Data charts, photographs, drawings, and newspaper articles document how weather forecasting has changed over time
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
Westward Expansion: Encounters at a Cultural Crossroads
The expansion of the U.S. westward and the encounters that resulted are documented in photographs, sheet music, maps, letters, oral history, and more
Women's Suffrage
Sound files, sheet music, photographs, letters and maps help students better understand women's suffrage
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks
World War I
World War I was a war like no other and had lasting effects on the United States and the world. Photographs, maps, songs, poems, newspapers, posters, and soldiers’ accounts explore the events and impact of this global conflict.
Student Discovery Set — free ebook on iBooks