Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary vs Secondary Sources

You can read more about the differences here.

Primary Sources -- Explorers

What is a primary source?

A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.  Find out more here.

Check out these primary sources:

Christopher Columbus

Hernan Cortes

Francisco Coronado

The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

The 1906 Earthquake -- USGS.

A first person account of the 1906 Earthquake. -- SF museum (primary source)

More primary sources from the SF Museum.

1906 Earthquake for kids.

What is an earthquake?

Civil War -- Primary Sources

Two of the most important primary source documents from the Civil War are The Emancipation Proclamation and The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.

You can find more primary sources from the Civil War Trust.
A picture can be worth a thousand words.  The National Archives provides hundreds of photographs from the Civil War.

Hard Tack, Come Again No More (song)
Hardtack biscuits recipe.