Source Possibilities for Primary Sources

When doing research for your National History Day project you will encounter many primary sources.  These sources are essential to your project.  They give you first hand accounts about your topic.  Considering there are varied amounts of primary sources you can use each one in a way that will give your project the “wow” factor.

Here are some  examples of primary sources and how you can use them to their greatest advantages.  Personal records such as letters, diaries, photo albums, and scrapbooks could help you learn about values, attitudes, first-hand accounts of historical events, uses of technology, and more.  These resources are probably located at local historical societies. Records from organizations and businesses such as inventories, cemetery records, travel brochures, school records, yearbooks, and union records are all great primary sources. They all show different types of history such as economic and educational.  Public organizations such as schools, business, and historical societies would be where you can find these sources.

Paintings, drawings, blueprints, photographs, and other visual records are great primary sources especially if you are doing a documentary or an exhibit.  It allows you to get a realistic view into the time period in which you are studying.  Art museums and historical societies would a great place to look for these sources.  Newspaper and magazines can help you gain information about an event or historical era from writers who may have witnessed the event.  Many libraries and historical societies contain copies of old newspapers.

Interviews are a great primary source.  They give first-hand accounts of important people or events.  You can conduct your own interviews or some maybe pre-recorded and found at your local historical societies.

Now to my personal favorite primary sources, (I know how cool am I that I have a favorite primary source) pop culture sources.  These sources consist of music, advertisements, old TV shows, magazines, and books.  These sources show the values of a certain time period.  These sources can also be found in historical societies and libraries.

Government records such as trade agreements, treaties, census data, and court proceedings allow you to see how the government dealt with various issues.  Local government information is found in local historical societies, while government records are found at the National Archives.  Maps, genealogies, doctoral dissertations, or other academic sources can be full with useful data.  Libraries and historical societies would be the best place to find these sources.  Now go out and go find yourself some amazing primary sources!

-Ali, Delaware Historical Society Intern

Federal Trials and Great Debates in United States History!

Teachers: This sounds like an interesting summer institute!

Secondary school teachers of United States history and government are invited to apply for a summer institute, Federal Trials and Great Debates in United States History, to be held June 27-July 2, 2010, in Washington, DC. The institute is co-sponsored by the Federal Judicial Center and the American Bar Association Division for Public Education.

The institute will provide teachers with the training and resources to engage students in the history of landmark federal cases. This year’s institute will study trials under the Sedition Act of 1798, Ex parte Merryman and debates on habeas corpus during the Civil War, and a trial of bootleggers during Prohibition.

Faculty will include David Cole of the Georgetown Law School, Saul Cornell of Fordham University, Linda Greenhouse of Yale Law School and formerly Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times, and Michael Vorenberg of Brown University. Teachers will also visit the Supreme Court and the U.S. Courthouse for the District of Columbia.

Participation will be limited to 20 teachers. Travel, lodging, and meal expenses will be reimbursed.

Further information and application materials are available on line at http://www.abanet.org/publiced/summerinstitute/home.shtml

Completed applications must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2010.