Primary Sources

"Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts that retell, analyze, or interpret events, usually at a distance of time or place." – Library of Congress Teacher’s Page

Library of Congress Types of Sources:

• original manuscripts;
• periodical articles reporting original research or thought;
• diaries, memoirs, letters, journals, photographs, drawings, and posters; 
• film footage, sheet music, speeches, songs, and interviews; 
• government documents, public records, eyewitness accounts; and
• newspaper clippings, maps, oral histories

Secondary Sources

"Secondary sources are accounts that retell, analyze, or interpret events, usually at a distance of time or place." —Library of Congress Teacher's Page

Library of Congress: Types of Sources

• Books,
• review and critical analysis; 
• recond-person account and historical study; and
• encyclopedias, biographies, etc.