The source-driven junior paper
Often, the best work arises from close engagement with a primary source. As you read, you'll think of questions or begin to shape an argument. The hard part is to find a primary source that addresses the broad general area of interest. Here are some strategies for finding primary sources:
- Check the footnotes, endnotes and bibliography of a good academic book on your topic.
- Search the library catalog for the topic you're researching. Add the word "sources", "diaries," "correspondence," or "personal narratives" to find primary sources that are published as books
Primary Sources in the Library: General Collections
Conflicts in American History: a documentary encyclopedia. by Call Number: E174 .C655 2010ISBN: 9780816070930Publication Date: 2010-09-01For more than four centuries, new ideas, principles, and events have caused major conflicts in American history - concerning such vital issues as slavery, freedom, democracy, immigration, and equality. It is through these very conflicts that American history is taught, and increasingly, this history is being taught through documents. From introducing slavery and breaking away from England in the colonial period to the Civil War in the 19th century, the civil rights movement in the 20th century, and the war in Iraq today, every era has been marked by conflicts in which Americans have fought passionately for what they believed in. All of these conflicts have defined what America is, and all of them can be studied through historical documents. ""Conflicts in American History: A Documentary Encyclopedia"" explores the conflicts, controversies, and ideas that have made American civilization unique and distinctive. Blending narrative essays and primary sources, this new, comprehensive eight-volume encyclopedia provides students with the background they need to understand American history and the skills required to read and interpret the important documents that have shaped our nation. Each volume focuses on one distinct chronological era and the conflicts that defined it. Consisting of 15-20 manageable chapters, with each chapter devoted to one specific conflict and containing 10-15 original documents, every volume begins with a general overview essay that introduces the major conflicts, issues, and controversies of the period, as well as key figures and events. A chronology and a bibliography are included in each chapter. Each volume of the encyclopedia features approximately 250-350 original documents, a master bibliography, and a lengthy appendix with biographical sketches of 50-100 individuals mentioned in the documents or central to the period. A master index is included for the entire set in the final volume.
On the Front Lines of the Cold War by Call Number: onlineISBN: 1929667019Publication Date: 1999-11-01
Through the History of the Cold War by Call Number: E840 .K383 2010ISBN: 9780812242539Publication Date: 2010-06-29In September 1952, John Lukacs, then a young and unknown historian, wrote George Kennan (1904-2005), the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, asking one of the nation's best-known diplomats what he thought of Lukacs's own views on Kennan's widely debated idea of containing rather than militarily confronting the Soviet Union. A month later, to Lukacs's surprise, he received a personal reply from Kennan. So began an exchange of letters that would continue for more than fifty years. Lukacs would go on to become one of America's most distinguished and prolific diplomatic historians, while Kennan, who would retire from public life to begin a new career as Pulitzer Prize-winning author, would become revered as the man whose strategy of containment led to a peaceful end to the Cold War. Their letters, collected here for the first time, capture the writing and thinking of two of the country's most important voices on America's role and place in world affairs. From the division of Europe into East and West after World War II to its unification as the Soviet Union disintegrated, and from the war in Vietnam to the threat of nuclear annihilation and the fate of democracy in America and the world, this book provides an insider's tour of the issues and pivotal events that defined the Cold War. The correspondence also charts the growth and development of an intellectual and personal friendship that was intense, devoted, and honest. As Kennan later wrote Lukacs in letter, "perceptive, understanding, and constructive criticism is . . . as I see it, in itself a form of creative philosophical thought." It is a belief to which both men subscribed and that they both practiced. Presented with an introduction by Lukacs, the letters in Through the History of the Cold War reveal new dimensions to Kennan's thinking about America and its future, and illuminate the political--and spiritual--philosophies that the two authors shared as they wrote about a world transformed by war and by the clash of ideologies that defined the twentieth century.
The Cold War by ISBN: 0198208626Publication Date: 2003-10-09The Cold War contains a selection of official and unofficial documents which provide a truly multi-faceted account of the entire Cold War era. The experiences of the East Berlin housewife are placed alongside those of the South African student; the participation of political leaders from Europe and the Third World stand juxtaposed. Not only does this book put a human face on the conflict, but it draws emphasis to the variety of ways in which this conflict was experienced. The final selection of documents illustrates the global impact of the Cold War to the present day, and establishes links between the Cold War and the events of 11th September 2001.
The Cold War Through Documents by ISBN: 9781538109250Publication Date: 2017-10-27This comprehensive collection of carefully edited documents--speeches, treaties, statements, and articles--traces the rise and fall of the Cold War. The sources follow the Cold War from its roots in East-West tensions at the end of World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Set in historical context by the editors' concise introductions and followed by thoughtful discussion questions, the documents are arranged in chronological order, starting with the Yalta Conference and ending with Gorbachev's resignation speech. Drawing on selections from a variety of countries and leaders involved in this prolonged global struggle, the editors treat the entire Cold War as an era in world history, not just U.S. history. Their judicious selection makes the great events of the time come alive through the words and phrases of those who were actively involved.
The Cold War by Call Number: D842 .W56 2011ISBN: 9780199765997Publication Date: 2011-07-15The cold war lasted for more than fifty years and polarized the world. Rooted in political and ideological disagreements dating back to the Russian Revolution of 1917, the war emerged from disputes that intensified in the wake of World War II. In The Cold War: A History in Documents, Second Edition, Allan M. Winkler excerpts speeches by Soviet premier Joseph Stalin and British prime minister Winston Churchill in order to demonstrate the growing abyss between the two political systems. President Harry S. Truman's announcement of the existence of a Soviet atomic bomb and his speech to Congress launching the Truman Doctrine testify to the gravity of the situation. The complex politics of the Vietnam War appear in voices of those as divergent as Vietnamese nationalist Ho Chi Minh, President Lyndon B. Johnson, antiwar protestors, and a participant in the My Lai massacre. A picture essay, "The Atom Unleashed," provides a collection of photographs and cartoons tracing one of the most controversial discoveries of the twentieth century. And a final chapter chronicles in detail the end of the cold war. The second edition of The Cold War: A History in Documents offers more thorough coverage of the 1970s through the1990s. The book features additional material on China and Africa, and several new images, including a Herblock editorial cartoon about the Marshall Plan and a French Communist Party poster for peace in Vietnam. There is also a revised note on sources and interpretation and updates to the lists of further reading and websites.
The Cold War by Call Number: D843 .C577323 2001ISBN: 0631207066Publication Date: 2001-10-08This collection brings together the most influential and commonly-studied articles on the Cold War. Together with an introduction and concise headnotes, this book provides students with easy access to seminal work and an analytical framework with which to approach their studies.
The Creation of the Intelligence Community: Founding Documents by Call Number: onlineISBN: 9780160909375Publication Date: 2012-07-11President Truman shuttered the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) as an unneeded, wartime-only special operations/quasi-intelligence agency. The State Department, the Navy, and the War Department quickly recognized that a secret information vacuum loomed and urged the creation of something to replace OSS. These previously declassified and released documents present the thoughtful albeit tortuous and contentious creation of CIA, culminating in the National Security Act of 1947. The declassified historic material dissects the twists and turns and displays the considerable political and legal finesse required to assess the many plans, suggestions, maneuvers and actions that ultimately led to the establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency and other national security entities, which included the incorporation of special safeguards to protect civil liberties. Copies of selected intelligence documents and a timeline of miliestones in the creation of the US Intelligence Community from 1941 through 1964 are included in this resource.
Primary Sources in the Library: Newspapers, Magazines, & Broadcasts
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Coverage depends on the newspaper. American Hebrew and Jewish Messenger (1857-1922); American Israelite (1854-2000); Arizona Republican (1890-2007); Atlanta Constitution (1868-1984); Atlanta Daily World (1931-2010); Austin American Statesman (1871-1980); Baltimore Afro-American (1893-2010); Baltimore Sun (1837-1998); Barron's (1921-2010); Boston Globe (1872-1993); Calgary Herald (1883-2010), Call and Post (Cleveland) (1934-1991); Chicago Defender (1909-2010); Chicago Tribune (1849-2015); Christian Science Monitor (1908-2011); Cincinnati Enquirer (1841-1922);Cleveland Call & Post (1934-2010); Dayton Daily News (1898-1922); Detroit Free Press (1831-1999); Edmonton Journal (1903-2010), Globe & Mail (1844-2021); Guardian and the Observer (1791-2003); Hartford Courant (1764-1998); Hindustan Times (1924-2010); Indianapolis Star (1903-2004); Irish Times (1859-2022); Jerusalem Post (1932-2008); Jewish Advocate (1905-1990); Jewish Exponent (1887-1990); Korea Times (1956-2016); Le Monde (1944-December 30, 2000); Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan) (1883-2010); London Evening Standard (1827+); Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005); Los Angeles Times (1881-2016); Louisville Courier Journal (1830-2000); Michigan Chronicle (1936-2010); Minneapolis Star Tribune (1867-2001); Montreal Gazette (1857-2010), Nashville Tennessean (1812-2009); New York Amsterdam News (1922-2010); New York Times (1851-2020); New York Tribune (1841-1962); Newsday (1940-1996); Norfolk Journal and Guide (1916-2003); Ottawa Citizen (1845-2010); Philadelphia Inquirer (1860-2001); Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001); Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002); Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1786-2003); Province (1898-2010); San Francisco Chronicle (1865-1922); St. Louis American (1949-2010); St. Louis Dispatch (1874-2003); St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay Times (1886-2009); Saskatoon Star Phoenix (1902-2009); Scotsman (1817-1950); South China Morning Post (1903-2001); Times-Colonist (Victoria) (1884-2010); Times of India (1838-2011); Toronto Star (1894-2021); Vancouver Sun (1912-2010), Wall Street Journal (1889-2013); Washington Post (1877-2008); Windsor Star (1883-2010). Also includes a Chinese Newspapers Collection (1832-1953) and a collection of American and British Communist papers (1917-2013).
- America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowSearchable full-text of historical newspapers including titles from all 50 states. Now includes select coverage of some major papers after 1922 through the mid 1990s.
- Communist Historical Newspaper Collection (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new windowCollection of Communist American and British papers: The Daily Worker (1936-1958); The Ohio Socialist (1917-1919); People's Daily World (1986-1990); People's Weekly World (1990-2013); Sunday Worker (1936-1958); The Toiler (1919-1922); The Worker (1922-1924); New York; and The Worker (1958-1968); London.
- News, Policy and Politics Magazine Archive This link opens in a new windowConsists of the backfile of 15 major magazines (including the Newsweek archive), spanning areas including current events, international relations, and public policy. Covers history, political science, law and economics. 1918-2015
- March of Time This link opens in a new windowOnline version of March of Time newsreels. Coverage: 1935-1967
- Socialism on Film: The Cold War and International Propoganda This link opens in a new window
- Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports This link opens in a new window
Translation service of the U.S. Government, usually attributed to the Central Intelligence Agency. It covered political, military, economic, environmental and sociological news and commentary, as well as scientific and technical information.
- Russia TodayThe Kremlin-friednly Engligh-language news channel, indexed by IntelliNews from 2008 onward
- Russia Today (live website)Kremlin-friendly English-language news channel
Primary Sources in the Library: Diplomatic Papers
- Foreign Relations of the United StatesThe official documentary historical record of major US foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity.
John Quincy Adams: Diaries Vol. 1 1779-1821 (LOA #293) by ISBN: 9781598535204Publication Date: 2017-06-20Adams was minister to Russia, 1809-1814
- History Vault This link opens in a new windowIncludes: Confidential U.S. Diplomatic Post Records, Russia and the Soviet Union / CIA Research Reports, The Soviet Union, 1946-1976 / Papers of the President's Soviet Lend Lease Protocol Committee / Office of Strategic Services (OSS)-State Department Intelligence and Research Reports, Part 06: Soviet Union, 1941-1949 & Part 11: Soviet Union Supplement 1950-1961
- Archives Unbound This link opens in a new windowIncludes Commercial and Trades Relations between Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and the U.S., 1910-1963 / The Russian Civil War and American Expeditionary Forces in Siberia, 1918-20 / Country Intelligence Reports/State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research Reports on Russia (1941-1961) / George H. W. Bush and Foreign Affairs: The Moscow Summit and the Dissolution of the USSR
Primary Sources in the Library: U.S. Presidential & Legislative Papers
- U.S. and U.N. Government DocumentsFor assistance with government and United Nations documents, contact David Hollander (dholland@princeton.edu)
- Proquest Congressional This link opens in a new windowIndexes publications of the U.S. Congress such as hearings 1824+ (including previously unpublished hearings: Senate 1824-1992 and House 1833-1982), committee reports, documents and prints. Material is available in microfiche and/or electronic. Essential tool for doing legislative history research. Includes Congressional Research Reports from 1916+, Bills & Laws 1789+, U.S. Serial Set from 1789+, Annals of Congress from 1789-1824, Register of Debates from 1824-1837, Congressional Globe from 1833-1873, and Congressional Record from 1873+. Also includes Executive Branch Documents 1789-1948 and Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations 1789+.
- The papers of Woodrow Wilson : digital editionISBN: 9780813940885
- Documentary History of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration byISBN: 1556557809Publication Date: 2000-12-01
The Documentary History of the John F. Kennedy Presidency by Call Number: E841 .D575 2005ISBN: 0886926963Publication Date: 2005-01-01
Primary Sources in the Library: Declassified Military & Intelligence Papers
- Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window
Access to a wealth of significant primary documents central to U.S. foreign and military policy since 1945. Divided into various core collections; each contains a diverse range of policy documents including presidential directives, memos, diplomatic dispatches, meeting notes, independent reports, briefing papers, White House communications, email, confidential letters, and other secret material.
- National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Books This link opens in a new windowLibrary and archive of declassifed United States documents received through the Freedom of Information Act.
- U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
Indexing and full-text access to a rich collection of declassified documents from various government agencies, including the White House, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department, and others covering events following Word War II. Some specialized collection is contained in Archives Unbound. 1914+
- Weapons of Mass DestructionDocuments from the United States military, Atomic Energy Commission, Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency, White House, and other agencies detailing the development of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons for use by American forces, from 1942-present.
Manuscript collections in Princeton University Library
Other resources to locate primary sources
- Princeton University Library Finding Aids This link opens in a new windowProvides access to finding aids or descriptive inventories for archival records and manuscript collections held within the University Library. Approximately 1,300 finding aids from the Department of Special Collections are now available online and include the Manuscripts Division, Public Policy Papers, and University Archives.
- Archive Finder This link opens in a new windowContains the entire holdings in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC). Current directory of thousands of repositories and over 220,000 collections of primary source materials across the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland. 1959+
- ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new windowIndex to finding aids and other descriptive information about the holdings of manuscript and archival collections in libraries and research institutions throughout the world.
Primary Sources from the Russian Side of Things
For primary sources from the Russian side of things there will be the added complication of language. The primary source base here is almost exclusively in Russian. Projects limited to using English-language sources (or in any case unable to use Russian-language sources) will be restricted to the subset of the relevant primary-source base that has been adequately translated. There are a number of different sources of adequate translations of Russian primary sources. The main genre here are collections of primary sources published as books. To identify these, add "sources," "diaries," "correspondence," or "personal narratives" to your search terms when searching library catalogs, such as Princeton's or WorldCat.
For projects focused on the Soviet period, there is a book series published by Yale University Press entitled "Annals of Communism" that publishes collections of English translations of Soviet primary sources accompanied by scholarly commentary. To produce a list of all titles in this series in a given catalog, choose "series" or "series title" from the dropdown in the advanced search interface and enter "annals of communism" (with quotation marks).
For projects focused on earlier phases of Russian history, there is this three-volume sourcebook:
- A Source book for Russian history from early times to 1917 byCall Number: DK3 .S67 1972ISBN: 0300016255Publication Date: 1972
For projects focused on the Soviet and Post-Soviet Eras:
- The Wilson Center Digital Archive: Soviet UnionProvides English translations for many primary sources related to Soviet politics and policyy
- Wilson Center Digital Archive - RussiaProvides English translations of a number of documents related to politics and policy of the post-Soviet Russian Federation
For English translations of journalistic sources, there are these:
- Current Digest of the Post-Soviet PressPublication Date: 1992-2011
- Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports This link opens in a new window
Translation service of the U.S. Government, usually attributed to the Central Intelligence Agency. It covered political, military, economic, environmental and sociological news and commentary, as well as scientific and technical information.
Additionally, some secondary sources (monographs, dissertations, and journal articles) include English translations of primary sources as appendices.
For some projects, primary sources in media other than verbal text may be appropriate. This includes things like photographs and works of graphic art or visual culture. Some examples of these types of sources are viewable in the Slavic Collections in the Digital Princeton University Library. Some of the Library's database subscriptions also provide full-page image access to Russian illustrated periodicals, such as Огонёк (Ogonyok or Little Flame) and Крокодил (Krokodil or Crocodile).
Generally, for assistance identifying translations of Russian primary sources, primary sources in the original Russian, or Russian primary sources in other media, contact the Slavic East European and Eurasian Studies Librarian Thomas Keenan
.