Primary Sources

History is best understood by examining the documents and reading the words of those involved in the events one is studying. When these documents, photographs and other items were actually written at the time of the event, they are known as primary sources. From the Declaration of Independence, to the Emancipation Proclamation and through letters, diary entries, and military orders you’ll find scores of primary sources here to read what people wrote at the time.

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307 items


Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen This document, approved by the National Assembly, codifies the ideals of the French Revolution,...	Rev War The Currency Act of 1764 To protect British merchants and creditors from depreciated colonial currency, this act regulated...	Third Charter of Virginia The third charter granted by King James I to the Virginia Company extended Virginia's territorial...	Second Charter of Virginia This charter built upon the First Virginia Charter, by extending the lands granted to the Virginia...
First Charter of Virginia King James I issued this charter to the Virginia Company to colonize the land that stretched from...	Charter of Carolina Charles II granted this charter to reward his closest supporters, the Lords Proprietors, with the...	Charter of New England King James I granted this charter to the Council for New England, a group of English nobles who...	Charter of Maryland King Charles I granted this charter to Cecil Calvert, Second Baron Baltimore, to establish a haven...
Rev War Circular Letter to the Governors in America In response to Samuel Adams' Massachusetts Circular Letter in early 1768 that asked other colonies...	Charter of Privileges Granted by William Penn, esq. to the Inhabitants of Pennsylvania and Territories This charter was the governing document of William Penn's Pennsylvania until the American...	Rev War Circular Letter of the Boston Committee of Correspondence The Boston Committee of Correspondence wrote this letter to inform residents of other colonies of...	Charter of Georgia James Oglethorpe acquired this charter to establish a colony that was to be the haven of the poor...
Charter of Delaware Originally part of William Penn's colony of Pennsylvania, the Lower Counties of what would become...	An Act to Prevent the Importation of Certain Persons into Certain States, Where, by the Laws Thereof, Their Admission is Prohibited: February 28, 1803 In continuation of the Slave Trade Act of 1794, Thomas Jefferson signed an Act in 1803 to stop...	An Act to Prohibit the Carrying on the Slave Trade from the United States to any Foreign Place or Country: March 22, 1794 Signed by George Washington in 1794, the Slave Trade Act of 1794 prohibited exporting slaves from...	Civil War Alabama : Constitution of January 7, 1861 On January 7, 1861, two days before Alabama's secession from the United States of America,...