LibGuides: AMES 300 China in the World Order: an Extramural Perspective: Finding Primary Sources

What are primary sources?

Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred, or well after events occurred. Primary sources may include:

letters
manuscripts
diaries
journals
oral histories
newspapers
speeches
interviews
memoirs
government documents
photographs
audio recordings
video recordings

These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past. When they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research.

Essential Primary Sources on China

China: Culture and Society 1750-1929 : the Wason Pamphlet Collection, Cornell University
Rare pamphlets collection on East Asia plus secondary resources like essays, an interactive chronology and mini guides.
Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980 (English)
From the National Archives, Kew of Britain; full text files adressing developments in China and assessing US, Soviet, British, European and Commonwealth relations with China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), from 1949 onwards.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture, 1793-1980 (English)
From the National Archives, Kew of Britain; full text files adressing developments in China and assessing US, Soviet, British, European and Commonwealth relations with China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), from 1949 onward.
Tiananmen Square and U.S.-China relations, 1989-1993
covers U.S.-China relations in the post-Cold War Era, and analyzes the significance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, China's human rights issues, and resumption of World Bank loans to China in July 1990
The Amerasia affair, China, and postwar anti-communist fervor
This collection presents documents from 1945-1973. The Amerasia Affair was the first of the great spy cases of the postwar era. The Amerasia Affair sheds light not only on debate as to who "lost" China, Soviet espionage, McCarthyism, and the loyalty program, but also on the bureaucratic intricacies of anti-communism in Washington.
Political, economic, and military conditions in China : reports and correspondence of the U.S. Military Intelligence Division, 1918-1941
This collection reproduces the six principal MID files relating exclusively to China for the period 1918 to 1941 (general conditions, political conditions, economic conditions, army, navy, and aeronautics)

Essential Primary Sources on U.S.

19th Century U.S. Newspapers
Provides access to the full-text of numerous 19th century newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S. Subjects covered in this collection include the American Civil War, African-American culture and history, Western migration and Antebellum-era life and culture.
American Memory
Provides free and open access to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. (Collections from the Library of Congress, Historical Collections for the National Digital Archive.)
Early American Newspapers Series 1 - 9, 1690-1922
This component of American's Historical Newspapers includes early legislative acts and legislation including legal materials from colonial America. Restricted.
more...less...
Search by keywords within a defined historical time period, or by presidential era, or by type of article (laws and legislation) to narrow your search.
Making of the Modern World
Full-text of the theories, practices, and consequences of economic and business activity in the West, from the last half of the 15th century to the mid-19th century. Materials largely come from the Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature and the Kress Library of Business and Economics.
Historical New York Times
Access to the full-text of the New York Times from 1851-2013, including all advertisements, images, photographs, and supplements.
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories
Provides access to thousands of pages of personal narratives, including letters, diaries, pamphlets, autobiographies, and oral histories. Coverage begins in 1840 with the main focus on the period from 1890-1920.