LibGuides: H236 Cold War: 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.

Primary source databases available via IUS Library:

Historical New York Times with Index This link opens in a new window
Access to the full-text of the New York Times from 1851-2014, including all advertisements, images, photographs, and supplements.
Use the Advanced Search option to access the Index (1851-1993), and limit your search to a specific company or organization, creative work (book or movie), location, person, or subject.
Economist Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Provides fully-searchable, cover to cover access of The Economist from 1843 to fifteen years ago. Also includes The Economist's supplements, Special Reports, and Surveys.
Note: The ability to cross-search multiple primary source collections from the provider Gale is now available on the Gale Primary Sources platform.
Social Theory This link opens in a new window
Contains a range of influential works reflecting the major trends of sociological thought from the eighteenth century to the present. Content includes works by such theorists as Harriet Martineau, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Max Weber, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Jürgen Habermas, Talcott Parsons, Michel Foucault, and Jean Baudrillard.

Primary source tools online

The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School
The Avalon Project mounts digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. To locate Cold War related documents, click on the 20th Century link and browse titles.

Archives Unbound This link opens in a new window
A platform for digital collections of historical documents provided by Gale. Collections available at IUS focus on African American studies, African studies, American studies, Asian studies, British and European history, business and economic history, cultural studies, gender, sexuality, & women's studies, health and environmental studies, international relations, Latin American and Caribbean studies, law, politics, & radical studies, Middle Eastern studies, and Native American studies.
Note: The ability to cross-search multiple primary source collections from the provider Gale is now available on the Gale Primary Sources platform.

C.I.A. Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room
This site displays frequently-requested documents from the C.I.A. released under the Freedom of Information Act. Categories include human rights, the atom bomb, international espionage, and more.

Declassified Documents Reference System This link opens in a new window
Now called U.S Declassified Documents Online.
Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window
Declassified primary documents regarding critical U.S. policy decisions since 1945. Currently there are 50 collections, each with a particular focus on a world event, country, or U.S. policy decision, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. espionage, the Iran-Contra Affair, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War.

The Harvard Project on Cold War Studies
This website contains primary resources as well as links to other related websites. Books, newspaper and journals are also introduced.
History of Foreign Relations
Historical documents from the Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State
Library of Congress Digital Collections (previously called Library of Congress: American Memory)
A digital collection of documents, images, and sound recordings related to the American experience.
Open Society Archives
OSA is an archives and a center for research and education. Its collections and activities relate to the period after the Second World War, mainly The Cold War, The history of the formerly communist countries, Human rights, and War crimes.
Seventeen Moments in Soviet History
An online archive of primary resource materials on Soviet history.

U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to more than 750,000 pages of government documents covering major policy issues from the period before the Second World War into the twenty first century, the archive serves as a convenient source for documents from government departments including Defense; State; Treasury; CIA; and the White House. USDDO supports the study of history, politics, international relations, and journalism, among other fields.