History vs. Film (HIS 131 and 132)

Primary Sources = Original, Firsthand Evidence

Examples of primary sources . . .

• Original Documents: diaries, records, autobiographies, letters, interviews, speeches, research reports, photographs, newspaper articles dated near the time of the event, original experiments, raw data, court cases
• Original Creative Works: novels, paintings, music scores
• Artifacts: pottery, buildings, clothing, weapons, jewelry, etc.

Primary sources are created during the time the event took place, or created later by those who have directly witnessed what they are describing, and bring us as close to the original event or thought as possible without being filtered, influenced or analyzed through interpretation. 

Newspaper Article from the Time of the Event

There are numerous newspaper articles from the 1950s with information about what was happening with the House Committee on Un-American Activities, especially when they were focusing on individuals in the film industry.

RESEARCH TIP! 

• Sometimes there will be variations on how your topic is presented. In this example topic, you will see HUAC, House UnAmerican Activities Committee, House Committee on Un-American Activities, etc. Remember that you may need to be flexible and change your keywords to find more results. Ask your instructor or a librarian for help!

This primary source was found in . . .

• Typed this in the search box: "house un-american"
• Limited by date: 1950-1959

Press Release

This example comes from DocsTeach. It is a HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) press release of witnesses for a hearing about Communist influences in the motion picture industry. 

RESEARCH TIP!

• The U.S. government provides access to all kinds of digitized historical documents, reports, memos, and more. Many of the presidential libraries and archives go so far as to provide lesson plans for teachers who want to incorporate primary source documents in their classrooms. There's no reason why you can't benefit from this as a student!

This primary source was found in . . .

• Typed this in the search box: house un-american activities

Here are a few more places that you can search for primary sources that are available online.

• To search USA.gov, use the Search all government textbox to enter your search terms. 
• For my example, I typed: house un-american activities committee
• Not all of the results will be primary sources, but many will be. Notice that there may be some "lesson plans" for teachers, but typically within the lesson plans, primary sources on that topic are listed, or included.