Skip to Main Content
It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

United States Women's History

Understanding Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

Primary Sources at McQuade

The NOBLE catalog contains numerous primary sources in the forms of historical documents collections, as well as literature and writings contemporary of the period you are studying.

You can search for primary sources in the NOBLE catalog by adding the term "sources" to your keyword search.  For example:

  • women's suffrage AND sources

You can also search directly for works by individuals relevant to the topic you are researching. For example:

  • As a keyword search: Fannie Lou Hamer AND speeches
  • As a title search: On Lynchings
  • As an author search: Margaret Sanger

Below are a sample of some of the primary source materials available from the NOBLE libraries.

The databases linked below also provide access to various primary source documents, which can include letters and personal narratives.