Another good place to check for primary sources is:
Primary Source Collections from Ramsey Library's Databases
This is the filtered list of every primary source containing database we have access to.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CATALOGS, DATABASES, AND OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES, COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Online Finding Aids at Western Regional Archives: Digitized Finding Aids and materials on some of their most popular collections, including American Enka Company and French Broad Lodge.
Library of Congress Digital Collections: Newspapers, photographs, documents, and other materials from the Library of Congress's extensive collections
Making of America: The Cornell University Library Making of America Collection is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction
Documenting the American South: Contains texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture, from the University of North Carolina libraries
The National Park Service Online Gallery: A comprehensive library of NPS images, video, audio, maps, presentations, documents and more.
Cold War International History Project: From the Wilson Center
EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History: A directory of primary sources sites compiled by Brigham Young University
World Digital Library- Provides free access to maps, photographs, manuscripts, sound recordings, and documents from around the globe
Primary Sources from DocsTeach: Thousands of online primary source documents from the National Archives to bring the past to life
The National Archives Catalog: Find online primary source material from The National Archive's Online Catalog
Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents in American History
Duke University's American Slavery Documents: A collection curated over time around the singular topic of American Slavery
Gender, Culture, and the Economy in the Post-War United States: J. Walter Thompson Co. advertising agency for Ford Motor Co. during World War II- this digital collection represents all of the print advertising prepared for Ford and could be used to explore the intersection of gender and consumer culture during the postwar period in the United States
Feminist Movements, 1880s to the Present: Duke University Online Guide documenting feminist movements at the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture in the Rubenstein Library
Essentially, a primary source is a first-hand account created during the time period being studied. These include newspapers, letters, diaries, speeches, interviews, photographs, autobiographies, memoirs, posters, film footage and audio recordings.
By comparison, a secondary source is generally interpretive, analytical or evaluative. These include scholarly books and articles, biographies, and encyclopedia entries.