Library: National Security Studies at Webster University Library: Primary Sources

Primary source databases

Many of the databases listed in the Find Articles section of this guide include primary resources (for example, newspaper articles). The list below includes additional databases where you can locate primary source material.

Artstor
Great collections of the arts, architecture and photographs with strong coverage of world cultures throughout history.
General OneFile (Gale)
A one-stop source for news, magazine, and periodical articles across a wide range of general interest topics and academic disciplines. With millions of articles available in both PDF and HTML full-text, General OneFile serves a wide audience of readers.
Global Breaking Newswires (ProQuest)
Provides timely access to the best newswire content available globally as well as growing archive of news that may not be captured in any of the traditional print sources.
International Newsstream (ProQuest)
International Newsstream provides the most recent news content outside of the US and Canada, with archives which stretch back decades featuring newspapers, newswires, and news sites in active full-text format.
Newspaper Source (EBSCO)
Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for many U.S. & international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for regional U.S. newspapers. In addition, full text television & radio news transcripts are also provided.
U.S. Newsstream (ProQuest)
Search the most recent premium U.S. news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring top newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites. Includes access to Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Time, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.
US History (Gale in Context)
A resource merging Gale's authoritative reference content with full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites organized into a user-friendly portal experience.
World History (Gale in Context)
A resource that delivers a chronicle of the great cultures and societies that have formed the history of the human race. Rare primary sources, reliable reference and multi-media content put this vast topic into context for students.

Primary sources from the open Web

Below is a list of additional official websites that offer free access to online collections of primary resources.

Case Law Access Project
The Caselaw Access Project (CAP) includes all official, book-published United States case law.
The site includes all state courts, federal courts, and territorial courts for American Samoa, Dakota Territory, Guam, Native American Courts, Navajo Nation, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The earliest case is from 1658, and the most recent cases are from 2018.
Congress.gov
The site provides access to legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public. It is presented by the Library of Congress (LOC) using data from the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Government Publishing Office, Congressional Budget Office, and the LOC’s Congressional Research Service.
DocsTeach (National Archives)
DocsTeach.org collection contains thousands of primary sources related to American history through the National Archives.
International Criminal Court
This website contains court records, core legal texts, and other documents from The International Criminal Court (ICC).
Library of Congress Primary Sources
The Library of Congress noted as the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections.
The State Historical Society of Missouri
The State Historical Society of Missouri Digital Collections provide online access to photographs, art, maps, diaries, letters, books, articles, and oral histories telling the story of Missouri’s history, people, and culture.
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To access digital Newspapers, use this link: https://shsmo.org/collections/newspapers/mdnp
National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provides public access to billions of records from all three branches of the United States government.
State Department Historian
The Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity.
UN Documents
UN documents include resolutions from legislative bodies, such as the General Assembly, Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council, which often contain a work mandate to be carried out by the UN Secretariat, or the UN system. Additionally, reports of the UN Secretary-General assess the state of the Organization and announce new work initiatives. Access to cases and rulings by the International Court of Justice, the main judicial body of the UN, is also available. On this website, you can search for meeting records, summaries of conferences, UN reports, treaties, maps, yearbooks and more.
U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau is best known for the decennial population and housing census, but it also collects population and housing data between censuses through a variety of surveys. It conducts economic censuses every five years which include both economic and business data. It collects economic and business data between censuses as well.
WGBH Open Vault
Open Vault is the home of WGBH Media Library and Archives, providing online access to unique and historically important content produced by the public television and radio station WGBH. The ever-expanding site contains video, audio, images, searchable transcripts, and resource management tools, all of which are available for individual and classroom learning. Visitors can become a "member" (free) of Open Vault: to access records and save findings.