Primary Sources

Bring history to life with our collection of key first-person accounts.

History, Primary Sources

The Pentagon Papers: 50 Years Later

When The New York Times published secret government documents about the Vietnam War in 1971, it led to one of the most important First Amendment court rulings in U.S. history. What does it mean in the age of the internet?

Primary Sources

Primary Source: ‘Free to Publish’

Excerpts from the Supreme Court’s 1971 ruling on the release of secret government documents

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History, Primary Sources

Digging Up a Painful Past

One hundred years after one of the worst race massacres in U.S. history, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is searching for victims’ graves.

History, Primary Sources

A ‘Declaration of Equality’

Thirty years ago, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, an important civil rights milestone that protects people with disabilities from discrimination.

History

The Jim Crow North

You know about the long fight against segregation in the South. But civil rights struggles in the rest of the nation have often been overlooked.

History

Sitting Down to Take a Stand

Sixty years ago, four black students asked to be served at an all-white lunch counter in the South and dramatically changed the civil rights movement.

Primary Source: Staying Strong

Excerpt from an oral history from Joseph McNeil, one of the Greensboro Four

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Primary Source: Fighting Back

An excerpt from Frederick Douglass’s autobiography

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History

The Legacy of Gandhi

He stood up to an empire and helped create modern India and Pakistan.

Primary Source: ‘Do or Die’

Excerpts from Gandhi’s 1942 speech to the All-India Congress Committee urging nonviolent resistance to British rule

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History

The 16-Year-Old Who Fought Segregation

A courageous protest by Barbara Johns helped lead to a Supreme Court ruling 65 years ago that segregated public schools were unconstitutional.

History

Overlooked No More

Five extraordinary women are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

History

Remembering Matthew Shepard

The brutal killing of a Wyoming college student 20 years ago raised awareness about violence against the LGBTQ community and led to an expansion of hate-crime laws.