Primary Sources

Teachers, need a primary source to create a lesson in the classroom? 

Students, need a source for research project? 

You can find the primary sources that used in the unit plans here where they are searchable by keyword, title, and topic.  

Besides an image of the source, on its page, you may also find ways to purchase copies for the classroom, a transcription, and its proper citation for inclusion in a bibliography.

Our digitized collection, however, is much bigger than this selection.  Be sure to search the Collection section of our website too.

And if you  need help reading old handwriting, there are many sources on line, such as this one from ancestry.com.

Browse Sources
Capt. William Willcox's Map of the Battle of Gettysburg

Capt. William Willcox's Map of the Battle of Gettysburg, created in 1863.
Theodore Ditterline Map of the Battle of Gettysburg

Theodore Ditterline Map of the Battle of Gettysburg, created in 1863.
School Savings Banks

This excerpt on “School Savings Banks” (pages 209-214) was written by Sara Louisa Oberholtzer in the Transactions of the National Council of Women of the United States, assembled in Washington, D.C. The meeting was held February 22 to 25, 1891, and its proceedings published in Philadelphia that same year.
Letterhead: World’s and National Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, School Savings Bank Department

This letterhead was used by Sara Oberhotlzer in her work on the School Savings Banks under the auspices of the Women's Christian Temperance Union.  It includes the quote "The inculcation of thrift insures wiser living and decreases pauperism, intemperance, and crime."
The Value of School Savings Banks

This booklet by Sara Oberholtzer, superintendent of the School Savings Bank moment, consists of quotes from educators attesting to the importance of the school savings banks for students and their communities.
Gottlieb Mittelberger's journey to Pennsylvania

This text is an English-language translation of Gottlieb Mittelberger's original text, translated from German by Carl Theo. Eben. This volume contains pages 13 thru 29 of the 1898 English-language edition, detailing a portion of Mittelberger's journey from Germany to Pennsylvania.
Redress: Tips on Spreading the Word

Memo by Sumiko Kobayashi entitled "Redress: Tips on Spreading the Word."  Sumiko Kobayashi, a second-generation Japanese American, or Nisei, was one of over 120,000 thousand Japanese-Americans evacuated from their homes under the provisions of Executive Order 9066 in 1942.  Written in 1983, this memo includes tips for speaking about the campaign for redress for the hardships that the Japanese endured as a result of their time in the internment camps.
Mailings of the JACL

These correspondences, from the collection of Sumiko Kobayashi, are from the JACL and organizations supportive of redress.

  • Letter from Anti-Defamation League to Senator Arlen Specter.
  • Letter from Ira "Bob" Born to Senator John Heinz and Sumi Kobayashi.
  • Correspondence between Ira Born and Sumi Kobayashi.
  • Letters from Sister Gloria Coleman and Sumi Kobayashi and to Senator Arlen Specter.
  • Letters from Sumi Kobayashi to Robert Horwitz at the Anti-Defamation League
Correspondences of the JACL regarding National Committee for Redress

This is a collection of mailed correspondances of the JACL's National Committee for Redress:
Correspondence of the Legislative Education Committee of the JACL

These are papers are correspondences from 1986 from the Legislative Education Committee of the Japanese American Citizens League from the collection of Sumiko Kobayashi.
Letter from Sonoko to Shigezo Iwata (March 5, 1943)

This letter was written by Sonoko Iwata to her husband Shigezo Iwata on March 5, 1943.
Letter from Shigezo to Sonoko Iwata (June 18, 1942)

This is a is letter from Shigezo Iwata to Sonoko Iwata dated June 18, 1942.