Primary Sources

Teachers, need a primary source to create a lesson in the classroom? Students, need a source for a research project?

Here, we've listed the primary sources featured in our Unit Plans. Click on a primary source to go to its page, where you may find additional images, transcriptions of the text, a citation guide for including the source in a bibliography, or ways to purchase copies of the source for the classroom.

HSP's collections are not limited to the primary sources listed here. To see all that HSP has to offer, come visit us or explore our collection online through the Digitial Library and the Discover online catalog.

Some sources have handwriting that is difficult to read. If you need help decoding handwriting, check out this guide from Ancestry.

By Topic

Stanford Poll, April 1966 Clipping of an Americans for Democratic Action printing of a Stamford poll testing Americans' views on different aspects of the war in Vietnam. 20th century, Vietnam War	How to Get Out of Vietnam Book written by Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith in 1967 outlining a plan to remove US troops from Vietnam. 20th century, Vietnam War
Seven Points for Peace: Foreign Policy Statement of Senator Joseph S. Clark Foreign policy statement read on the Senate floor on January 31st, 1966, by Senator Joseph Sill Clark, outlining his plan for detante in the Cold War. Clark stresses the need to keep Russia and China from uniting, and asserts that the continual "Search and Destroy" bombing campaign in Vietnam will not serve to that end. 20th century, Vietnam War, Politics	"What price, Vietnam?": Women Strike for Peace pamphlet Pamphlet published by Women Strike for Peace, outlining arguments against United States military involvement in Vietnam at the outset of the conflict. In particular the pamphlet suggests that a costly war will distract from Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society policies beginning to take effect in the mid-1960s. 20th century, Vietnam War
An Open Letter to President Johnson on Vietnam An open letter to President Johnson, published in the New York Times on March 1, 1965 and signed by several hundred university faculty questioning the United States war with Vietnam. 20th century, Vietnam War	PFC Edward Woods Vietnam Correspondence Two letters written by Edward Woods, a Marine from Upper Darby serving in Vietnam, to his family. One is dated May 19, 1966, and the other is dated May 21, 1966. 20th century, Vietnam War
Louis I. Piatetsky War Correspondence Two letters written by Louis I. Piatetsky, a Navy Medic serving in Vietnam, to his brother, Ralph. One letter is dated May 11, 1966, and the other is dated January 21, 1967. 20th century, Vietnam War	Dora Lewis letters to her mother, Feb. 1920 Two letters that Dora Kelly Lewis wrote to her mother in February 1920.
Radio Address by Albert M. Greenfield Original draft of a radio address by Albert Greenfield on October 17, 1938 regarding his role in the Bankers Trust failure of 1930. 20th century, Banking, Depression, Philadelphia	Bankers Trust Company Pamphlet, 1929 This pamphlet advertises the various services that Bankers Trust Company provides to their customers. 20th century, Banking
Journal C of Station No. 2 of the Underground Railroad, Agent William Still, 1852-1857 Chairman of the Vigilance Committee (part of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society), William Still assisted fugitive slaves as they were secretly shuttled into Philadelphia in the mid-1800s. From 1852 to 1857, Still kept a journal describing his encounters with the slaves in painstaking detail, recording their names, physical characteristics, personalities, and other details. Still's meticulous entries offer unique insight into the secretive network known as the Underground Railroad. 19th century, Abolition, African American, Slavery	Am I Not A Woman and a Sister? Seal of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. 19th century, Abolition, African American, Slavery, Women