Nonfiction Ninja Super Secret Weapon

by Stephanie Bearce

Writing nonfiction requires the skills of a ninja.

​You must be great at tracking your quarry, skilled at telling a story, and able to slice and dice words at a moments notice.
Today I am going to equip you with one of the Nonfiction Ninja’s best secret weapons – Primary Sources.
 
Primary sources are documents or artifacts closest to the topic of investigation and were often created during the period you are writing about. Diaries, newspapers, government documents, letters, memoirs, and oral histories are all examples of primary sources.
 
These days the life of a Nonfiction Ninja is a little easier because there are some amazing websites that bring the primary sources right to your Ninja Lair. You can sift through facts and files with out ever breaking a Ninja sweat.
 
Here are some of the best websites for primary sources dealing with American History:
 
100 Milestone Documents
Includes documents that chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965.
 
American Journeys
Eyewitness accounts of North American exploration, from Vikings in Canada in 1000 AD to the diaries of mountain men in the Rockies 800 years later.
 
American Presidency
Documents related to historical and current U.S. presidencies, such as speeches, official papers, and executive orders.
 
American Life Histories
Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1940.
 
C19 Index
Full text of North American periodicals from 1740 through the 19th century.
 
Chronicling America
Search and read historic newspapers published from 1690 to the present.
 
FBI Vault
Scanned and redacted – images of FBI files of famous individuals and groups.
 
New York Public Library
30,000 images of New York City, costume, design, U.S. history, etc. from books, magazines and newspapers, as well as original photographs, prints and postcards, mostly created before 1923.
 
Printed Ephemera
Advertisements, forms, programs, catalogs and time tables that capture the everyday activities of ordinary people.
 
The Sixties
Primary documents and personal narratives, 1960–1974
 
World Digital Library
Collection of print and visual resources