Primary source — Social Studies definition

Defined in 3 courses:

• Direct evidence relevant to a historical question, including an object, text, image or later testimony about experience. Use depends on the question, access and context, not creation date alone. (Ancient Civilizations)
• Evidence created in the period or activity being investigated; its form does not automatically guarantee accuracy. (U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction)
• Evidence created in the period or activity under investigation; its usefulness and accuracy still require evaluation. (U.S. History: Reconstruction to the Early 21st Century)

Where it is taught

• Primary vs Secondary Sources — Geography & the Tools of History, Ancient Civilizations, Grade 6
• Historical Inquiry: Questions, Sources & Evidence — Historical Inquiry & Indigenous Nations, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Reading Maps, Timelines & Historical Change — Historical Inquiry & Indigenous Nations, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Indigenous Nations of North America — Historical Inquiry & Indigenous Nations, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Haudenosaunee & Neighboring Nations in New York — Historical Inquiry & Indigenous Nations, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Early Encounters, Columbian Exchange & Consequences — Historical Inquiry & Indigenous Nations, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• European Exploration: Motives, Navigation & Claims — Colonial Worlds & New York, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• The Three Colonial Regions: Economy, Geography & Variation — Colonial Worlds & New York, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• New Netherland, New York & Contested Land — Colonial Worlds & New York, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Slavery, Indentured Service & Colonial Resistance — Colonial Worlds & New York, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Colonial Government, Religion & Unequal Participation — Colonial Worlds & New York, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• French & Indian War: Empire, Alliances & Debt — Empire, Revolution & Independence, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Road to Revolution: Taxation, Representation & Resistance — Empire, Revolution & Independence, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Declaration of Independence: Principles, Grievances & Purpose — Empire, Revolution & Independence, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• The Revolutionary War: Strategy, Alliances & New York — Empire, Revolution & Independence, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Liberty, Equality & Unequal Revolutionary Outcomes — Empire, Revolution & Independence, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• From the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution — Constitutional Government & Its Limits, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Federalism, Three Branches & Checks on Power — Constitutional Government & Its Limits, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Representation, Constitutional Compromises & Exclusion — Constitutional Government & Its Limits, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• The Bill of Rights & Constitutional Change — Constitutional Government & Its Limits, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Ratification Debate: Power, Rights & New York — Constitutional Government & Its Limits, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• The Early Republic: Finance, Parties & National Authority — Early Republic, Markets & Migration, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• War of 1812: Maritime Rights, Native Nations & Consequences — Early Republic, Markets & Migration, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Erie Canal: Engineering, Markets & New York Communities — Early Republic, Markets & Migration, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Market & Industrial Change: Production, Labor & Technology — Early Republic, Markets & Migration, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Migration, Immigration & Growing Towns — Early Republic, Markets & Migration, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Westward Expansion, Manifest Destiny & Contested Land — Expansion, Slavery & Reform, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Indian Removal: Sovereignty, Resistance & Enforcement — Expansion, Slavery & Reform, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Reform Movements: Religion, Education & Public Action — Expansion, Slavery & Reform, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Abolition & Women’s Rights: Arguments, Networks & Disagreements — Expansion, Slavery & Reform, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Cotton, Domestic Slave Trade & Enslaved People’s Agency — Expansion, Slavery & Reform, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Sectionalism: Slavery, Territory & National Power — Sectional Crisis & Civil War, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Compromises, Fugitive Slave Law & Kansas — Sectional Crisis & Civil War, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Dred Scott: Citizenship, Courts & Constitutional Conflict — Sectional Crisis & Civil War, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Election of 1860, Secession & Fort Sumter — Sectional Crisis & Civil War, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• The Civil War: Strategy, Resources & Turning Points — Sectional Crisis & Civil War, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Emancipation: Policy, Self-Liberation & Black Military Service — Emancipation, Reconstruction & Historical Inquiry, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Wartime Life, New York Draft Riots & Civilian Choices — Emancipation, Reconstruction & Historical Inquiry, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Reconstruction: Reunion, Labor, Community & Its Limits — Emancipation, Reconstruction & Historical Inquiry, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Thirteenth, Fourteenth & Fifteenth Amendments — Emancipation, Reconstruction & Historical Inquiry, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• History Capstone: Build, Test & Revise an Explanation — Emancipation, Reconstruction & Historical Inquiry, U.S. & New York History: Indigenous Nations to Reconstruction, Grade 7
• Historical Inquiry: Context, Sources & Fair Judgment — Reconstruction, Land & Historical Inquiry, U.S. History: Reconstruction to the Early 21st Century, Grade 8

In use

A primary source is direct evidence relevant to the question, including an object, document, image or later testimony about an experience.

Primary vs Secondary Sources

Questions using primary source

Taught alongside

• secondary source
• point of view (bias)
• corroborate
• context
• interpretation
• corroboration
• inference
• scale
• continuity
• Indigenous
• archaeology
• confederacy
• wampum
• Columbian Exchange

Elsewhere

• All social studies terms
• All courses and reading

Browse all courses