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Introduction to U.S. History: Finding Secondary Sources

Use this guide to help you find research and resources for your U.S. History paper and presentation.

What is a secondary source?

A secondary source is a source which interprets primary sources. A secondary source is written or created after an event by a person who was not present for the original event. It may include primary sources and offer an explanation and synthesis of them. 

Examples of secondary sources might include textbooks, scholarly articles and monographs, biographies, scholarly books, encyclopedias, and more.

Critical Thinking Cheatsheet

Next Step

Use the drop-down menu under the "Finding Secondary Sources" tab to access guides to finding all kinds of secondary sources for your annotated bibliography.