Primary Sources
Primary sources are contemporary documents that are associated with the historical event. Examples of primary sources include diaries, letters, magazine and newspaper articles, court hearings, and government documents.
For a more in-depth explanation and further examples, visit the guide listed below.
To find primary sources on the Vietnam War in print search the EIU Library Catalog.
Examples of primary sources in the Booth Library collection are:
America in Vietnam : a documentary history by Call Number: DS558 .A44 1985ISBN: 0385197527Publication Date: 1985
Dear America : Letters home from Vietnam by Call Number: DS559.5 .D43 1985ISBN: 0671617508Publication Date: 1986
The Vantage Point; Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969 by Call Number: E846 .J58ISBN: 0030844924Publication Date: 1971-01-01
Booth Library also has several historical newspaper and magazine databases that provide access to primary sources.
- History DatabasesLists all databases relevant to doing research in History available at Booth Library
- Newspaper DatabasesLists all newspaper databases accessible from Booth Library
Examples of the library's historical and magazine databases useful for Vietnam War research are:
- Chicago Tribune (Historical) This link opens in a new windowFull text and images for the Chicago Tribune | 1849-1997
- Times (London) Digital Archive, 1785-1985 This link opens in a new windowFull-text Articles | 1785-1985
- New York Times (Historical) This link opens in a new windowFull text articles and scanned image page-views for this national newspaper | 1851-2019
Primary source websites
- The Avalon Project, documents in law, history and diplomacyLinks to pages on Indochina - Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Provides primary sources relating to events up to and including the early part of the Vietnam War.
- Virtual Vietnam ArchiveDigital archive from The Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive currently contains 7 million pages of scanned materials. Types of material include documents, photographs, slides, negatives, oral histories, artifacts, moving images, sound recordings, maps, and collection finding aids. All materials can be searched or browsed. This site offers several curated subject guides on different topics relating to the Vietnam War.
Oral Histories
- Rutgers Oral History ArchivesHouses interviews contributed to the site by Rutgers graduates who served in Vietnam.
- Veterans History ProjectThis project of the Library of Congress collects first-hand accounts of U.S. veterans. Interviews can be searched by gender, branch of service, and whether the veteran spent time as a prisoner of war. The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.
- Vietnam Era Oral History ProjectPart of the Utah Valley University Digital Collections, Contains 20 interviews with Vietnam veterans available in audio and transcript form.
