Research Guides: HIST 397: The Korean War: Finding Primary Sources

Recommended Primary Source Collections

Wilson Center Digital Archive
Declassified historical materials from archives around the world, including once-secret documents from governments across the globe, providing insights into the history of international relations and diplomacy.
Internet Archive
Open and permanent access to historical collections in digital format for researchers and the public.
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“Books in this collection may be borrowed by logged in patrons for a period of two weeks. You may read the books online in your browser, or download them into Adobe Digital Editions, a free piece of software used for managing loans.”
National Archives
Archives of the United Kingdom
Moving Image Archive from the Internet Archive
Includes television news broadcasts, historical film clips, alternative news broadcasts, classic full-length films, cartoons, and concerts.
Digital Public Library of America
Millions of photographs, manuscripts, books, sounds, moving images, and more from libraries, archives, and museums around the United States. Each record links to the original object on the content provider’s website.

Foreign Relations of the United States
Official documentation and historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity that have been declassified and edited for publication, going back to 1861. Produced by the Department of State's Office of the Historian.

Korean War File: Truman Presidential Library
Departments of State and Defense documents relating to the Korean War that were copied and sent to the White House at the request of President Truman. Reports, correspondence, memoranda and other documents from the U.S. National Archives.
Central Intelligence Agency Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room
CIA website containing thousands of redacted documents released by the agency through FOIA requests. Documents were created between 1940 to present.
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Contains the collection "Baptism by Fire: CIA Analysis of the Korean War." More than 1,300 documents, including national estimates, intelligence memo, daily updates, and summaries of foreign media concerning developments on the Korean Peninsula during 1947 - 1954.
Military Resources: the Korean War
Resources compiled by the National Archives.
The Cold War and the Marshall Plan
Resources from by the US National Archives.
The American Presidency Project
Public documents and papers of US presidents.
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Also contain thousands of other documents such as party platforms, candidates' remarks, Statements of Administration Policy, documents released by the Office of the Press Secretary, and election debates.

HeinOnline
Law journals and periodicals, case law decisions, government documents, Federal Register, US Code, Congressional documents, Foreign Relations of the US, international treaties and world constitutions, and more.

American Occupation of Japan: Voices of the Key Participants
By Claremont Colleges Digital Library
Army Nurse Corps History
Collection of oral histories, original works, and web publications.
Rutgers Oral History Archives: Korean War
Contains personal narratives of men and women (either New Jersey residents and/or Rutgers University alumni, faculty or staff) who served on the home front and overseas during the Korean War.
Veterans History Project (Library of Congress)
Collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so future generations may hear directly from them. Part of the American Folklife Center.

Readers' Guide Retrospective (1890-1982)
Index to popular periodicals published in the U.S. and Canada. Includes Time, Newsweek, US & World News Report, National Geographic, Harpers, The New Yorker, and many more.
New York Times (1851 to 3 years ago)
Historical New York Times with articles in PDF format, including ads, cartoons, photos, maps, graphics, and more.
National Geographic Magazine Archive (1888-1984)
Archives of the monthly American magazine primarily concerning science, geography, history, and world culture.

Life Magazine via Google
Magazine know for excellent photography. Digitized issues back to 1935
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Digitized American newspapers, 1789 - 1963. From the Library of Congress.

Smithsonian Libraries Maps Guide
Freely-available resources for students and teachers to learn about maps.
East Asia History Sourcebook
Subject listing of documents from East Asian history. Includes cultural origins; religious traditions; imperial China; western intrusion; Japan as a world power; and more. From Fordham University.
History Channel: Speeches
Contains hundreds of speeches that can be searched by speaker, subject or time period.