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HIST 2231 - J. Altenhofel: Topics & Primary Sources

Al library guide for sources on the Civil War and Reconstruction

Choosing a topic

Picking a topic is research! Topics start very broad and then need to be narrowed down to a manageable size. For example, the broad topic for this assignment is the Civil War / Reconstructiont; however, there are thousands of books, articles, and films made about this era. Choose an event that took place during that era to focus your research on. You can also choose to focus on gender or race, person or place, activity or movement. Try a variety of topics and see what kind of results you get. If you get very few results, change the topic and try again.

Check out this brief tutorial from North Carolina State University

Topics

Here are some suggested topics

  • African American Soliders
  • Military Leaders
  • North American Indians
  • Women
  • White Supremacy

Primary Sources

Primary sources provide first person experiences on your topic. Primary sources include letters, legal documents, interviews, live performances, images, and artifacts. Primary sources can be found in books, newspapers, and journals. They can also help you narrow your topic and discover keywords for further searching. Below are primary sources related to suggested topics: