Education Outreach: Primary Sources

Land, People, and Exploration
Colonial America and the War for Independence
Developing a New Nation
Growth of the Republic
Civil War and Reconstruction
Rise of Industrial America
Progressive Era and World War II
The 1920s and the Great Depression
World War II
Modern United States

Click on the buttons above to explore primary sources by historical era. You’ll find primary sources tagged by subjects found in the Tennessee Department of Education’s social studies content standards. When you click on a “subject” or a “content standard number”, the search will take you directly to primary sources that meet that specific subject or standard.

Please note, the content standard numbers reflect the numbers assigned in the 2014 version of the Tennessee Academic Standards for Social Studies. Educators are encouraged to consult the correlation documents prepared by the Tennessee Department of Education to determine how the 2014 number matches the newly assigned 2010 standard number. The subject links have been updated for the 2019 standards.

Questions on how to use this website? Email us at education.tsla@tn.gov.