Browse Primary Sources

Locate primary sources, including images, objects, media, and texts. Annotations by scholars contextualize sources.

Image of factory that links to resource

Showa Steelworks in Anshan (Northeast China)

Showa Steelworks, initially established as Anshan Ironworks in 1917, was located in Anshan, Liaoning Province, Northeast China, historically known as Manchuria. Anshan Ironworks was a subsidiary of South Manchurian Railway Company, a Japanese semi-state-owned enterprise that managed railways and other operations in Manchuria.

Portrait of Weng Wenhao that links to primary source

Weng Wenhao

Weng Wenhao (翁文灏, 1889-1971) was a distinguished Chinese geologist, politician, and educator who played a crucial role in shaping China's developmental state during the 20th century.

John Smith's Map of Virginia 1624. Detailed description provided in annotation.

John Smith's Map of Virginia 1624

This map, created officially

For the glory of ireland WWI poster. Description provided in source annotation

For the glory of Ireland

“For the Glory of Ireland” is a WWI propaganda poster published

World War II Military Situation Map

World War II Military Situation Map

This is a map of Normandy on the day of the Normandy Landing o

Three girls sitting with gazes cast downward. Each wearing a different-colored sari. The girl on the left is wearing light green, the girl in the middle is in orange, and the girl on the right is in red.

Amrita Sher-Gil: Young Girls, Group of Three Girls

Group of Three Girls (1935), and Young Girls (1932) were created by the early-twentieth century Indian artist, Amrita Sher-Gil.

View Document

Apolitical Intellectuals/ Intelectuales Apolíticos

Otto Rene Castillo wrote the poem “Apolitical Intellectuals” in 1967 in response to the Guatemalan Civil War, which lasted from 1960-1996.

Maria Tallchief dancing with Erik Bruhn, banner reads 7Dance Magazine, July 1961, 75 cents

Maria Tallchief in Dance Magazine, 1961

This 1961 Dance Magazine cover depicts a photograph of ballet dancers Maria Tallchief and Erik Bruhn. The magazine advertises for upcoming performances at the Kennedy Center.

Depicts French Girls (on the left) and English girls (on the right) in a room with the caption reading "How the Law 'Protects the Daughters'"

Suffrage Atelier Postcard, 1909

This propaganda postcard titled "How the Law ‘Protects the Daughters'" can be used to study European suffrage movements. The postcard was created by the group Suffrage Atelier, a pro-suffrage artisan collective in England which was founded in 1909.

Drawing of three children one standing, two crouching

Sympathy

Published in 1946 for an audience of affluent, book-buying families in Seoul, Grapes and Beads realistically describes the daily lives of children in the poorer countryside with affection and respect.

"eomeoniui him" or "a mother's power" written in Korean

A Mother's Power

Published in 1946 for an audience of affluent, book-buying families in Seoul, Grapes and Beads realistically describes the daily lives of children in the poorer countryside with affection and respect.

goyang-i or "cat" written in Korean

Cat (Korean Children's Story)

Published in 1946 for an audience of affluent, book-buying families in Seoul, Grapes and Beads realistically describes the daily lives of children in the poorer countryside with affection and respect.

Drawing of two children one standing, one crouching

Friendship

Published in 1946 for an audience of affluent, book-buying families in Seoul, Grapes and Beads realistically describes the daily lives of children in the poorer countryside with affection and respect.

Text in Korean "yong-gi" meaning "courage"

Courage

Published in 1946 for an audience of affluent, book-buying families in Seoul, Grapes and Beads realistically describes the daily lives of children in the poorer countryside with affection and respect.

Drawing of a boy squirting another in the face with a water gun.

The Squirt Gun

Published in 1946 for an audience of affluent, book-buying families in Seoul, Grapes and Beads realistically describes the daily lives of children in the poorer countryside with affection and respect.

Lord Ismany Notice Thumbnail

Lord Ismay Notice Regarding Indian Partition

The Partition of India was one of the most difficult, tension-filled political events of the twentieth century, causing millions of people to migrate within the Indian subcontinent and be killed due to resulting violence.

"No Votes for Women No Census"

Census Protest for Women's Suffrage

This 1911 census form showcases one method of peaceful civil disobedience done by supporters of women’s suffrage in Britain during the early 20th century.

Black consonant letters from the Ge'ez script against a white background. There are 26 letters in three rows.

Ge'ez Script

Ge’ez script is a script used in modern-day Eritrea and Ethiopia that dates back to the 1st century CE.

The top of a healing scroll; the paper is brown and there is a drawing of a saint riding a horse and using a spear to destroy a demon. There is a hole with a rope through the top of the scroll.

Ethiopian Healing Scrolls

Ethiopian healing scrolls are believed to eliminate sickness by ridding spirits and demons from an ill person. Originating sometime between the 1st and 8th century CE in the Axum empire, the scrolls are still used to this day, and still written in the Ge’ez script of the Axum empire.

A blue, circular icon with an image of a document in the center. Underneath are the words "view document"

Al-Umari’s Account of Mansa Musa’s Visit to Cairo

Mansa Musa was the leader of the Mali empire in the fourteenth century and reportedly the wealthiest person – allegedly ever. The empire covered modern-day Mali and parts of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia, and Mansa Musa expanded the territorial claim to include Gao and Timbuktu.