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Course & Subject Guides

United States History Resources - Oakland Campus

This guide is designed to assist History students on the Oakland campus with their research in U.S. history.

Secondary Sources

Secondary Sources

  • Works that interpret, analyze, and discuss the evidence provided by primary sources (e.g., scholarly books and articles).
  • Secondary sources are generally a second-hand account or observation at least one step removed from the event.
  • Secondary sources, however, can be considered to be primary sources depending on the context of their use. For example, Ken Burns' documentary of the Civil War is a secondary source for Civil War researchers, but a primary source for those studying documentary filmmaking.

Secondary Source Databases