LibGuides: Latin American History: Primary Sources

Overview

"Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, interviews, memoirs, documents produced by government agencies such as Congress or the Office of the President, photographs, audio recordings, moving pictures or video recordings, research data, and objects or artifacts such as works of art or ancient roads, buildings, tools, and weapons. These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research." (Source: Using Primary Sources on the Web, a website created by the History Section of the American Library Association's Reference and User Services.)

NMSU Library Databases for Primary Source Material

The following databases can be used to find primary source materials, mainly those published in newspapers and periodicals from a particular time and place that may provide contemporary accounts of historical events.

American Periodical Series Online, 1740-1900 This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Contains digitized images of pages of more than 1,100 American magazines and journals that originated between 1741 and 1900. Coverage spans nearly 200 years-from colonial times to the advent of American involvement in WWII. Periodical articles from the time of an event may be used as primary sources.
Historic Mexican and Mexican American Press This link opens in a new window
150 years of news coverage documenting the voice of the Mexican and Mexican American community from the mid-1800s to the 1970s.
Informe Académico This link opens in a new window
Informe Académico proporciona acceso a periódicos y revistas especializadas de lengua española y portuguesa. La base de datos ofrece una amplia gama de contenidos sobre América Latina.

Informe Académico provides access to Spanish- and Portuguese-language scholarly journals and magazines. The database offers a wide range of content both from and about Latin America.

Latin American Sources

Library of Congress Hispanic Collections
"Luso-Hispanic" encompasses Latin America, the Caribbean, Hispanics and Portuguese in the United States, the Iberian Peninsula, and other places where Iberian culture dominated and has survived. This page links to digitized collections of the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress.
LANIC Etext Collection
The LANIC Etext Collection is designed to facilitate access to the hundreds of thousands of pages of full-text resources that are hosted on LANIC servers. These resources include research papers written by Latin American studies scholars; theses and dissertations; etext versions of books; conference proceedings; speeches by Latin American leaders; periodical publications; and official documents. Some of the etexts are in Spanish, others are in English.
Early Americas Digital Archive
The Early Americas Digital Archive (EADA) is a collection of electronic texts and links to texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820.
World Digital Library--Latin America & the Caribbean
The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world. More than 100 sources for Peru.
National Security Archive--Latin America Projects
The National Security Archive at George Washington University provides access to hundreds of collections of declassified government documents on world affairs. Latin American collections from: Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala.
National Security Archive--Home
Collections from many world regions and declassified documents from U.S. government agencies.

Primary Source Materials in Microfilm Format--Selected

The links below are a selection of microfilm documents located on the first floor of Branson Library. Click on the link to see more information about these documents in the library catalog. Ask for help at the service desk to locate and use these resources.

Confidential U.S. State Department central files. Mexico, 1945-1949 internal affairs
Call Number: Las Cruces Branson Library, Microfilm F1235 .C6 1987
U.S. military intelligence reports Mexico, 1919-1941.
Call Number: Branson Library - Microfilm F1234 .U58 1984
"The Documents in this Collection are from the National Archives and Record Service, Washington, D.C., Record Group #165. Military Intelligence Division Files: Mexico"
Princeton University Latin American pamphlet collection. Politics in Mexico
Call Number: Branson Library Microfilm F1234 .P95 1984
Princeton University Latin American pamphlet collection. Socioeconomic conditions in Mexico
Call Number: Branson Library Microfilm HC135 .P75 1986
7 reels
Princeton University Latin American pamphlet collection. Women and gender issues in Argentina
Call Number: Branson Library, Microfilm HQ1532 .W6 1986
Princeton University Latin American pamphlet collection. Women and gender issues in Chile.
Call Number: Branson Library, Microfilm HQ1547 .W6 1984
Princeton University Latin American pamphlet collection. Women and gender issues in Cuba
Call Number: Branson Library, Microfilm HQ1507 .W6 1988
Princeton University Latin American pamphlet collection. Women and gender issues in Nicaragua
Call Number: Branson Library Microfilm HQ1487 .W6 1987
Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service Series A, Subject correspondence files. Part 2: Mexican immigration, 1906-1930
Call Number: Branson Library, Microfilm JV6895.M48 R35 1993
Records of the Department of State relating to political relations between Mexico and other states, 1910-29
Call Number: Branson Library Available , Microfilm F1234 .U552 1961
Records of the U.S. Department of State relating to political relations between the United States and Latin American and Caribbean states, 1930-1944
Call Number: Branson Library Microfilm F1418 .R387 1988
State Department territorial papers, New Mexico, 1851-1872
Call Number: Branson Library Microfilm F801 .U55 1954

NMSU Archives & Special Collections Websites

NMSU Library Special Collections/Rio Grande Historical Collections/University Archives

For more in-depth research and to find primary sources on many southwest and New Mexico topics, you may want to consult with an Archivist. The Archives and Special Collections Search Room (4^th Floor, Branson Library) is open from 9:00-4:00 M-F. Special Collections contains rare and unique published materials relating to New Mexico history. Materials in Archives include manuscript collections, oral history tapes and transcripts, and photographs. Catalog records for many archival collections can be found in the Library Catalog. For access to photographs, oral histories and other materials in the Archives, consult Archives web pages.

NMSU Library Catalog
Search the NMSU Library's holdings for books, audio, videos, and more.
Archives and Special Collections
Includes: NMSU Archives (Hobson-Huntsinger University Archives), Senator Pete V. Domenici Archives, Rio Grande Historical Collections (RGHC) and Special Collections.
NMSU Library Digital Collections
Highlights include:
Photographic Collections More than 500,000 photographic items from the Rio Grande Historical Collections, with materials that cover almost 150 years of image making in New Mexico and the Southwest and pertain to all aspects of the state's cultural heritage.
Extension Publications This collection of approximately 3,200 documents provides over 100 years of research-based information about agriculture, health, economics, family life and natural resources. It includes Circulars, Guides, Handbooks, Annual Data Reports, Research Reports and Bulletins, Technical Reports and Task Force Reports from 1890 to present.
Hobson-Huntsinger University Archives
This Hobson-Huntsinger University Archives (HHUA) holds records of enduring value of New Mexico State University, dating from the very beginnings of the institution. These include records of administrative offices, including the presidents of the university; meeting minutes of the Board of Regents; records of colleges, departments, support units, clubs and student organizations; professional papers of faculty members; publications of the university, including student newspapers, yearbooks, catalogs, extension service publications, athletics media guides and game programs, university news releases, and more.
Rio Grande Historical Collections
The Rio Grande Historical Collections (RGHC) acquires, preserves, and makes available for research materials related to the history and cultural heritage of southern New Mexico and the U.S. Mexico borderlands. These include manuscripts and papers of individuals, families and literary figures, records of organizations, businesses and governmental bodies, photographs, oral histories, and other unpublished materials.
Rocky Mountain Online Archive
RMOA provides online access to hundreds of finding aids and guides for archival collections in several major historical repositories in New Mexico, including the Rio Grande Historical Collections (NMSU), the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico, the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, and the Fray Angélico Chavez Library at the Palace of the Governors.
Archivos de Durango
The Mary Daniels Taylor Durango Microfilm at NMSU Rio Grande Historical Collections
Material related to the Spanish colonial and Mexican national periods of the state of Durango. There are currently three series of microfilm available for researcher use.
Archivo General de Notarías de Durango, Mexico Inventory
Archivos Históricos del Arzobispado de Durango, Mexico Finding Aid
New Mexico Prenuptial Investigations from the Archivos Históricos del Arzobispado de Durango: Volume 1
New Mexico Prenuptial Investigations from the Archivos Históricos del Arzobispado de Durango: Volume 2
Archivos Históricos del Estado de Durango, Mexico Inventory

Los archivos históricos del arzobispado de Durango, 1606-1899 by Catholic Church. Diocese of Durango (Mexico)
Call Number: Branson Library - Archives - Non-circulating Call Number: Ms 0355
757 microfilm reels. The Diocese of Durango (Guadiana) was created in the Nueva Vizcaya region of New Spain in 1620. This bishopric, of uncertain bounderies, approximately contained today's Mexican states of Durango and Chihuahua, parts of the states of New Mexico and Texas, and southern Colorado. The See of Durango was enlarged in 1632 by the addition of Sinaloa and Sonora, which it controlled until 1779. By the mid nineteenth century, the northern portions of the See were reassigned. In 1850 parts of New Mexico and Arizona were assigned to the Vicariate Apostolic of New Mexico and to the Diocese of Galveston. Portions of west Texas and southern New Mexico remained subject to jurisdictional disputes until the 1870's. In 1869 the Vicariate of Arizona was created, encompassing parts of New Mexico and Sonora. In 1891 the Diocese of Chihuahua was formed from the northern portion of the Durango diocese. Unpublished guide, in Spanish, available online and in repository

How to Cite

Chicago / Turabian Documentation Style
Chicago Style is the preferred citation and writing style for historical research
Chicago Manual of Style Online
Purdue OWL Guide to Chicago Manual of Style
Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students
Online guide for writing history papers

Latin American History

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Subject headings for Primary Source Materials

Catalog Tricks to Find Newspapers & Manuscripts

Subject Guide