ABOUT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY
National History Day is a non-profit organization that encourages students to engage in their own studies of history through a year-long academic program focused on historical research, interpretation and creative expression for students in the 6th through 12th grades. Students create projects that can be entered in a national contest.
2019 THEME: TRIUMPH & TRAGEDY IN HISTORY
Every year, National History Day focuses on a different theme relevant across various areas of historical research. Learn more about the 2019 theme, "Triumph & Tragedy in History," on the History Day website.
DEFINITION: Primary sources are original sources created at the time a historical event occurs (or possibly afterwards) and are directly associated with their producer (or user). Essentially, a primary source is the subjective interpretation of a witness to an event. Primary sources serve as the raw materials historians use to interpret / analyze the past.
Some examples include:
| Diaries | Memoirs | Letters | Newspapers |
| Speeches | Newspapers | Interviews | Government Documents |
| Photographs | Works of Art | Wills | Video Recordings |
| Maps | Manuscripts | Research Data | Ancient Artifacts |