HIST 211: The History of Comic Books & American Society: Primary Sources

This site from the National Archives provides not only access to primary source documents, but also various activities and tools for understanding and using materials in the classroom.

"This resource has been designed for students and scholars of early modern English letters, history, theology, and philosophy--for anyone whose research will embrace original English manuscript sources in this period. "

Information on evaluating primary source materials is provided in this site from the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association.

Provides suggestions to help you read 18th century documents

"... provide strategies for analyzing online primary materials, with interactive exercises and a guide to traditional and online sources. “Scholars in Action” segments show how scholars puzzle out the meaning of different kinds of primary sources, allowing you to try to make sense of a document yourself then providing audio clips in which leading scholars interpret the document and discuss strategies for overall analysis."

Designed primarily as a resource for middle and high school students and teachers, the site contains interactive exercises to aid in the understanding of American History topics from the period of 1880-1920. It helps students in learning to analyze primary source materials, especially visual resources.

This site from the U.K. National Archives provides "online tutorials on Latin and palaeography will help you to read documents from the medieval period and beyond, through practical activities and useful examples."

"This website offers guidance in the deciphering of documents written in handwr​iti​ng styles or alphabets no longer in general use. The tutorials and​ materials gathe​red here are meant to help a varie​ty of people – students, researchers, historians, genealogists, and indexers – learn more about old scripts and how to make use of that knowle​dge to analyze and int​erpret the past. The concentration is on western European scripts, particularly those in use between 1500 and 1800. There is general introductory material about the history of writing and the development ​of different scripts (or hands) as well as extensive, and interactive, language-specific materials. ​"

Provided by the MLA, this site provides access to a collection of articles about primary sources and their use.

Guides to using and analyzing primary sources. Although these were designed for use by teachers in the classroom, the information provided will still help you analyze materials.

Collections of Comic Books and Graphic Novels available from the Internet Archive.

"... providing as close to a free resource as possible where users can easily download public domain golden age comics without the need to ask or worry about searching the net for them. "

Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency of the / Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Eighty-third Congress, second session, pursuant to S. 190. Investigation of juvenile delinquency in the United States. April 21, 22, and June 4, 1954.

"The Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) contains catalog records and digital images representing a rich cross-section of still pictures held by the Prints & Photographs Division and, in some cases, other units of the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress offers broad public access to these materials as a contribution to education and scholarship.

The collections of the Prints & Photographs Division include photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections are particularly rich in materials produced in, or documenting the history of, the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people."

Wonder Woman #34 (March-April 1949, DC). Wonder Woman's amazing adventure on the planet Mars.
Creative Commons license: Public Domain Mark 1.0

"The industry formed a new trade association and formulated a new Code to self-censor content. The Code symbol subsequently appeared on approved comic books, curtailing the crime and horror genre. The Code, refined in 1971 and 1989, remains a regulatory instrument for association members."

"In the following excerpts from the Subcommittee’s report, Congress warned the industry that if self-regulation did not prove to be effective, “other ways and means” would be found to protect children. The Code, refined in 1971 and 1989, remains a regulatory instrument for association members."

EW discusses the history of Watchmen with its creators.