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A Word about Wikipedia
- Wikipedia: A Good Starting Point But NOT A Citable Source
What is Pop-sci?
What is pop-sci?
Elements of a Scholarly Research Article
Common elements of a scholarly article:
- Authors and their credentials
- Introduction including background information on subject, literature review, statement of research problem, and hypothesis
- Limitations of research
- Recommendations for further research
Quick Summary
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- Last Updated: Dec 7, 2023 8:46 AM
- URL: https://libraryguides.uwsp.edu/InformationSourcesInTheSciences
History and Literature: A Guide to Research Resources
- Finding Journal Articles
- English and American literary texts
- Romance language literary texts
- Periodicals
- Primary sources
- Finding Electronic Texts Online
Biographical sources
Biographical dictionaries.
- Literary Guides and Dictionaries
- Dissertations
- Citation Tools
- General Research Aids
American National Biography Online A standard source for U.S. historical biography with over 17,000 individual entries. The ANB Online is fully searchable and includes illustrations, cross-references, and links to external web sites.
African-American Biographical Database Includes biographies of thousands of African Americans from 1790-1950.
Oxford African American Studies Center Browse Biographies for full-text entries from an array of reference sources.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The electronic version of the new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography published in 2004, the sixty volumes of which include 50,000 biographies and some 10,000 images of deceased "men and women who have shaped all aspects of the British past." Enhancements available online include the ability to view articles from the earlier edition of the DNB; a "Themes" section that provides access to "reference lists" of individuals who have held particular offices (e.g., Archbishops of Canterbury) and to essays on various topics (e.g., The General Election of 1964: Forty Years On), and links to relevant web sites.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index The best place to begin a search for biographical information in printed sources, indexing 13.5 million references in almost 3,000 biographical dictionaries and reference works. World Biographical Information System Provides brief identifying information, primarily on pre-20th century figures, but includes contemporary figures as well, with references to entries in biographical dictionaries, many of which are reproduced full-text, on-line. Others are reproduced on microfiche available in the Widener Reference Room. Many of these sources are also in the Widener stacks in their original paper format.
Many countries have major, standard biographical dictionaries. You can search for them in HOLLIS with keywords such as Africa biography dictionaries . Here are some examples:
- Deutsche biographische Enzyklopädie by (DBE) / herausgegeben von Walther Killy ; unter Mitarbeit von Dietrich von Engelhardt ... [et al.]. Call Number: Widener RR 1786.5
- Dictionnaire de biographie française by sous la direction de J. Balteau ... M. Barroux ... M. Prévost ... avec le concours de nombreux collaborateurs ... Call Number: Widener RR 1771.4
- Dizionario biografico degli Italiani by [direttore, Alberto M. Ghisalberti]. Call Number: Widener RR 1781.5
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Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy
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Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
Search catalog, what are the differences.
Sources of information or evidence are often categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary material. These classifications are based on the originality of the material and the proximity of the source or origin. This informs the reader as to whether the author is reporting information that is first hand or is conveying the experiences and opinions of others which is considered second hand. Determining if a source is primary, secondary or tertiary can be tricky. Below you will find a description of the three categories of information and examples to help you make a determination.
Primary Sources
These sources are records of events or evidence as they are first described or actually happened without any interpretation or commentary. It is information that is shown for the first time or original materials on which other research is based. Primary sources display original thinking, report on new discoveries, or share fresh information.
Secondary Sources
These sources offer an analysis or restatement of primary sources. They often try to describe or explain primary sources. They tend to be works which summarize, interpret, reorganize, or otherwise provide an added value to a primary source.
Tertiary Sources
These are sources that index, abstract, organize, compile, or digest other sources. Some reference materials and textbooks are considered tertiary sources when their chief purpose is to list, summarize or simply repackage ideas or other information. Tertiary sources are usually not credited to a particular author.
- Primary Sources
- Definitions
- Documents - Printed & Published
- Objects and Artifacts
- Sound Recordings
- Visual Materials
- Digitized Sources
- Locating Sources
- Sources By Subject
- Evaluating Sources
- Documenting Sources / Copyright
- Research Tips
- Using Archives This link opens in a new window
Primary Sources Definition
What are primary sources .
Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to the truth of what actually happened during an historical event or time period. Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied. A primary source (also called original source ) is a document, recording, artifact, or other source of information that was created at the time under study, usually by a source with direct personal knowledge of the events being described. It serves as an original source of information about the topic.
Similar definitions are used in library science , and other areas of scholarship. In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document created by such a person. Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources , which cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources, though the distinction is not a sharp one.
Newspaper Research
- Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window Includes the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Christian Science Monitor, and more. Newspapers are in PDF format and provide a visual representation of the newspaper.
- ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window Includes both newspapers and scholarly journals
- Historical Newspapers The Guardian and The Observer Search The Guardian (1821-2003) and its sister paper, The Observer (1791-2003)
- New York Newspaper Archive This link opens in a new window Access New York Newspaper Archives and discover stories of the past with NewspaperArchive.com. The archive covers New York history from 1753-2023, with lots of content from smaller, local newspapers. Articles have been scanned as PDFs and include images and advertisements, and are full text searchable.
- America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window America's Historical Newspapers includes articles from local and regional American and Hispanic American newspapers from all 50 states. Coverage dates from 1690 to the early 20th century. Articles have been scanned as PDFs and include images and advertisements, and are full text searchable.
- American Periodicals Series Online This link opens in a new window includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century, 1740-1940.
- Times Digital Archive (London) This link opens in a new window Provides full-text access to back issues of The Times newspaper. Dates of coverage: 1785 to 2006.
- Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 This link opens in a new window Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 provides access to searchable digitized copies of newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries for a Hispanic readership. It features hundreds of monolingual and bilingual newspapers in Spanish and English, including many obscure titles from the 19th century.
- Global Newsstream This link opens in a new window Full text of 300+ U.S. and international news sources. Includes coverage of 150+ major U.S. and international newspapers such as The New York Times and the Times of London, plus hundreds of other news sources and news wires.
- Gale Newspaper Sources This link opens in a new window The Gale NewsVault is a portal to several historical collections of British newspapers and periodicals. It enables full-text searching across several titles simultaneously, including the Times of London, Financial Times, and Times Literary Supplement, along with aggregate newspaper and periodical collections covering the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
- Access World News This link opens in a new window Access World News provides the html full text and, for some titles, the pdf "as printed" visual representation, of articles from a variety of national and international news sources, including newspapers, digital-native news websites, television and radio transcripts, blogs, college and university newspapers, journals, magazines, and some audio and video. Most international titles are English language. Dates of coverage vary from title to title, but primarily span the late 20th century to present.
The Billy Rose Theatre Collection
TITLE: [Scene from Othello with Paul Robeson as Othello and Uta Hagen as Desdemona, Theatre Guild Production, Broadway, 1943-44] http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robeson_Hagen_Othello.jpg SOURCE:Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540
The Billy Rose Theatre Collection of The New York Public Library is one of the largest and most comprehensive archives devoted to the theatrical arts. This image is a work of an employee of the United States Farm Security Administration or Office of War Information domestic photographic units, created during the course of the person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.
- Billy Rose Collection NYPL The Billy Rose Theatre Division of The New York Public Library is one of the largest and most comprehensive archives devoted to the theatrical arts.
- New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts On this site, you can search The New York Public Library's vast holdings, initiate a research visit, submit a query to an archivist, and access digitized material. Most Broadway shows can be viewed in the special collections. You will need a NYPL library card to view them.
- ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window Thousands of libraries, museums, and archives have contributed nearly a million collection descriptions to ArchiveGrid.
- WorldCat - FirstSearch (OCLC) This link opens in a new window Search for books and more in libraries in the U.S. and around the world. Indicates when NYU Libraries holds a copy of a book and shows you nearby libraries with holdings.
- Internet Archive Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library offering free universal access to books, movies & music, as well as 456 billion archived web pages.
- Archives Unbound This link opens in a new window NYU is currently subscribing 14 collections:African America, Communists, and the National Negro Congress; Federal Response to Radicalism; Federal Surveillance of African Americans; Feminism in Cuba - 19th through 20th century archival document; Global Missions and Theology; India from Crown Rule to Republic; Testaments to the Holocaust (Documents and Rare Printed Materials from the Wiener Library, London); The Hindu Conspiracy Cases (Activities of the Indian Independence Movement in the U.S., 1908-1933); The Indian Army and Colonial Warfare on the Frontiers of India; The International Women’s Movement (The Pan Pacific Southeast Asia Women’s Association of the USA, 1950-1985); The Middle East Online - Arab-Israeli Relations; The Middle East Online - Iraq; U.S. and Iraqi Relations: U.S. Technical Aid; and, Witchcraft in Europe.
Historical Databases
An advert for P.T. Barnum's "Feejee Mermaid" in 1842 or thereabout. Author: P. T. Barnum or an employee, Source: Newspaper advert commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Barnum_mermai... This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
- America: History and Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window ndexes literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. The database indexes 1,700 journals and also includes citations and links to book and media reviews. Strong English-language journal coverage is balanced by an international perspective on topics and events, including abstracts in English of articles published in more than 40 languages. Publication dates of coverage: 1964 to present.
- Historical Abstracts with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more. Indexes more than 1,700 academic historical journals in over 40 languages. Publication dates of coverage: 1955 to present.
- Theatre in Context Collection This link opens in a new window O’Dell’s Annals of the New York Stage, the Oxford University Press Companion series, and Greenwood’s American Theatre Companies series are just a few of the many in-copyright sources included in the Theatre in Context Collection. Placed alongside thousands of playbills, posters, photographs, and related theatrical ephemera, users will be able to paint a more comprehensive picture of the life and evolution of dramatic works.
- Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window Contains 1297 sources with 1100 authors, covering the non-fiction published works of leading African-Americans. Particular care has been taken to index this material so that it can be searched more thoroughly than ever before. Where possible the complete published non-fiction works are included, as well as interviews, journal articles, speeches, essays, pamphlets, letters and other fugitive material.
- Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window Provides full-text and full-image access to hundreds of journals published in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and areas of general popular interest. Each periodical is covered back to its first issue, regardless of when it began publication. International in scope, PAO covers periodicals in a number of Western languages.
- Accessible Archives This link opens in a new window Includes the following collections: African American Newspapers, The Civil War Part I. A Newspaper Perspective, The Pennsylvania Genealogical Catalog, Pennsylvania Newspaper Record, South Carolina Newspapers, and The Liberator. ** Within these collections are papers such as The Charleston Mercury, The Christian Recorder, The Colored American, Douglass Monthly, Frederick, Douglass Paper, Freedom's Journal, Godey's Lady's Book, The Liberator, The National Era, The New York Herald, The North Star, The Pennsylvania Gazette, The Pennsylvania Packet, The Maryland Gazette, Provincial Freeman, Richmond Enquirer, The South Carolina Gazette, The Gazette of the State of South Carolina, The South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, The South Carolina and American General Gazette, Weekly Advocate.
- Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700. Searchable full text is also available for a subset of the collection.
- Eighteenth Century Journals This link opens in a new window Eighteenth Century Journals brings together rare journals printed between 1685 and 1835, primarily in the British Isles (with some publications from India, the Caribbean, and Europe). Users can view and download page images and search transcribed full text for all journals in the collection.
- C19: The 19th Century Index This link opens in a new window C19: The 19th Century Index provides bibliographic coverage of nineteenth-century books, periodicals, official documents, newspapers and archives from the English-speaking world. This database includes the Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals (1824-1900), Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, Palmer's Index to The Times, the Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue, and more.
- Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives 1960 - 1974 This link opens in a new window This resource consists of diaries, letters, autobiographies and other memoirs, written and oral histories, manifestos, government documents, memorabilia, and scholarly commentary. With 150,000 pages of material at completion, this searchable collection is a resource for students and scholars researching this period in American history, culture, and politics.
- African American Archives (via Fold3) This link opens in a new window This full text resource offers access to original documents that reveal a side of the African American story that few have seen before.
- African American Experience This link opens in a new window Full-text digital resource exploring the history and culture of African Americans, as well as the greater Black Diaspora. Features access to full-text content from more than 400 titles, 3,000 slave narratives, over 2000 images, 5,000 primary sources, and 250 vetted Web sites.
Letters & Diaries /Oral Histories
- Oral History Online This link opens in a new window Provides in-depth indexing to more than 2,700 collections of Oral History in English from around the world. The collection provides keyword searching of almost 281,000 pages of full-text by close to 10,000 individuals from all walks of life.
- American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window This database contains 2,009 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of diaries, letters and memoirs. Includes 4,000 pages of previously unpublished manuscripts such as the letters of Amos Wood and his wife and the diary of Maryland Planter William Claytor. The collection also includes biographies, an extensive bibliography of the sources in the database, and material licensed from The Civil War Day-by-Day by E.B. Long.
- British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window Includes 10,000 pages of diaries and letters revealing the experiences of approximately 500 women. The collection now includes primary materials spanning more than 300 years. The collection also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography of the sources in the database.
- North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories This link opens in a new window North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories includes 2,162 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of information, so providing a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada between 1800 and 1950. Contains contemporaneous letters, diaries, oral histories, interviews, and other personal narratives.
- North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window North American Women's Letters and Diaries includes the immediate experiences of 1,325 women and 150,000 pages of diaries and letters.
Gale Primary Sources
- Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window Gale Artemis is a groundbreaking research environment that integrates formerly disparate digital collections to enable innovative research. Gale Artemis provides an unprecedented, seamless research experience that helps students find a starting point, search across a wide array of materials and points in time, and discover new ways to analyze information.
Victorian Popular Culture
- Victorian Popular Culture This link opens in a new window An essential resource for the study of popular entertainment in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This innovative portal invites users into the darkened halls, small backrooms and travelling venues that hosted everything from spectacular shows and bawdy burlesque, to the world of magic and spiritualist séances. ** The resource is divided into four self-contained sections: Moving Pictures, Optical Entertainments and the Advent of Cinema; Music Hall, Theatre and Popular Entertainment; Circuses, Sideshows and Freaks; Spiritualism, Sensation and Magic
Historical Image Collections
commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Cushman_in_Ha... , The American actress Charlotte Cushman advertised in William Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Washington Theater in 1861. Author:Washington Theater, SOURCE:Public Library of Congress. this image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
- American Broadsides and Ephemera This link opens in a new window American Broadsides and Ephemera offers fully searchable images of approximately 15,000 broadsides printed between 1820 and 1900 and 15,000 pieces of ephemera printed between 1760 and 1900. The remarkably diverse subjects of these broadsides range from contemporary accounts of the Civil War, unusual occurrences and natural disasters to official government proclamations, tax bills and town meeting reports. Featuring many rare items, the pieces of ephemera include clipper ship sailing cards, early trade cards, bill heads, theater and music programs, stock certificates, menus and invitations documenting civic, political and private celebrations.
- Early American Imprints, Series I. Evans, 1639-1800 This link opens in a new window Search or browse the books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the renowned bibliography by Charles Evans.
- Early American Imprints, Series II. Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819 This link opens in a new window Search or browse the books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the distinguished bibliography by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker. 1801-1819
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Provide digital access to the most comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1691 and 1877. Included digitized images of American magazines and journals never before available outside the walls of the American Antiquarian Society. The collection is available in five series: Series 1 (1691-1820) - Series 2 (1821-1837) - Series 3 (1838-1852) - Series 4 (1853-1865) - Series 5 (1866-1877)
Link to Bobst Special Collections
- NYU Special Collections Bobst Library's Special Collections department houses significant archival resources including materials from the Downtown Collection, which documents New York City's downtown arts scene from the 1970s through the early 1990s. Maria Irene Fornés and Richard Foreman are among the many artists whose materials are housed in the Downtown Collection.
- Fales It is especially strong in English literature from the middle of the 18th century to the present, documenting developments in the novel. The Downtown Collection documents the downtown New York art, performance, and literary scenes from 1975 to the present and is extremely rich in archival holdings, including extensive film and video objects.
- Tamiment One of the finest research collections in the country documenting the history of radical politics: socialism, communism, anarchism, utopian experiments, the cultural left, the New Left, and the struggle for civil rights and civil liberties.
Guide to International Collections
- SIBMAS International Directory of Performing Arts Collections and Institutions
Books Containing Primary Source Documents
- The mediaeval stage by Chambers, E. K. (Edmund Kerchever), 1866-1954 Call Number: Online versions avail.
- The Elizabethan stage by Chambers, E. K. (Edmund Kerchever), 1866-1954 Call Number: PN2589 .C4 1965 4 vol. plus online version avail
- The diary of Samuel Pepys by Pepys, Samuel, 1633-1703 Call Number: Avail. online
- A history of theatrical art in ancient and modern times. by Mantzius, Karl, 1860-1921 Call Number: PN2106 .M313 1970 4 vol. also internet access
- Ben Jonson by Ben Jonson Call Number: online access
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What is a primary source?
A primary source can be an article, document, diary, manuscript, object or information written or created at the time an event actually took place. Primary sources serve as an original source of information.
A primary source is a first-hand record of an event or topic created by a participant in or a witness to that event or topic. Primary sources can be a document, letter, eye-witness account, diary, article, book, recording, statistical data, manuscript, or art object. Primary sources vary by discipline and provide an original source of information about an era or event. Although primary sources can include first-hand accounts that were documented later, such as memoirs or oral histories, primary sources created or written closest to the time of the actual event are considered to be the most useful sources for research purposes.
A secondary source is second-hand information written or created after an event. Secondary sources may summarize, interpret, review, or criticize existing events or works. Secondary sources were written or created after an event by people who were not at the original event. Secondary sources can be many formats including books, articles, encyclopedias, textbooks, or a scholar’s interpretation of past events or conditions.
Examples of Primary Sources and Secondary Sources:
Primary Source: Secondary Source:
An original painting by Mary Cassatt A book about the artist Mary Cassatt
President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address An article about Abraham Lincoln
A photograph of Harry Houdini A website about Houdini's magic tricks
An original Gershwin musical score A recent recording of Gershwin songs
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How old is Tim Walz? A brief biography of Kamala Harris' running mate
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen her running mate. On Tuesday, she selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be the vice president on her 2024 campaign ticket.
The Minnesota governor had been speculated to be Harris' pick, among a short list of other contenders, such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro , Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly , Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg .
Alongside Harris, Walz is expected to make an appearance at a campaign rally Tuesday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Here's a brief biography of Tim Walz.
Tim Walz is Kamala Harris' VP pick: Minnesota governor named running mate: Live updates
How old is Tim Walz?
Gov. Tim Walz is 60 years old, born on April 6, 1964.
He was born in West Point, Nebraska, and grew up in Valentine, Nebraska. He joined the National Guard at 17 and served for 24 years. He earned a social science degree at Chadron State College in 1989 and a Master of Science in educational leadership from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2001.
After college, he taught abroad in China and returned to the States to serve full-time in the National Guard. He also taught social studies and coached at a school where he would meet his future wife, Gwen Whipple.
He served as a U.S. Representative for Minnesota's first district, serving six terms in the House from 2007 to 2019. He was elected Minnesota's 41st governor and his tenure began in 2019.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is Harris' VP. Who is his family?
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How old is Kamala Harris?
Vice President Kamala Harris is 59 years old, born Oct. 20, 1964.
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THE MYSTERIOUS MRS. NIXON: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady , by Heath Hardage Lee
It’s no mystery why the first lady Pat Nixon was once the most admired woman in America. Silently glued to her adored husband’s side, perfectly poised Pat epitomized white womanhood on the eve of the feminist revolution.
Self-contained yet approachable, Pat loved mingling in a crowd and was great with children. Her stamina was unsurpassed. She punctually attended all 115 of her official events in 1969, slept six hours a night and told a reporter that she was “never tired.”
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Five things to know about Tim Walz
On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris decided on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in her bid for the White House.
Minnesota voters gathered outside Governor Tim Walz’s residence react as Walz was announced as the running mate of Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election. (AP Video by Mark Vancleave)
Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate, turning to a Midwestern governor, military veteran and union supporter who helped enact an ambitious Democratic agenda for his state.
FILE - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, right, laughs as he stands with Fridley, Minn., Mayor Scott Lund during a visit to the Cummins Power Generation Facility in Fridley, Minn., Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
FILE - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz applauds as President Joe Biden speaks at Dutch Creek Farms in Northfield, Minn., Nov. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
FILE - Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz listens after meeting with President Joe Biden, July 3, 2024, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a news conference for the Biden-Harris campaign discussing the Project 2025 plan during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention near the Fiserv Forum, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)
FILE - Minnesota Governor Tim Walz greets reporters before Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Planned Parenthood, March 14, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Bettcher, File)
FILE - Rep. Betty McCullum, D-Minn., left, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, listen as Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Planned Parenthood, March 14, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Bettcher, File)
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has decided on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in her bid for the White House. The 60-year-old Democrat and military veteran rose to the forefront with a series of plain-spoken television appearances in the days after President Joe Biden decided not to seek a second term. He has made his state a bastion of liberal policy and, this year, one of the few states to protect fans buying tickets online for Taylor Swift concerts and other live events.
Some things to know about Walz:
Walz comes from rural America
It would be hard to find a more vivid representative of the American heartland than Walz. Born in West Point, Nebraska, a community of about 3,500 people northwest of Omaha, Walz joined the Army National Guard and became a teacher in Nebraska.
He and his wife moved to Mankato in southern Minnesota in the 1990s. That’s where he taught social studies and coached football at Mankato West High School, including for the 1999 team that won the first of the school’s four state championships. He still points to his union membership there.
Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard, rising to command sergeant major, one of the highest enlisted ranks in the military, although he didn’t complete all the training before he retired so his rank for benefits purposes was set at master sergeant.
He has a proven ability to connect with conservative voters
In his first race for Congress, Walz upset a Republican incumbent. That was in 2006, when he won in a largely rural, southern Minnesota congressional district against six-term Rep. Gil Gutknecht. Walz capitalized on voter anger with then-President George W. Bush and the Iraq war.
During six terms in the U.S. House, Walz championed veterans’ issues.
He’s also shown a down-to-earth side, partly through social media video posts with his daughter, Hope. One last fall showed them trying a Minnesota State Fair ride, “The Slingshot,” after they bantered about fair food and her being a vegetarian.
He could help the ticket in key Midwestern states
While Walz isn’t from one of the crucial “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where both sides believe they need to win, he’s right next door. He also could ensure that Minnesota stays in the hands of Democrats.
That’s important because former President Donald Trump has portrayed Minnesota as being in play this year, even though the state hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006. A GOP presidential candidate hasn’t carried the state since President Richard Nixon’s landslide in 1972, but Trump has already campaigned there .
When Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton decided not to seek a third term in 2018, Walz campaigned and won the office on a “One Minnesota” theme.
Walz also speaks comfortably about issues that matter to voters in the Rust Belt. He’s been a champion of Democratic causes, including union organizing, workers’ rights and a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
He has experience with divided government
In his first term as governor, Walz faced a Legislature split between a Democratic-led House and a Republican-controlled Senate that resisted his proposals to use higher taxes to boost money for schools, health care and roads. But he and lawmakers brokered compromises that made the state’s divided government still seem productive.
Bipartisan cooperation became tougher during his second year as he used the governor’s emergency power during the COVID-19 pandemic to shutter businesses and close schools. Republicans pushed back and forced out some agency heads. Republicans also remain critical of Walz over what they see as his slow response to sometimes violent unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.
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Things got easier for Walz in his second term, after he defeated Republican Scott Jensen , a physician known nationally as a vaccine skeptic. Democrats gained control of both legislative chambers, clearing the way for a more liberal course in state government, aided by a huge budget surplus.
Walz and lawmakers eliminated nearly all of the state abortion restrictions enacted in the past by Republicans, protected gender-affirming care for transgender youth and legalized the recreational use of marijuana.
Rejecting Republican pleas that the state budget surplus be used to cut taxes, Democrats funded free school meals for children, free tuition at public colleges for students in families earning under $80,000 a year, a paid family and medical leave program and health insurance coverage regardless of a person’s immigration status.
He has an ear for sound-bite politics
Walz called Republican nominee Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance “just weird” in an MSNBC interview last month and the Democratic Governors Association — which Walz chairs — amplified the point in a post on X . Walz later reiterated the characterization on CNN, citing Trump’s repeated mentions of the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter from the film “Silence of the Lambs” in stump speeches.
The word quickly morphed into a theme for Harris and other Democrats and has a chance to be a watchword of the undoubtedly weird 2024 election.
Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.
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The short answer is no. In most cases, a biography is considered a secondary source; however, there's a little more to it than that. A primary source is a first-person account (e.g., direct quote, diary entry) or the original source of information (e.g., a research organization that creates original data for an industry.).
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For digitized archival material together with other kinds of primary sources: Finding Primary Sources Online offers general instructions for finding primary sources online and a list of resources by region and country; Online Primary Source Collections for the History of Science lists digital collections at Harvard and beyond by topic.
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The American National Biography is the premier, authoritative, historical biographical encyclopedia for the United States. Over 18,700 men and women are included, and the resource is updated quarterly with new entries and revisions of previously published entries to enhance their accuracy and currency. Articles are by established scholars.
Secondary sources are interpretations and analyses based on primary sources. For example, an autobiography is a primary source while a biography is a secondary source. Typical secondary sources include: Scholarly Journal Articles. Use these and books exclusively for writing Literature Reviews. Magazines. Reports. Encyclopedias. Handbooks ...
In the Sciences (biology, ecology, chemistry), primary source documents focus on original research, ideas, or findings published in academic journals. These articles mark the first publication of such research; and they detail the researcher's methodology and results. Plant or mineral samples and other artifacts are primary sources as well.
Secondary sources are interpretations and analyses based on primary sources. For example, an autobiography is a primary source while a biography is a secondary source. Typical secondary sources include: Scholarly Journal Articles. Use these and books exclusively for writing Literature Reviews. Magazines. Reports. Encyclopedias. Handbooks ...
A primary source is a first-hand account from a person or organization who:. Created an original work; Participated in new scientific discoveries; Witnessed an event; Some examples of primary sources include:. Art and artifacts; Autobiographies, diaries, and memoirs
A primary source is an eyewitness account of an event or data obtained through original statistical or scientific research. What are some examples of primary sources? Secondary Source. A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may include pictures of ...
A biography is an account of the special and important events in a person's life; Not to be confused with bibliography, which is a listing of books and articles on a topic; Biographies may be brief and cover only basic information about a person's life such as dates of birth and death, education and vocation
You can find biographical information in a range of sources including: Primary Sources: Contemporary newspaper articles. Personal papers such as diaries and notebooks. Interviews and audio recordings. Secondary Sources: Biographical dictionaries arranged by country or topic. Books, journal articles and encyclopedias.
Dates back to 1966. Making of America, books. Digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection includes the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology.
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Kamala Harris' presidential campaign updated its online biography of running mate Tim Walz's military service amid Republican efforts to question his record in the Army National Guard.
Here's a brief biography of Tim Walz. Tim Walz is Kamala Harris' VP pick: Minnesota governor named running mate: Live updates Gov. Tim Walz is 60 years old, born on April 6, 1964.
1. Walz was born in West Point, a Nebraska town of just 3,500 people. But he was raised in an even smaller town called Butte. 2. Walz graduated from Butte High School in 1982. "I come from a ...
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Mexico's ruling party is considering changes to a proposed judicial reform in a bid to calm market concerns, including making the election of judges a staggered process over many years to reduce ...
He has an ear for sound-bite politics. Walz called Republican nominee Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance "just weird" in an MSNBC interview last month and the Democratic Governors Association — which Walz chairs — amplified the point in a post on X.Walz later reiterated the characterization on CNN, citing Trump's repeated mentions of the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter ...