Primary Source Sets
The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop critical thinking skills by exploring a variety of topics related to Minnesota’s history and culture. Using both primary and secondary sources, these sets bring together resources in new ways to help students better understand historic events in their context.
Drawing materials from libraries, archives, and museums across Minnesota, these sets use letters, photographs, advertisements, oral histories, postcards, newsletters, speeches, and more. Each set includes a topic overview, ten to twenty primary sources from the MDL collection, links to related resources, and a section called “Think Like a Historian” which offers discussion questions and classroom activities. We invite educators and researchers to use these primary source sets in their teaching and learning.
Fey Brothers, Automobile Inventors
Learn about early automobile history by examining the four custom-built automobiles of Lincoln and Frank Fey.
Hilma Berglund and the Weavers Guild of Minnesota
Meet Hilma Berglund, the first president of the Weavers Guild of Minnesota.
Laura Ingalls Wilder's On the Banks of Plum Creek
Explore some of the themes and ideas laid out in Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiographical novel.
Northfield Bank Raid of 1876
Learn about the infamous James-Younger Gang's attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota in 1876.
New
Rondo: Before the Highway
A look at Minnesota’s first African American neighborhood from its founding through the mid-twentieth century.
New
Rondo: During and After the Highway
A look at Minnesota’s first African American neighborhood, from the construction of I-94 until present day.
Sinclair Lewis in Duluth
Read letters written by Sinclair Lewis about his house, work, and experiences while living in Duluth in the 1940s.
Sinclair Lewis's Main Street
Explore some of the themes and ideas laid out in Sinclair Lewis's masterpiece of American literature.
Stella Stocker and the Ojibwe of Minnesota
Visit early 20th century Ojibwe communities with musician and educator Stella Stocker through her photography collection.
Women's Suffrage in Minnesota
Explore resources related to the women's suffrage movement in Minnesota.