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real primary sources.
The search bar is built for one thing: finding primary and secondary sources. Type any historical topic and we identify the most relevant sources, surface full metadata, and find free, open-access copies you can actually read.
What you can search
Verify claims with real sources
- “Which ancient Roman sources are most cited for explaining why the Western Empire fell?”
- “What did the Spanish actually write about Inca construction methods?”
- “Which primary sources describe daily life in medieval London?”
Find the actual documents
- “Find the original letters between John and Abigail Adams during the Revolution”
- “Where can I read the Dead Sea Scrolls fragments and scholarly transcriptions?”
- “Find survivor testimonies and letters from the sinking of the Titanic”
Build DBQ document sets
- “Create a DBQ document set comparing Hoover and FDR on the Great Depression”
- “Build a document set on Gandhi and MLK Jr comparing their approaches to civil disobedience”
- “Gather loyalist and patriot pamphlets and speeches from the American Revolution”
Corroborate with evidence
- “Corroborate what happened in the Gulf of Tonkin incident using primary sources”
- “Corroborate the existence of MKUltra using primary sources”
- “What sources prove or disprove the Dreyfus affair conspiracy?”
Find declassified documents
- “What declassified CIA documents cover the 1953 Iran coup?”
- “Find court records and trial transcripts from the Nuremberg trials”
- “Pull the most relevant documents about what Snowden revealed”
Compare multiple perspectives
- “Gather abolition pamphlets, sermons, and newspapers and compare arguments by region”
- “Collect Indian independence speeches from British officials and Indian leaders”
- “Compare how different countries reported the fall of the Berlin Wall”
One search. Your top 10 sources.
Every source is a card you can act on. See who wrote it, when it was created, where it came from, and how relevant it is to your research. Then go further: find a free copy online, fact-check its claims, run a deep analysis, or save it to your workspace and start writing.
1.Letter from Birmingham Jail
Descrip.An open letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. defending nonviolent resistance to racism and arguing that individuals have a moral duty to disobey unjust laws.
What you can do with each source
Chat about source
Every source card has a chat icon that opens a conversation focused on that source. Ask Sofia about its historical significance, who wrote it and why, or how it connects to other sources. You can also chat about all your sources at once.
Find Source
Found a source that matters? This button searches for a free, open-access copy you can read right now. No paywall, no login. Add any link to your Sofia chat and she'll read the full content so you can ask questions about what it actually says.
Explore
Want to understand a source fully? Explore opens a menu of analysis tools. Get a 2000-word deep dive, check for bias, see a timeline, read the historiography, generate an audio podcast, or test your knowledge with quizzes and flashcards.
+ Button
Want to save a source for later? The + button lets you add it to a workspace collection or send it straight to the Notetaker, our built-in research editor. Build a library of sources across multiple projects and keep your notes, citations, and analysis all in one place.
Fact Check
Not sure if a source is reliable? Fact Check runs a live web search to cross-reference its claims against other sources online. It tells you what holds up, what doesn't, and where the discrepancies are so you can make your own judgment.
Find Resources
Need more material on the same topic? Find Resources searches for peer-reviewed articles, academic citations, books, PDFs, YouTube videos, images, and blog articles. Each result links directly to the original so you can access it immediately.
Meet Sofia, your AI research assistant
Sofia is available at every stage of your research. Before you search, while you explore sources, and when you write. Add a link to the chat and she can read the actual page content. PDF support has limited restrictions. Paywalled and file-sharing links are not supported.
How Sofia helps at each step
Before you search
Open the chat on the search page before running a search. Sofia can give you an overview of any historical topic, suggest what to search for, answer quick questions, or analyze a YouTube video or URL you paste in. She helps you figure out the right query before you use a credit.
After you search
Once your sources load, Sofia can talk about all of them at once. Ask her to compare sources, rank them by reliability, explain how they connect, or identify gaps in your evidence. She sees every source card and its metadata.
ADD to Chat
Found a link through Find Source? Click “ADD to Chat” and Sofia reads the actual page content. She goes from knowing what the source is to knowing what it says. Ask her to summarize it, pull out key quotes, or explain how it supports your argument.
Voice input
Talk to Sofia instead of typing. The chat supports voice input on desktop and mobile. On desktop, listening stays on so you can speak naturally. Say “send” to submit your message hands-free. Useful when you're reading a physical document and want to ask a question without switching to the keyboard.
From sources to finished research
You found your sources. You verified them. Now turn them into something. Save sources to a workspace, write in the Notetaker with Sofia's help, and export when you're done.
What you can do with your sources
Save sources to a workspace
Use the + button on any source card to save it, add it to a workspace, or send it directly to the Notetaker. Organize sources by project, topic, or assignment so you never lose track of what you found.
Write in the Notetaker
The Notetaker is a full research editor built into the app. Format your text, create multiple documents, and pin up to 3 source URLs so Sofia always has your citations in context when you ask for help.
Let Sofia help you write
Select any text in the editor and choose from 28 AI commands. Sofia can write introductions, improve clarity, simplify language, summarize, change tone, switch writing style, translate into 11 languages, or expand your notes into full paragraphs. Every command uses your pinned sources as context.
Export to Word
When your research is ready, export any document as a .docx file. Open it in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any word processor. Your formatting, structure, and content come through exactly as you wrote it.
Letter from Birmingham Jail - Notes
Last saved: 2:45 PM
Letter from Birmingham Jail - Analysis
King argues that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. He distinguishes between just and unjust laws, citing St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.
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The letter responds directly to eight white clergymen who published “A Call for Unity” urging patience. King rejects the idea that freedom can wait, writing that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
Key themes: moral law vs civil law, direct action, the white moderate, the role of the church...
Built for people who need real sources
Whether you're writing a paper, building a lesson plan, researching for a video, or just curious about history, the app works the same way. Search, find, verify, analyze, write.
Students
Build DBQ document sets, find sources your teacher will accept, and stop relying on ChatGPT for research.
History enthusiasts
Go deeper than YouTube and Wikipedia. Read the actual letters, diaries, and documents everyone references but nobody links to.
Teachers
Find classroom-ready primary sources with full metadata. Give students a research tool instead of a list of 30 archive websites.
Content creators
Research a video or podcast in minutes. Find declassified documents, court records, and original sources that build credibility.