History: Primary Sources

Coverage: 1540-1921

Covers the history of Africa and its diverse people over nearly 400 years and includes more than 1,300 books, pamphlets, almanacs, broadsides and ephemera.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 1535-1922

Database of more than 12,000 printed books, pamphlets, and broadsides recording African American history, literature and culture from the early 16th to the early 20th century.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 1809-1971

Included in ProQuest's History Vault database, this resource consists of a large variety of collections from the U.S. National Archives, a series of collections from the Chicago History Museum, as well as selected first-hand accounts of interactions between the U.S. Army and American Indian tribes in the west.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 18th-20th centuries

Provides access to the Everett D. Graff Collection of Western Americana at the Newberry Library in Chicago. Includes a mixture of original manuscripts, maps, artwork, ephemeral material, and rare printed sources. Subjects include frontier life, Native American history and culture, vigilantes and outlaws, the gold rush, the growth of urban centers and railways, the environmental impact of westward expansion and of life in the borderlands, and much more.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 1535-1922

Covering every aspect of American life during the early decades of the United States, this primary source collection provides full text access to over 150,000 early American books, pamphlets and broadsides. This resource includes the Evans Series (1639-1800), Shaw-Shoemaker Series (1801-1819), American Broadsides and Ephemera (1760-1900), Afro-Americana Imprints (1535-1922), African History and Culture (1540-1921), Black Authors (1556-1922), and Caribbean History and Culture (1535-1920).

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 2018-present

This database is a collection of primary source documents from and about Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. Resources include newspapers, magazines, videos, journals, and interview transcripts. 

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Coverage: 1976-present

Black Life in America, Series 3 offers a window into African American history, culture and daily life as well as the ways the dominant culture has portrayed and perceived people of African descent. Updated daily with new content, this database provides in-depth coverage of issues involved in America's ongoing conversation on race, including coverage of historic changes such as Barack Obama's election and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

This open access collection provides access to the digitized histories of civil rights activism by Black, Latine, Indigenous, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities. Materials are drawn from universities, public libraries, community archives, and historical societies and include photographs, unofficial letters, correspondence, demonstration plan outlines, meeting minutes, newsreels, interviews, and musical recordings.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Coverage: 1556-1922

More than 550 works by authors of African and African American descent, including personal narratives, autobiographies, histories, novels, essays, poems, and more.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 1847-present

Provides access to approximately 1,310 plays by 210 playwrights, together with detailed information on related productions, theaters, production companies, and more. This database also includes selected playbills, production photographs, and other ephemera related to the plays.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 1900-present

Black Studies Center consists of scholarly journals, commissioned overview essays by top scholars in Black studies, and historic indexes. This resource includes the Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, the Black Studies Periodicals Database, the Black Literature Index, and historical black newspapers such as The Chicago Defender.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Contains the non-fiction published works of over 1,000 leading African Americans, including artists, teachers, religious leaders, politicians, entertainers, and more. Resources cover over 250 years of history and include interviews, journal articles, letters, speeches, trial transcripts, and other materials. Includes access to Black Panther, the official newspaper of the Black Panther Party. 

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 1100-1900

Provides access to facsimile images of letters, poems, plays, novels, and other literary works of British authors over seven centuries.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 1535-1920

This resource covers the diverse history of the Caribbean Islands over nearly 400 years. Includes books, pamphlets, almanacs, broadsides and ephemera.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Provides access to materials that cover early encounters between the Indigenous People of North America and the rest of the world from 1534 to 1850. This collection focuses on present-day Canada and the United States with limited coverage of Mexico. Resources include letters, diaries, memoirs, and illustrations. The collection provides unique perspectives from all of the protagonists, including traders, enslaved peoples, missionaries, soldiers, Indigenous Peoples, and officials. Highlights include John James Audubon's Birds of America and George Catlin's early illustrations capturing the traditions and customs of various North American tribes.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Wiley's Environmental Science and History Digital Archive focuses on critical aspects of environmental science, history, and anthropogenic change and includes unique and rare archival collections from multiple global sources. The archive includes manuscripts, images, maps, and photographs covering topics such as deforestation, agriculture, livestock, fisheries, ecology, botany, biodiversity, extinction, water sources, irrigation, wetlands, and hydrology.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

This open access database provides content covering important issues related to race, ethnicity, diversity, and inclusiveness in today's society. Resources include essays, journal articles, government agency reports, photographs, speeches, and other primary sources. A wide range of topics are covered, including affirmative action, food insecurity, environmental racism and environmental justice, the black lives matter movement, voting rights and voter suppression, police use of force, sports team branding changes, neighborhood gentrification, and much more.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online print or video tutorial.

Coverage: 1941-1996

Provides access to the United States' principal record of political and historical open source intelligence. This resource includes translated transcripts of foreign radio and television broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements. The reports contain political, military, economic, environmental, and sociological news and commentary. 

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 1650-1920

A digital collection of primary source documents covering the lives of immigrants and Indigenous Peoples in various European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa, and Australasia. Topics covered include land and property, women's history, religion, the natural world, warfare, health and medicine, family, business and trade, agriculture, arts and entertainment, politics, and more. Resources include correspondence, diaries, government papers, business records, land transactions, legal documents, speeches, books, and pamphlets.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Shared digital repository of millions of library books and journals converted from print resources owned by research institutions around the world. HathiTrust Digital Library does not permit downloading or viewing the full text of books that are still under copyright. 

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 2010-present

Combining deep historical content with current sources, Hispanic Life in America provides primary source documents related to Hispanic American life. This database is continually updated to reflect the latest news in government, business, and arts  - from U.S. immigration policies and the response at the U.S. southern border, to the Dreamers and the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), as well as the ongoing influence of Hispanic American businesses, politicians, musicians, athletes, and others.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Coverage: 16th-20th centuries

Four centuries of history, from early contact to the modern era, are featured in this resource. Coverage includes peoples of North and Central America and materials include manuscripts, illustrations, newspapers, books, photos and maps. This resource is also cross-searchable with the American West database.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 2017 - present

This comprehensive news archive is a collection of primary source documents related to Indigenous history, daily life, traumas, and triumphs. 

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Coverage: 1957-1995

Provides access to English translations of foreign language materials from regions throughout the world. Includes monographs, reports, serials, journal and newspaper articles, and radio and television broadcasts. This database is ideal for the study of history of science, global economics, agriculture, health, political culture, international relations, and military affairs.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

JSTOR's Open Community Collections provide open access to hundreds of important and rare collections from libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies around the world. Resources include photographs, vintage posters, maps, illustrations, videos, manuscripts, diaries, and more.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorials. 

Coverage: 18th-20th centuries

A digital collection of full-text and color images of rare books, ephemera, maps, posters, slag dictionaries, children's chapbooks, street cries, playbills, cartoons, and other materials relating to the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century Victorian London. This database also includes a chronology, interactive map, essays, visual galleries, and exhibitions. Topics covered include the underworld, religion, women and gender, politics, popular music, urban topography, slang, working-class culture, prostitution, the Temperance Movement, and police and criminality.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Coverage: 1800-1926

From one of the most important periods of legal development, this archive is a comprehensive full text collection of Anglo-American legal treatises. It allows for full text searching of more than 21,000 works from casebooks, local practice manuals, form books, works for lay readers, pamphlets, letters, speeches and more - all separated into 99 subject areas.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Contains works pertaining to the United States, Britain, Ireland, Canada, as well as English-language titles about trials in other jurisdictions, such as France. Resources include published trial transcripts, popular printed accounts of sensational trials for murder, unofficially published trial documents, official records of legislative proceedings, administrative proceedings, arbitration sessions, and books and pamphlets about specific trials. Topics include adultery, commercial law, constitutional law, dueling, elections, impeachment, international law, land, military offenses, murder, sexuality, slavery, torts, treason, and wills.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Coverage: 1450-1850

The Making of the Modern World, Part I: The Goldsmiths'-Kress Collection covers the expansion of world trade, the Industrial Revolution, and the development of modern capitalism. Resources include rare books and primary source materials covering a variety of subjects, including commerce, finance, social conditions, politics, trade and transport.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Coverage: 1545-1900

Nearly 26,000 pamphlets bringing together a corpus of primary sources for the study of sociopolitical and economic factors impacting 19th-century Britain. Collections include Cowen Tracts (1603-1898), Earl Grey Pamphlets Collection (1800-1900), Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection (1545-1900), Hume Tracts (1769-1890), Knowsley Pamphlet Collection (1792-1868), Selections - University of Manchester British Political Pamphlets Collection (1799-1900), Selections - London School of Economics and Political Science (1800-1899), Selections - University of Bristol (1800-1899), and Wilson Anti-Slavery Collection (1761-1900).

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Access to full text resources covering a variety of topics from the 19th century, including British politics and society, diplomatic and cultural exchange between Asia and the West, British theatre and music, and European literature from the Corvey Collection. Content is drawn from the world's preeminent libraries and archives and includes monographs, newspapers, pamphlets, maps, photographs, maps, manuscripts, and ephemera.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Provides full text plays from American Indian and First Nation playwrights of the 20th century. More than half of the works are previously unpublished, and hard to find, representing tribes such as Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Pembina Chippewa, Ojibway, Comanche, Cree, Navajo, Rappahannock, and others.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

North American Indian Thought and Culture is a database on Indigenous Peoples from all areas of North America. This collection presents the life stories and historical events of American Indians and Canadian First Peoples as told in their own words. Resources include autobiographies, biographies, Indian publications, oral histories, personal writings, photographs, drawings, and audio files. Biographies include works on Quanah Parker, Dennis Banks, Susan La Flesche Picotte, Crowfoot, Peter Pitchlynn, Sacajawea, Black Elk, Standing Buffalo, and others.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.

Provides access to an electronic library of resources made available to Oklahomans through a collaboration between the Oklahoma Department of Libraries and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Resources include images, state archive materials, Oklahoma legal documents, governor biographies, Oklahoma almanacs, and documents related to events in Oklahoma history, such as women's suffrage, the Osage Murders, and the Tulsa Race Massacre. 

For more information about using this resource, view the publishers online tutorial. 

Access over 40 digitized collections from OU Libraries Special Collections. Resources include images, correspondence, newspaper articles, rare books, and audio. Highlights include broadcasts from the Indians for Indians Radio Show, a 1598 edition of Chaucer's works from the Nichols Rare Book Collection, and images from the American School Collection. 

Coverage: 1800-1880

A collection of monographs from the Travels in the West and Southwest and Plains & Rockies microfilm collections.

Coverage: 1500-1926

Sabin Americana contains works about the Americas published throughout the world from 1500 to the early 1900's. Resources include books, pamphlets, serials, and other documents that provide original accounts of exploration, trade, colonialism, slavery and abolition, the western movement, Native Americans, and military actions. 

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial. 

Coverage: 1600-2000

This database provides access to historical analysis and documents related to women and social movements in the United States. It also includes a dictionary of social movements and organizations and a chronology of U.S. Women's history. Resources include book, film, and website reviews, archival documents, and teaching tools.

For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.