United States History: Primary Sources in Library Databases
Resources for researching US history at PSU Library.
Databases with Historical Content on the U.S.
The databases listed here focus on American history.
- American WestContains manuscripts, books, maps, photos, and other materials focusing on the American West.
- Arte Publico Hispanic Historical CollectionsContains a digital collection of historical content pertaining to U.S. Hispanic history, literature, and culture from colonial times through the 20th century. Content is in both Spanish and English.
- Civil Rights in America: From Reconstruction to the Great SocietyProvides an archive of official publications and primary source material related to civil rights in the United States.
- Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans (1639-1800)Archives digitized early American books, pamphlets, and broadsides published from 1639 to 1800.
- Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker (1801-1819)Archives digitized early American pamphlets, broadsides, books, state papers and governmental materials published from 1801 to 1819.
- Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries from the American Antiquarian SocietyContains the personal writings of women of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, displayed as high-quality images of the original manuscripts.
- Eight Centuries (formerly 19th Century Masterfile)Includes Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature, 1802-1906, and other authoritative indexes that cover 19th century periodicals, books, newspapers, and patents as well as U.S. and British government documents.
- Plowshares: Digital Archive for Peace StudiesArchives primary documents such as minutes, diaries, correspondence, pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals from the 1700s to the present. Chronicles the social justice efforts of the students and faculty of Earlham, Goshen, and Manchester colleges as well as the members of their affiliated historic peace-churches; the Quakers, Mennonites and the Church of the Brethren.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000, Scholar's EditionMaintains primary source documents and historical interpretations focusing on women in American social movements.
Newspapers
Several of the databases mentioned on this page include newspapers, but these are databases with only news content.
- Early American Newspapers I, II, and IIICovers early American newspapers, a major primary source for American history. Provides unprecedented access to the nation's newspapers from 1690 to 1876. Series I covers 1690-1876, while series II and III cover 1821-1876.
- Oregonian -- Historical Backfile 1861-2018Contains archival, full text articles of the Oregonian from 1861 to 2018, presented in image format as they appeared in the newspaper.
- New York Times Historical FileArchives the New York Times from 1851 with full page images and articles.
U.S. Government Information
The following databases include content from the US government. You can also find papers of US presidents through the library catalog.
- American State PapersPresents the digitized edition of legislative and executive documents of the U.S.Congress from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
- Historical Statistics of the United States - Millennial EditionConsists of U.S. demographic and economic statistics from colonial times to the present.
- Congressional Hearings Digital CollectionCollects full text, abstracts, and citations for U.S. legislative information, regulations, and news with augmented full text coverage of Congressional hearings for 1824-1979. Updated daily when Congress is in session.
- Congressional Serial SetArchives reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from 1817-1994.
U.S. and International Databases
The databases listed here aren't focused exclusively on the United States, but they do contain significant content about the US.
- China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980Presents periodicals, diaries, photographs, and other materials relating to British and American diplomats, missionaries, business people, and tourists in China.
- Eighteenth Century Collections OnlineIncludes full text of important printed works published in the United Kingdom between 1701 and 1800, along with important works from the Americas.
- Empire OnlineFind primary source documents on colonial history, politics, and culture from 1492 to 2007, primarily about the British Empire, especially Africa, the Americas, Australia, Oceania, and South Asia.
- Gerritsen Women's History Collection of Aletta H. JacobsIncludes digitized books, pamphlets and periodicals reflecting the evolution of a feminist consciousness and the movement for women's rights in the US, Europe, and around the world. Materials date from 1534 to 1945, with especially strong coverage of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- Making of the Modern WorldArchives books or monographs on economics and business published from 1450 through 1850. Includes materials on commerce, finance, social conditions, politics, trade, and transport.
- Slavery, Abolition and Social JusticeArchives primary source documents for the study of slavery and abolition with materials from Africa, the Caribbean, the U.S., Latin America, and Europe from 1490 to 2007.