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U.S. History and American Studies  

A guide for conducting U.S. History and American Studies research at the Yale University Library.
Last Updated: Feb 14, 2012 URL: http://guides.library.yale.edu/ushistory Print Guide RSS UpdatesEmail AlertsShareThis

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Primary Source Databases

  • Twentieth Century US
    A list of full-text primary source databases for 20th century U.S. history, including newspapers, magazines, and government documents.
  • Nineteenth Century US
    A list of full-text primary source databases for 19th century U.S. history, including newspapers, magazines, and government documents.
  • Colonial America
    A list of full-text databases of Colonial U.S. history sources, including books, newspapers, and government documents.

Primary Source Collections

Important Databases for U.S. History

  • America History and Life
    The key source for searching scholarly literature in U.S. history. Unlike JSTOR, America History and Life is current and includes books and dissertations. Tip: Search book titles to find book reviews.
  • Yale Finding Aid Database
    The Yale Finding Aid Database searches the full text of finding aids for archival materials at Yale University. Finding aids are guides that provide information about the creation, historical context, arrangement, and content of collections as well as the information necessary for users to identify and request items relevant to their research.
  • American National Biography
    A seminal reference source which includes reliable biographical information on a number of individuals. One of the key strengths of this database is that its entries often contain bibliographies that point to key secondary works and primary source collections.
  • American Foreign Relations Since 1600
    A seminal reference book that provides annotated overviews of secondary and primary source resources on all periods and places of U.S. foreign relations.

Key Newspaper Databases for U.S. History

  • Access Newspaper Archive
    A collection of digital newspapers from smaller towns. Dates and places vary widely, making search results hit or miss.
  • America's Historical Newspapers
    Large collection of digital newspapers from the 18th and 19th centuries. Tip: by clicking on the "Archive of Americana" link in the interface, you are able to cross-search other Readex databases for this time period.
  • Historical Newspapers Complete
    One of our premier databases, Historical Newspapers Complete contains large runs of major U.S. newspapers including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. Tip: choose "more search options" to limit searches to specific newspaper sections.
  • Yale Daily News Digital Archive
    An incomplete, but fairly substantial, digital archive of the Yale Daily News, going back to its inaugural issue in 1878.

Key Primary Source Databases for U.S. History

  • Rotunda: American Founding Era
    The complete published collections of major Founding Fathers in a single, fully searchable database. Contains the papers of George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Dolley Madison.
  • Ancestry Library Edition
    This database contains a large collection of primary sources, including original images of U.S. census records, slave schedules, and immigration passenger lists from New York, Philadelphia, and Boston for the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
  • ProQuest Congressional
    One of the best sources for U.S. government documents. Contains the Congressional Record and numerous hearings, reports and other documents from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Tip: limit searches to individual Congresses to narrow searches. Also, choose advanced search to select different parts of the database, such as the large map collection (Serial Set Maps).
  • American Periodical Series
    This database includes digitized images of the pages of many American magazines and journals published from 1740 to 1900. Titles range from Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine and America's first scientific journal, Medical Repository; popular magazines such as Vanity Fair and Ladies' Home Journal; regional and niche publications; and groundbreaking journals like The Dial, Puck, and McClure's.

My Favorite Databases

  • The Economist
    Full-text database of every issue of the seminal English magazine from 1843-2006, providing an interesting lens through which to view U.S. events and policy.
  • Historical Statistics Complete
    Aggregated historical statistical data covering a number of areas, including economics, the military, crime, and demographics.
  • Google Patents
    Links to millions of US patents and patent applications from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, dating back to the eighteenth century and including patents as recent as the last few months. The google interface makes this rich collection readily searchable.
  • Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History, 1819-1972
    Women's Travel Diaries and Correspondence from The Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
  • South Asian American Digital Archive
    Growing digital archive of materials related to the South Asian diaspora in the Americas.

Kaplanoff Librarian for American History and British and Commonwealth History

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Greg Eow
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I am happy to help members of the Yale community with their history related research. I am located in SML 226 and am available by appointment.
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