Subject Description: This subject covers: political, economic, social, industrial and cultural history of the United States. Other related topics are: Economics (general aspects); Political Science (general aspects); Politics, United States; and Sociology (general aspects).

    Databases, indexes, working papers and electronic journals

Academic Search Premier (all topics) from EBSCO          Varies by indexed title; 1975 - present Academic Search Premier (ASP) contains indexing for nearly 8,050 publications, with full text for more than 4,600 of those titles. ASP provides full-text coverage in biology, chemistry, education, engineering, humanities, physics, psychology, religion and theology, sociology, etc. Tip: Click the check box to limit to Academic (Peer Reviewed) Journals.

African American Newspapers Searchable database of approximately 270 U.S. newspapers from more than 35 states chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience.

America: History & Life        1964 to present Search 2,000 scholarly journals on the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present (the rest of the world is covered in Historical Abstracts).

Facts on File (World News Digest)        1940 - A searchable news and events site, with encyclopedia and almanac. Gives top news stories back to 1940. Special features include maps; photographs; historic documents; and overviews of key issues, newsmakers and events since 1980.

JSTOR        does not allow access to past 2-5 years JSTOR provides unique access to fulltext backfiles for more than 120 "core" scholarly journals in anthropology, ecology, economics, education, general science, history, literature, mathematics, political science, and philosophy. JSTOR's agreement with publishers provides a "moving wall" for access and does not allow access to fulltext for the most recent 2-5 years of articles.

New York Times     1995 to present One of the most respected papers in the country. Search and print full-text articles from 1995 to the present.

Nineteenth Century US Newspapers    Full-text content and images from about 500 U.S. newspapers published during the 19th Century. The "Research Guide" link leads to commissioned essays that provide context for the collection.

Project Muse        1995 to present (with some exceptions) Full-text access to more than 150 scholarly journals in all disciplines published by Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, Carnegie Mellon University, Indiana University, MIT, Oxford University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Hawaii, the University of Texas, and the University of Wisconsin. Johns Hopkins titles provide fulltext from 1995 to present; titles from other presses begin from 1999. A catalog of database holdings is available online. Links to individual titles are also included in the LR&TS Electronic Journals List.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times        1851-2003 Full page and full article images from the New York Times with searchable fulltext from 1851 through 2002. Full indexing is available for articles, performance and book reviews, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth/marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements.

ProQuest Newspapers         Most sources begin coverage in 1990, with some coverage in the early 1980s. Fulltext of 300+ U.S. and international news sources. Includes the New York Times (1999 to present), The Times of London (index and abstract only), the Wall Street Journal (1984 to present), and the StarTribune of Minneapolis (1986 to present).

    Biographical dictionaries, speeches and quotes

American National Biography Includes biographical sketches of Americans whose lives, because of achievement, fame, or influence, are historically significant. Only people who died before 1996 are featured. Each sketch is followed by a critical bibliography (Diana Hacker, 2003). Location: REF E176 .D5631 1999x Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

Biography and Genealogy Master Index   Find which books contain biographic information about individuals both living and deceased. Search more than 13.3 million biographical entries. NOTE: BGMI does not include full text. Check SCSU MnPALS to see if we have a title listed in the search results.

    Library catalogs, e-books and reports

Books and More Search (MnPALS Plus) The online catalog of books, journals, government publications, video and audio resources, online resources, and other materials available through the Miller Center Library. To find primary sources, try combining keywords about your topic with these keywords: personal narratives, diaries, letters, reminiscences, correspondence, sources, speeches, notebooks, anecdotes, interviews, oral histories

    Dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks

America in the 20th Century     1900s - 1990s Each volume focuses on a decade of American culture and popular culture. Illustrated. 12 volumes. Location: REF E169.1 .A471872 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

American Chronicle     1900 - 1998 Highlights news, events, culture, popular culture, and sports of each decade and year of the 1900s. Illustrated. Location: REF E169.1 .G663 1999 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature Offers 27,000 citations of important historical literature, arranged in 48 sections covering theory, international history, and regional history. An indispensable guide, this work has been recently updated to include current trends in historical research (Diana Hacker, 2003). Location: REF Z6201 .A55 1995 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation Moderate to lengthy essays on immigration, socio-cultural, and political aspects for every racial, national, and ethnic group in the United States. Each essay includes a brief bibliography. Location: REF E184 .A1 A63448 1997 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library Electronic reproductions of texts, images, and film from the collections of the Library of Congress on a variety of subjects.

American Treaties and Alliances Settlement, union, expansion, boundaries, and military alliances. Diplomacy and international organizations. Trade, commerce, transportation, human and political rights, and science and the environment. Location: REF KZ236 2000 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

Dictionary of American History An encyclopedia of terms, places, and concepts in U.S. History. For biographical information, consult the American National Biography (Diana Hacker, 2003). Location: REF E174 .D5 2003 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

Dictionary of Historical Terms Covers a wide variety of terms related to historical events, places, and institutions in a remarkably small package. This is a good place for quick identification of terms used in the field (Diana Hacker, 2003). Location: REF D9 .C67 1990 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

Dictionary of Wars Location: REF D25.A2 K63 1999 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

Encyclopedia of American Historical Documents The 1,600-plus documents gathered in this set were selected to correspond to the 10 eras of the national American History Standards. Selected documents also provide insights into five themes important in American history (e.g., diversity, the environment, popular culture). Most documents appear in their entirety; however, some are represented by key excerpts. Laws, speeches, treaties, political party platforms, and song lyrics mingle with amendments to the U.S. Constitution, presidential statements, and court decisions. (Booklist) Location: REF E173 .E54 2004 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

Encyclopedia of American Social History Use index volume and table of contents to locate scholarly encyclopedia articles on a variety of social history topics. Includes references. 3 volumes. Location: REF HN57 .E58 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing Provides information on historians, on regions and periods, and on topics in the field such as history of religion, women's and gender history, and art history (Diana Hacker, 2003). Location: REF D14 .E53 1999 Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

    Publications of government agencies and legislatures

Core Documents of U.S. Democracy Direct online access to the basic federal government documents that define our democratic society.

Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws & Treaties     1778-1970 "Originally compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, in 1904, this is an electronic reproduction of an historically significant, seven volume compilation of U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII)," (Oklahoma State University).

USA.gov The official U.S. gateway to all government information. A good place to begin for searching federal government websites.

    First-hand information or original data on a topic

Avalon Project at the Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy A collection of primary source (full-text) documents particularly rich in legal and diplomatic history. Organized by period and topic and searchable by keyword, this collection is well edited and high quality. Documents include internal links to materials referenced in the text (Diana Hacker, 2003).

Cultural Heritage Repository This repository includes archival collections, audio collections, images and moving images, physical objects, text and sheet music, and websites. The collections are linked from a wide variety of institutions including universities, museums, cultural and historical organizations, and electronic sources.

Making of America (University of Michigan) This collection "is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology." (From Website)

Repositories of Primary Resources "A listing of over 5000 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar. All links have been tested for correctness and appropriateness. Those added within the last thirty days or so are marked {New}." (From Website)

    Statistical information, public opinion and data sets

Historical Statistics of the United States        Colonial times to 1957 A Statistical Abstract supplement. Prepared with the cooperation of the Social Science Research Council. Location: REF HA202 .H57 2006 and online Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

ProQuest Statistical Insight   Contains general and detailed statistics on almost any topic. Search by keyword or select from specified subjects.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S. Statistical Abstract of the U.S. is the most important source for statistics on the social, political, and economic aspects of life in the United States. This resource is published every February and covers the previous year's statistics. Location: US Docs C 3.134/7: (Also available online and in Ready Reference) Check SCSU MnPALS Plus Catalog

    High-quality, reliable internet sites

Best of History Web Sites An online directory offering links to more than 700 of the best history-related web sites. Also includes links to such reputable sites as PBS, National Geographic, CNN, BBC, Library of Congress and university-sponsored web sites. Provides a topical index with a ranking system. (Annotation excerpted from CHOICE, January 2003, P.M. Adams, Nova Southwestern University.)

Foreign Affairs of the United States An Oklahoma State University/Government Printing Office list of annotated links to U.S. government sites dealing with Foreign Affairs.

Foreign Relations of the United States: U.S. Department of State The Department of State official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity.

Gateway to African American History Produced by the U.S. Department of State and "updated throughout the year, the Gateway includes documents, articles, Internet sites and other resources which honor and acknowledge the accomplishments of African-Americans."

Historical Text Archive Offers more than 3,000 links to materials by country and region (with the United States receiving the strongest coverage) and by topic such as Native American, African American, movie history, and genealogy. Resources include both primary and secondary sources (Diana Hacker, 2003).

Library Information

Primary Subject Location(s)