Research Guide: Historical Thinking Research & Writing
Library Catalogs: Find Secondary and Primary Sources |
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Secondary Sources |
Databases & Indexes for history researchers
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Journals A-Z
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Primary Sources: United States |
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Historical Societies
Includes an archive of the Chicago Daily News from 1902-1933, an encyclopedia of Chicago with primary source materials, an online catalog of available resources, and more. Studs Terkel Conversations from America From the Chicago Historical Society, collection of interviews he conducted for his books and radio shows.
A wealth of information on the history of Minnesota can be found here. Be sure to check the Society's Visual Resources Database for digital copies of photographs, posters, art and other digital images relating to Minnesota and its history.
Winona County Historical Society
160 Johnson Street
Winona, Minnesota 55987
Telephone 507-454-2723
Fax 507-454-0006
9:00AM - 5:00PM Monday - Friday
Noon - 4:00PM Saturday and Sunday
Wisconsin Historical Society
Articles, memoirs, interviews, and essays on Wisconsin history and archaeology. Includes a photo gallery and dictionary. American Journeys From the Wisconsin Historical Society, American Journeys contains more than 18,000 pages of eyewitness accounts of North American exploration, from the sagas of Vikings in Canada in AD1000 to the diaries of mountain men in the Rockies 800 years later. See also The State of Wisconsin Collection containing books, manuscripts, sound files, photographs, videos, and maps.
Minnesota Sources
Historical Newspapers--Minneapolis Tribune
"The Minneapolis Tribune (1867-1922) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue."
A wealth of information on the history of Minnesota can be found here. Be sure to check the Society's Visual Resources Database for digital copies of photographs, posters, art and other digital images relating to Minnesota and its history.
"Brings you nearly 20,000 images and documents shared by more than 75 cultural heritage organizations across the state. This site offers a broad view of Minnesota's history for researchers, educators, students, and the public."
"The MN Video Vault is a project of Twin Cities Public Television. The Vault contains hundreds of programs from the tpt archives: classic interviews and performances from Nighttimes Variety, Newsnight Minnesota and Almanac as well as a broad cross-section of tpt documentaries. Also included are current tpt productions, as well as programs from other regional public television stations."
Historical Newspapers and Journals
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Sponsored by the Library of Congress & the National Endowment for the Humanities, provides select digital access to American newspapers from 1880 to 1910 and a directory of newspapers published in the U.S. from 1690 to the present.
Google Historical News Archive
"News archive search provides an easy way to search and explore historical archives. Users can search for events, people or ideas and see how they have been described over time. In addition to searching for the most relevant articles for their query, users can also see a historical overview of the results by browsing an automatically generated timeline." (publisher's description)
HarpWeek
Includes the full text of Harper's Weekly and provides a continuous record of what happened on a weekly basis from 1857 through 1912. The first segment includes the Civil War Era: 1857-1865. The next two cover Reconstruction: 1866-1871 and 1872-1877. The last six encompass the Gilded Age: 1878-1912. Covers much of the social, political, and economic history of the United States during this period. While best known for its coverage of the American Civil War, Harper's Weekly has a number of interesting articles relating to Africa.
Historical Newspapers--Minneapolis Tribune
"The Minneapolis Tribune (1867-1922) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue."
New York Times Archives
Articles from 1851 to 1922 are available free online, as are articles from 1987 to current. For full text articles form 1923--1947 ask at the Reference Desk for an interlibrary loan. Articles from 1947 to 1986 are available on microfilm in the Reference Room. (FAQ about the Archives)
New York Times Digital Microfilm
View a digitized microfilm version (PDF) of the the New York Times from 2008 to current. See pictures, advertisements, etc. as well as text. Older microfilm versions are available in the Reference Room. (from ProQuest)
2008--current | Full text
Winona Newspapers
Searchable full-text of three Winona newspapers dating from 1855 through 1924. Coverage of the Winona Argus, the Winona Daily Republican, and the Winona Republican Herald.
University Archives
Civil Rights Digital Library
From the University of Georgia, delivers online educational content on the Civil rights Movement. Includes a digital video archive of historical news; films, oral histories, letters, and photographs from libraries, archives, and museums; and instructional materials.
From the University of Houston and the Chicago Historical Society, covers all periods in U.S. history with a wide variety of primary sources.
Early Americas Digital Archive
Provides "a collection of electronic texts and links to texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820. Open to the public for research and teaching purposes, EADA is published and supported by the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) under the general editorship of Professor Ralph Bauer, at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Making of America (Cornell University)
Provides 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. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. Additionally, this database includes the entire text of "The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies."
Making of America (U. Michigan)
Similar to the "Making of America (Cornell) database, the University of Michigan site provides access to primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. Contains the searchable full-text of 10,00 books and 19,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints.
Government Sources
American Memory Project: Library of CongressHoused at the Library of Congress, the American Memory Project offers online access to a wide variety of primary resources including audio files, photographs and text.
Census of Population and Housing
From the U.S. Census Bureau. Provides data ranging from the most recent census to the historical decennial census conducted throughout the decades. Data from 1790 to 2000.
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
Provides access to over 550,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more. available to all
Offers 100 "milestone documents" in American history with commentary. View the actual documents or get a transcript.
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
"Unique in their scope and richness, the prints and photographs collections today number more than 13.7 million images. These include photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections are particularly rich in materials produced in, or documenting the history of, the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people."
Other Sources
The Hagley Library collections "document business activities since the late eighteenth century as well as the interaction between business and the cultural, social, and political dimensions of our society." Collections include:
• Avon Company Collection
• Civil War Collection
• Dupont Magazine, 1913-2003
• William du Pont Collection
• DuPont Automobiles, 1903-1912
• DuPont Company Collection
• Lukens Steel Company, 1810-1973
• Miss America Programs, 1945-1967
• Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, circa 1930
Provides online access to the Milestone Documents of American Leaders reference set, a compilation of primary documents from notable Americans with commentary and analysis. From 1754 on.
Primary documents from the PBS American Experience series. More resources are available on the
Historical Thinking H250 Vietnam War course guide.
Wilson Center: Cold War International History Project
"Contains once-secret documents from governments all across the globe, uncovering new sources and providing fresh insights into the history of international relations and diplomacy. It collects the research of three Wilson Center projects which focus on the interrelated histories of the Cold War, Korea, and Nuclear Proliferation"
Primary Sources: Medieval Europe |
Provides collection of letters to and from women in the Middle Ages, from the 4th to the 13th century. The letters, written in Latin, are linked to the names of the women involved, with English translations and, where available, biographical sketches of the women and some description of the subject matter or the historic context of the letter.
The Labyrinth
Digitized selection of primary documents with reference materials
Manuscripts and Princes in Medieval and Renaissance Europe
Online exhibition of significant historical documents hosted by The European Library with illuminated manuscripts from 5 major European libraries as well as major document collections.
Medieval History Sourcebook
From Fordham University. Digitized selection of primary documents
The ORB
"The ORB is an academic site, written and maintained by medieval scholars for the benefit of their fellow instructors and serious students. All articles have been judged by at least two peer reviewers. Authors are held to high standards of accuracy, currency, and relevance to the field of medieval studies."
Primary Sources: World |
Atlantic Archive: UK-US Relationships in an Age of Global War 1939-1945
A project from The Institute for the Study of the Americas that promotes and facilitates research into UK-US relations by creating and sustaining a free online database of digitised British government reports discussing the United States during the Second World War (1939-1945)
Avalon Project--Documents in Law, History, & Diplomacy
From Yale Law School, covers primary documents from 4000 BCE to the 21st century.
Eurodocs
Organizes full-text historic European countries' and territories' documents by country from ancient to modern.
"Designed to meet the needs of the research community worldwide, our online portal offers quick and easy access to the collections of the 48 National Libraries of Europe and leading European Research Libraries. Users can cross-search and reuse over 10,591,897 digital items and 106,751,888 bibliographic records."
History and Politics Out Loud
From Northwestern University, a searchable archive of politically significant audio materials.
Internet History Sourcebooks
A collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use from Fordham University (Ancient, Medieval, & Modern).
"The Perseus Project is an evolving digital library of resources for the study of the humanities."
Its "flagship collection, under development since 1987, covers the history, literature and culture of the Greco-Roman world."
Social Networks and Archival Context Project
Developing as a collaboration between researchers and developers at IATH, the University of California at Berkeley's School of Information, and the California Digital Library, SNACP is an online hub that researchers can consult to find archival materials.
Virtual Museum of the Cultural Revolution
The exhibit presents topics and incidents as studied by contemporary Cultural Revolution researchers. Among the research topics presented are the following: Student violence towards teachers and fellow students; the emergence and decline of JIAN Jiang at Qinghua and GONG Zhongxi in Shanghai; and the shattering of the partnerships between MAO Zedong and LIU Shaoqi and their subsequent personal development.
Wilson Center: Cold War International History Project
"Contains once-secret documents from governments all across the globe, uncovering new sources and providing fresh insights into the history of international relations and diplomacy. It collects the research of three Wilson Center projects which focus on the interrelated histories of the Cold War, Korea, and Nuclear Proliferation"
Documents from Governments and Organizations |
BRB's Free Resource Center
Free portal to public records from BRB Publications
GPO Access
A service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free access to a wealth of important information produced by the Federal Government. Information on all three branches of government, statistical abstracts, economic indicators, the Congressional Record, Supreme Court decisions, and much more.
National Security Archive
An independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The Archive also serves as a repository of government records on a wide range of topics pertaining to the national security, foreign, intelligence, and economic policies of the United States.
Saint Mary's Microform Collection
Go to ClassicFitz MnPALS catalog. Choose "Advanced Search." Choose "Microform (Winona)" from the "Collection" drop down menu. You can sort list by title by clicking on "Title."
United Nations
Official documents from the last 10 years
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Full Text Options - Saint Mary's University
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