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Reference Sources (Background)
The following list gives some representative United States history reference sources and is not exhaustive.
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History (2006, 6 volumes)
Ref E 185 .E54 2006
Signed entries covering people, events, legal cases, and cultural achievements. Richly illustrated. Vol. 6 has primary source documents, statistical tables and extensive indexes.
Encyclopedia of American historical documents (2004, 3 volumes)
Ref E 173 .E54 2004
Primary source documents with brief editorial introductions; from Christopher Columbus' journal (1492) to legislation establishing the Homeland Security Department (2002.)
A Financial History of the United States (2002, 3 volumes)
Ref HG 181 .M297 2002
Topical essays arranged in broad chronological segments, from 15th century world trade to the stock market response to September 11, 2001.
Handbook of American Women's History (2000)
Ref HQ 1410 .H36 2000
Concise introduction to people, crucial concepts, events, and organizations. Includes bibliographies.
The Presidents : A Reference History (2002)
Ref E 176.1 .P918 2002
Historical analysis of every U.S. president by leading presidential scholars. Includes bibliographies and comprehensive index.
Oxford Companion to American Military History (current, full-text)
Over 1000 entries covering war, peace, and the U. S. military.
Oxford Companion to United States History (current, full-text)
Concise, signed entries covering all aspects of U.S. history and its interpretation.
Reader's Companion to American History (1999)
Ref E 174 .R43 1999
Overview of the main themes and personalities of American history. Signed, alphabetical entries with short bibliographies.
Finding Books
| E11-143 |
America |
| E151-899 |
United States (general) |
| E186-199 |
Colonial History (1607-1775) |
| E201-298 |
The Revolution (1775-1783) |
| E456-655 |
Civil War (1861-1865) |
| E660-738 |
Late nineteenth century (1765-1900) |
| E740-889 |
Twentieth Century |
| E895-999 |
Twenty-first Century |
| F1-975 |
United States Local History |
MaconCat
The library's online catalog, providing access to books, journals, music, and movies in the library.
WorldCat
A catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide.
Books and articles not owned by our library can be obtained from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan. Allow sufficient time for processing. Average turnaround time is 3-5 days for articles and 3-14 days for books, excluding holidays and weekends. Submit ILL requests well in advance of deadlines.
Locating Articles (Databases & Indexes)
Academic Search Complete
OmniFile (HUM) (1984 to date; some full-text)
Articles from scholarly and popular sources from around the world. Be sure to select subject area: HUM at the bottom of the search screen.
Project MUSE (generally late 1990s to date)
Full-text database covering over 300 journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.
JSTOR (dates vary by journal, full text)
An archive of over 400 journals in many disciplines.
Harp Week (Civil War and Reconstruction)
Electronic full-text access to Harper's Weekly: 1857-1912.
Richmond Daily Dispatch (1860-1865)
Electronic full-text access to primary Richmond newspaper during Civil War years.
Virginia Gazette (1736-1780)
Electronic full-text access to the official newspaper of colonial Virginia.
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (citation only, 1980 to date) Provides citations to articles from journals in the arts and humanities.
You may also want to browse through the current and bound periodicals in the library. A list of journals relating to history is available at the circulation desk.
Web sites
AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American History
Primary sources of American history, 1200 to the present, including images, audio and text files.
American Memory Timeline
Primary sources of United States history, 1783-1968, including images, letters, lyrics, and interviews.
American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library
Collections of primary source and archival material relating to American culture and history.
American Memory: Map Collections
(Library of Congress, American Memory Project)
These sites are online presentations of collections from the American Memory project.
AmericanPresident.org
(Miller Center, University of Virginia)
In depth information reviewd by prominent scholars on each President and administration.
American Women's History: A Research Guide
Index to research sources plus links to digital collections of primary source materials.
Chronology of U.S. Historical Documents (University of Oklahoma College of Law)
Links to full-text primary source documents from pre-Colonial Era to the present.
History Place
Online exhibits including photos, speeches, and texts on topics such as Abraham Lincoln, World War II, the Holocaust, and President Kennedy photos.
Making of America (University of Michigan)
A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
Battle for Bunker Hill (Massachusetts Historical Society)
A web exhibition of personal accounts and eyewitness descriptions of the battle, along with contemporary maps, drawings, engravings, broadsides, and artifacts.
Cold War International History Project (Woodrow Wilson International Center)
Wars for Viet Nam: 1945-1975 (Vassar College)
Full-text primary source documents and links to other scholarly Viet Nam war sites.
Evaluating Sources
Evaluating Sources (R-MC)
Is it PRIMARY or is it SECONDARY? (R-MC)
Is it POPULAR or is it SCHOLARLY? (R-MC)
Critical Evaluation of Resources on the Internet (University of Alberta Libraries)
Citing Sources
Citing Full-Text from Library Databases (R-MC)
Assembling a List of Works Cited in Your Paper (Duke University Libraries)
Choose the type of source you want to cite to see examples in MLA, APA, Chicago and other styles.
Citation Styles Online! (Bedford St. Martin's)
Includes examples of citations of various online sources in MLA, APA, Chicago and other styles.
KnightCite (Calvin College)
Automatically formats citation information according to MLA, APA, or Chicago styles.