Primary Sources: Databases

A 501 (c) 3 non-profit, with the most comprehensive on-line database resource of African American heritage in the world.

Documents key aspects of the history of slavery in the United States, from its origins in Africa to its abolition, including materials on the slave trade, plantation life, emancipation, pro-slavery and anti-slavery arguments, religious views on slavery, and other related topics. This digital archive provides access to a wide variety of documents - personal narratives, political speeches, sermons, plays, songs, poetic and fictional works, and more - published from the time of the transatlantic slave trade to the post-Civil War period.

This collection includes historical newspaper articles, pamphlets, diaries, correspondence and more from specific time periods in history marked by the opposition African Americans have faced on the road to freedom.

This publication covers President Eisenhower's use of Federal troops and the Arkansas National Guard in the Little Rock integration crisis of 1957 -1958. The operation is detailed from the planning for intervention prior to deployment, up to the withdrawal of troops at the end of the school year. Records include a journal of events, an Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations & Plans summary of the operation, a historical report prepared by the Office of the Chief of Military History, papers on Governor Faubus' actions with regard to integration, press reports and observations by Army officers on the reaction of the community, and congressional correspondence.

This collection reveals details of the Federal Government's plans to militarily intervene in the 1963 March on Washington (codenamed Operation "Steep Hill") in the event the march became disorderly. Army staff communications and memos tracked the plans of the March organizers throughout the summer, and the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations prepared contingency plans for cooperation with District of Columbia police for controlling the march. The records also include intelligence reports and estimates, congressional correspondence, press articles, and maps planning the route of the March and facilities needed. These records give an insight into the personalities and events at the March on Washington. In addition, there is small quantity of records relating to the plans to intervene in Alabama in 1963 over the issue of school integration.

This collection includes FBI reports dealing with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) organization as well as FBI surveillance of several other anti-Vietnam War groups.

A mixture of issues and papers from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and Alabama ranging from 1861-1865.

The American Antiquarian Society collection features over 7500 titles from the seventeenth through the late nineteenth century.

Provides access to primary source newspaper content from the 19th century, featuring full-text content and images from numerous newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S. The collection encompasses the entire 19th century, with an emphasis on such topics as the American Civil War, African-American culture and history, Western migration and Antebellum-era life, among other subjects.

Collection of historical maps of South Dakota communities created by Sanborn Map Company from 1867 to 1970. Large scale plans of a city or town, drawn to a scale of 50 feet to an inch, created to assist fire insurance companies as they assessed the risk associated with insuring a particular property. Includes building outlines, size and shape, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries, and property numbers. Plans often include details on construction materials and building use; and also depict pipelines, railroads, wells, water mains, dumps, and other features likely to affect the property's vulnerability to earthquake, fire, and flood. Multiple editions allow community development to be tracked over time.

Documents the revolution and war that created the United States of America, from the Paris peace treaty in 1763 through the early protests in 1785 to the Paris peace treaty of 1783. The collection examines the political, social, and intellectual upheaval of the age, as well as the actual war for American independence through its eight long years of conflict.

Documents the war that transformed America, ending slavery and unifying the nation around the principles of freedom. This digital archive includes a variety of primary source documents - personal narratives and memoirs, pamphlets and political speeches, sermons and songs, regimental histories and photograph albums, legal treatises, and children's books

Documents key aspects of the history of slavery in the United States, from its origins in Africa to its abolition, including materials on the slave trade, plantation life, emancipation, pro-slavery and anti-slavery arguments, religious views on slavery, and other related topics. This digital archive provides access to a wide variety of documents - personal narratives, political speeches, sermons, plays, songs, poetic and fictional works, and more - published from the time of the transatlantic slave trade to the post-Civil War period.

This publication covers President Eisenhower's use of Federal troops and the Arkansas National Guard in the Little Rock integration crisis of 1957 -1958. The operation is detailed from the planning for intervention prior to deployment, up to the withdrawal of troops at the end of the school year. Records include a journal of events, an Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations & Plans summary of the operation, a historical report prepared by the Office of the Chief of Military History, papers on Governor Faubus' actions with regard to integration, press reports and observations by Army officers on the reaction of the community, and congressional correspondence.

This collection reveals details of the Federal Government's plans to militarily intervene in the 1963 March on Washington (codenamed Operation "Steep Hill") in the event the march became disorderly. Army staff communications and memos tracked the plans of the March organizers throughout the summer, and the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations prepared contingency plans for cooperation with District of Columbia police for controlling the march. The records also include intelligence reports and estimates, congressional correspondence, press articles, and maps planning the route of the March and facilities needed. These records give an insight into the personalities and events at the March on Washington. In addition, there is small quantity of records relating to the plans to intervene in Alabama in 1963 over the issue of school integration.

This collection provides historical and personal stories about early contact with European settlers and the political, social, and cultural effects of contact on American Indian life. Materials include treaties, speeches, diaries, artwork, rare printed books, newspaper articles, and photographs.

American Indian Newspapers includes digital files of 49 newspapers from a range of Native American communities in the United States and Canada from 1828 to 2016 (most of the coverage is from 1970-2016).

Included in the collection are national periodicals as well as local community news and student publications. The range of subjects from an Indigenous perspective, include the civil rights era and American Indian Movement (AIM), education, environmentalism, land rights and cultural representation.

Indigenous Peoples: North America provides users with a robust, diverse, informative source that will enhance research and increase understanding of the historical experiences, cultural traditions and innovations, and political status of Indigenous Peoples in the United States and Canada.

ArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.

Archives Unbound presents topically-focused digital collections of historical documents that support the research and study needs of scholars, researchers, and students at the college and university level. A multi-disciplinary resource, collections cover a broad range of topics from the Middle Ages forward-from Witchcraft to World War II to twentieth-century political history. Particular strengths include U.S. foreign policy; U.S. civil rights; global affairs and colonial studies; and modern history.

Of interest to historians and students of nineteenth-century literature and culture, empire, feminism, the history of the book, the creative and performing arts, sport and leisure, science and medicine - the professions, in short, of all aspects of nineteenth-century life that the press encompassed.

Provides access to more than one million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences. Search for images by keyword, title, creator, geography, classification, collection, and date.

This collection provides unique documents on the investigation and prosecution of war crimes committed by Nazi concentration camp commandants and camp personnel. Documents include: correspondence; trial records and transcripts; investigatory material, such as interrogation reports and trial exhibits; clemency petitions and reviews; photographs of atrocities; newspaper clippings; and pamphlets.