Library Guides: United States History: Primary Sources: 1607-1877

Collections, archives, and databases

Archive of Early American Images
A database of graphic representations of the colonial Americas, from Hudson Bay to Tierra del Fuego, drawn entirely from primary sources printed or created between 1492 and ca. 1825.
Frederick Douglas Papers
Papers of the nineteenth-century African-American abolitionist including correspondence, speeches, and articles by Douglass and his contemporaries.
Geography of Slavery in Virginia
The Geography of Slavery in Virginia is a digital collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves and servants in 18th- and 19th-century Virginia newspapers.
Salem Witch Trials
Consists of an electronic collection of primary source materials relating to the Salem witch trials of 1692 and a new transcription of the court records.

American Indians and the American West This link opens in a new window
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Collections focusing on the interaction between American Indians and the U.S. government in the 19th and 20th Centuries. (ProQuest History Vault)
American State Papers This link opens in a new window
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U.S. Congressional materials covering aspects of early American history, 1789-1838.
Colonial State Papers This link opens in a new window
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British documents covering North America & the West Indies from 1574-1739.
Women and Social Movements in the United States This link opens in a new window
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Primary sources dealing with women's history from 1600 to 2000
Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive This link opens in a new window
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Primary sources on the transatlantic slave trade, abolitionist movements, institution of slavery in the US and Latin America, and emancipation.

Newspapers and magazines

American Periodicals This link opens in a new window
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American magazines of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries,
Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 This link opens in a new window
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Early American books, pamphlets, broadsides and rare printed materials. Covers materials printed through the early 1900s.
Early American Newspapers Series II This link opens in a new window
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Collection of 50+ newspapers dating from 1736-1900 with most covering the period 1820-1860

Antislavery in New England
The Antislavery Collection contains several hundred printed pamphlets and books pertaining to slavery and antislavery in New England, 1725-1911. The holdings include speeches, sermons, proceedings and other publications of organizations such as the American Anti-Slavery Society and the American Colonization Society, and a small number of pro-slavery tracts.
Frederick Douglass Newspapers, 1847 to 1874

American Antiquarian Society Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new window
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Comprehensive collection of North American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912, covering a wide variety of subject areas including agriculture, fine arts, business, education, history, literature, religion and women’s studies.
Chronicling America This link opens in a new window
Newspaper page images, 1836-1922. Also includes a searchable directory of publication information for U.S. newspapers.
European Views of the Americas, 1493-1750 This link opens in a new window
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Guide to printed records about the Americas written in Europe before 1750, including the history of European exploration and portrayals of Native Americans.
Territorial Papers of the United States, 1764-1953: Series 1 This link opens in a new window
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Territorial government documents including Native American negotiations and treaties, official correspondence with the federal government, military records, judicial proceedings, population data, financial statistics, and land records.

All Centuries

American Memory
Major database: Historic photographs, film and other materials from the Library of Congress
American Social History Project
Ancestry
Genealogical records such as census, immigration & military records
Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy
Diverse collection of documents dealing with US, international and diplomatic history
Digital Public Library of America
DPLA is a major portal to digitized collections ranging "from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science" that illustrate America’s history & culture
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Includes a database of digitized material as well as exhibits
North American women's letters and diaries
Full-text database of letters and diaries of women who lived in North America before 1950. Browsing and searching of both the bibliographic and full-text elements provided by PhiloLogic software
U.S. Immigration Laws
Short summaries, useful links, and the full text of relevant public laws
Women and Social Movements in the United States
Primary sources dealing with women's history from 1600 to 2000

American Indian Experience This link opens in a new window
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Reference content, primary documents, and images illustrating the histories and cultures of North American Native peoples.
Archival Research Catalog This link opens in a new window
The National Archives' nationwide holdings in the Washington, DC area, Regional Archives and Presidential Libraries
Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America This link opens in a new window
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Covers all aspects of North America's aboriginal culture, history and life. Includes books, journals and government documents. Includes some links to full-text.
Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly and general interest sources and historical newspapers and other primary sources on the Black experience from ancient past to present day.
Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window
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Non-fiction published works of leading African Americans. Includes interviews, journal articles, speeches, essays, pamphlets, letters and other fugitive material.
Census Reporter This link opens in a new window
Friendly interface for current U.S. Census data, including visualizations, data comparisons, tables, and GIS export.
Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
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Fully searchable and downloadable edition of the standard source for facts about American history. Allows customized tables and spreadsheets.
Indigenous Peoples of North America, Part 1 & 2 This link opens in a new window
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Digitized primary sources covering the cultural, political and social history of Native Peoples from the 17th through the 20th centuries.
Latino American Experience This link opens in a new window
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History and culture of Latinos living in the United States.
North American Indian Thought & Culture This link opens in a new window
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Compilation of biographies, auto-biographies, personal narratives, speeches, diaries, letters, and oral histories.