Research Guides: U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction: Primary Sources in Library Databases

Primary Source Databases

American Slavery Collection, 1820-1922 This link opens in a new window
This digital collection from the holdings of the American Antiquarian Society contains primary source American slavery and abolition materials in the form of over 3,500 printed books, pamphlets, graphics, and ephemera in full color....more.
ProQuest History Vault This link opens in a new window
Provides access to millions of primary source, full-text/full-image documents on the most widely studied topics in 19th and 20th-century American history. Includes sources related to slavery, civil rights (NAACP papers), women's rights, labor, international relations and military conflicts, Latinx history, and American politics and the Catholic church (John A Ryan papers).
ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Search across the following historical newspapers at one time: Chicago Defender (July 1909-1975), Chicago Tribune (1849-1996), Kansas City Call (1919-2010), Los Angeles Times (1881-2014), The New York Times (1851-2016) and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1874-2003)....more.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Artemis is a search platform that allows searching Nineteenth Century Collections Online, Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers, The Times Digital Archive, The Economist Historical Archive 1843-2011, Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800-1926, and The Making of Modern Law: Trials, 1600-1926 at the same time. Covers 1600-1925.
Periodicals Index Online This link opens in a new window
1665-2005. Provides indexing for magazines and journals back to 1665. This database pairs with Periodicals Archive Online (PAO) for its available full text in the social sciences and humanities....more.
African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Click on Search -> Primary Source Search. Materials available include topical articles, biographies, primary source documents, timelines, maps, and images.
Accessible Archives This link opens in a new window
This database brings together diverse primary source materials reflecting broad views across American history and culture from the 1700s and 1800s. Content includes newspapers, magazines, books, and county histories such as African American Newspapers, Godey’s Lady Book, and the Pennsylvania Gazette. Search across all content or select one of the collections....more.
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new window
This HeinOnline collection contains legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. It includes "every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery."....more.
AAS Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new window
Provides digital access to 50 thematic series of American magazines and journals published between 1684 and 1912 and collected by the American Antiquarian Society...more.

U.S. Government Databases

U.S. Congressional Serial Set This link opens in a new window
Search reports, documents and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 1817-1994 (15th-103rd Congress)….more.
ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Access to U.S. legislative information in addition to bill tracking from 1989- , full text for bills and resolutions from 1789-present, legislative histories from 1969- as well as selected committee prints, hot bills and topics, congressional testimony, committee reports, House and Senate documents, voting records in Congress, and member information including financial disclosures and campaign contributions. The Congressional Hearings Digital Collection, available from the Advanced Search tab, includes abstracting, indexing, bibliographic information, and searchable PDFs for Congressional hearings from 1824-2016. Congressional Research Services (CRS) Reports are also available from 2004 to present.....more.

Research Tip

When searching primary source library databases, make sure you're searching for keywords and phrases that were used during the time period you're researching.