Организация: the Library of Congress

Description: Archives Unbound presents topically-focused digital collections of historical documents that support the research and study needs of scholars and students at the college and university level.

The Literature, Culture and Society in Depression Era America collection presents the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) publications of all 47 states involved in the project, which ran from 1933 to 1943. Forming the most complete collection of publications from all participating states, this archive contains more than 450 individual items, many of which are typed or mimeographed and received only limited circulation. The FWP was a part of "Federal One," the arts project established by the WPA to cover music, theater, art and writers.

The Moving Picture World and the Silent Cinema Era, 1907-1927 collection is of interest to anyone studying the early years of American cinema, the most important research tools are the film periodicals of the era such as: New York Clipper, Variety and the Moving Picture World.

The City and Business Directories cover the years from 1752-1929 for the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

 

Description: Contains primary source materials on the history of the United States, including texts, still images, audio and video files. The database has full text speeches, essays, biographies, memoirs, poems, landmark court decisions, editorials, and more focusing on United States history. Listen to the first inaugural address of Franklin D. Roosevelt or John F. Kennedy discussing Soviet missiles in Cuba. Files can be browsed by author, topic, or date, or located by searching for keywords.
Coverage: 1493 to present

 

Description: Americas Historical Newspapers features full text cover-to-cover reproductions of historic newspapers published in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The coverage provides insight into the early years of the United States: the daily life of hundreds of diverse American communities; the later westward expansion and the rise of the penny press with its increasing emphasis on society, industry, and scientific advances; the Civil War era, Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive era, and beyond. Please note that the full text may not be available for all issues of a particular newspaper (the database continues to grow). To check the availability of a title, click on the tab "newspaper titles" (you must first remove all other search limiters from the Dates and Eras tab and the Places of Publication tab.). Then see which years are highlighted for full text.
Coverage: 1690 - 1922

 

Description: Contains the legislative and executive documents of Congress during the period 1789 to 1838. The database covers such historical events as Lewis and Clark's Expedition, Burr's Conspiracy and Arrest, and the Treaty of the Creek Indians. Other documents address the Battle with the Seminole Indians, Capture of the British Fleet on Lake Champlain, Depredations Committed by Mounted Riflemen, Exploration of the Pacific Ocean, Free Negroes in North Carolina, Land for Female Academies, Protection of the Western Frontier, Trade with China and much more. The American State Papers however are not a complete record of the activities of that time period because of the fire of 1814 and the lack of record keeping during the first fourteen Congresses. The classes into which the publications were assembled and printed retrospectively and the number of volumes they occupy are: I, Foreign Relations in six volumes; II, Indian Affairs in two volumes; III, Finance in five volumes; IV, Commerce and Navigation in two volumes; V, Military Affairs in seven volumes; VI, Naval Affairs in four volumes; VII, Post-office Department in one volume; VIII, Public Lands in eight volumes; IX, Claims in one volume; and X, Miscellaneous in two volumes.
Coverage: 1789-1838

 

The American Founding Era collection covers the correspondence of a number of key figures from America’s founding era. It includes thousands of documents written by members of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Confederation Congress, the thirteen state legislatures that called ratifying conventions, members of those ratifying conventions, and by other contemporaries to trace the Constitution’s progress. The ratification process is followed through writings in contemporary newspapers, books, broadsides, pamphlets, private letters, and the official state records. Also included are numerous constitutional documents predating the ratification process, as well as the documents related to the adoption of the Bill of Rights. The database provides a comprehensive resource on the evolution of American constitutional thought from 1781 to 1791. Documents cover:

• Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution
• Declaration of Independence
• Articles of Confederation (including Amendments)
• Constitutional Convention
• Resolutions and Draft Constitutions
• Commentaries by Members of Congress on the Proceedings of Congress
• Diary and papers of John Adams
• Papers of Thomas Jefferson
• Diary and Papers of George Washington
• Papers of Dolley Madison
• Papers of Alexander Hamilton and
• Papers of James Madison
• Papers of Eliza Lucas Pinckney and Harriott Pinckney Horry
  Coverage: 18th Century

Description: Contains information on over 4 million soldiers and thousands of battles, together with 15,000 photographs. In addition to 222 volumes of rosters published by the state Adjutants Generals, the database includes the military records for every soldier in the collection as well as Official Records, pension index records, 1860 census records, Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) records, Roll of Honor records, Medal of Honor records, and regimental histories. This information has been compiled from personal items, graveyards, and newspaper reports. The database also allows users to trace the war effort using critical statistics including average age, method of entry into and exit from the military, war engagements, and associated loss and prisoner statistics. Researchers can analyze the details of specific regiments where they saw combat, their casualty statistics, and the effects of disease. Researchers can also use census information to decipher the impact on a particular soldier's hometown. The database will continue to grow as new information is loaded bi-annually.
Coverage: Various Dates

 

Description: The collection includes approximately 100,000 pages of published memoirs, letters and diaries from people living in the civil war era. Included are the writings of politicians, generals, slaves, landowners, farmers, seaman, wives, and even spies. The letters and diaries are by the famous and the unknown, giving not only both the Northern and Southern perspectives, but those of foreign observers also. The materials originate from all regions of the country and are from people who played a variety of roles. Using a thesaurus of Civil War terms, researchers can quickly find references to individuals, battles, theaters of war, and activities. More than 1,000 biographies enhances the use of the database.
Coverage: 1855-1875

 

Description: The American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collections are available in five series documenting the life of America's people from the Colonial Era through the Civil War and Reconstruction. More than 7,600 periodicals comprised of over seven million pages are available.

• Series 1 (1691-1820): presents more than 500 titles dating from 1691 through 1820. Almost every 17th- and 18th-century American title is represented in addition to the majority of works published before 1821.
• Series 2 (1821-1837): presents over 1,000 titles dating from 1821 through 1837. Series 2 represents the Jacksonian Democracy era in history and is broad in scope including agriculture, entertainment, history, literary criticism, and politics.
• Series 3 (1838-1852): presents over 1,800 titles dating from 1838 through 1852. Series 3 reveals a rapidly growing young nation, where industrialization, the railroads, regional political differences, and life on the western frontier were daily realities.
• Series 4 (1853-1865): presents over 1,200 titles dating from 1853 through 1865. While the Civil War is a key focal point of Series 4, it also features a diverse record of the continuance of daily life for many Americans—both leading up to and during the war. News from the battlefront is found, in addition to the usual breadth of subject matter found in Series 1-3 (e.g., science, literature, medicine, agriculture, women’s fashion, family life, and religion).
• Series 5 (1866-1877): contains over 2,500 titles dating from 1866 through 1877. Themes presented reflect a nation that persevered through a most difficult set of circumstances—the aftermath of a bloody civil war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, the incorporation of the recently-freed African Americans into American life, a population that rapidly expanded into the Western territories, and much more. Series 5 coverage of broad subject areas reach into every facet of American life, including science, literature, medicine, agriculture, fashion, family life, politics, education and religion.

Coverage: 1691 - 1877

 

Description: Resources and databases of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Offers full text access to the New England Historical and Genealogical Register from 1847 to 1994, genealogies, vital records of many New England towns, military records, and church records. Will be updated regularly.
Coverage: Various Dates