History: Primary Sources by Era or Topic

1690-1923
Historical newspapers from every state in the U.S.

1909-2010
African American newspaper from Chicago, Illinois.

1849-2014
Major daily newspaper from Chicago.

1789-1924
Historical newspapers from the Library of Congress, including Nevada newspapers.

1881-2015
Historical California newspaper.

1851-2020
Historical New York newspaper.

1877-2007
Daily newspaper from Washington, DC. 

1903-1995. Film industry and fan publications.

• Good for: Researching fashion and culture, including specific garments, accessories or brands.
• Contains: Images and text from Vogue Magazine. 
• Dates covered: 1892-present.

1850-1990s
Search three archival collections representing 20th century advertising and marketing from Adam Matthew Publishers.

1493-1945
Primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman collection about American history from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century.

1830-1939
Pamphlets, maps, books, ephemeral material and rare printed sources related to the history of the American West.

1940-present
Primary sources from more than 35 countries related to LGBTQ activism and the HIV/AIDS crisis.

1901-2000
Records from the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations detailing the interaction between civil rights leaders and the federal government; includes FBI files on Martin Luther King Jr; records of the NAACP. 

1824-1961
Government and agency records from the British National Archives concerning the United States, Canada and the English-speaking Caribbean, with some coverage of Central and South America.

• Good for: Exploring the history of the environment, public policy and social activism aimed at conservation.
• Contains: Primary sources in manuscript collections from activists and advocacy organizations, plus records from government agencies.
• Dates Covered: 1870-early 1990s.

1800-1920
Primary source material for the study of American social, cultural, and popular history in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

1400-1950s
Primary sources for American Indian history in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Manuscripts, artwork and rare printed books from pre-contact through the mid-20th century.

1880s-1990s
The J. Walter Thompson Company advertising agency archives include brand case studies and account files about campaigns for Kellogg’s, Kodak, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Pan Am, the US Marine Corps, and more.

1935-1965
Market research reports and supporting documents regarding the American consumer boom of the mid-20th century from the archives of Ernest Dichter and the Institute for Motivational Research.

1913-1965
Selected sets of documents from the archives of the NAACP.

1969-1974
Archival collection from the British Foreign Office focused on the Nixon presidency and impeachment (FCO 7 and FCO 82).

1784-2006
Biographies, oral histories, personal papers, images and audio files documenting the history of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Canadian First Peoples with representation of historical events as told by the individuals who lived through them.

1900-2000. Campaign materials, periodicals, propaganda, government records, oral histories, and ephemera from fringe political movements on the right and the left.

1950-1975
Primary sources documenting music and popular culture in the US and Britain, 1950-1975, including manuscripts, video, photos, underground magazines and more.

1945-1950
Records from the National Archives of the UK reveal challenges facing Displaced Persons, refugees and humanitarian aid organizations in the aftermath of World War II.

1850-1950
Primary sources like catalogs, price lists, and brochures reflecting the history of consumer advertising and marketing and life and leisure in America. Includes department store catalogs, cosmetic advertisements, real estate brochures and much more.

Dates covered: 1830-1994
Primary sources illustrating the sociocultural history of department stores from the mid-19th through late 20th centuries. Contains company archives, union records, trade journals, advertisements, catalogs, business to business publications, business to consumer publications, and more. 
 

• Good for: Finding primary sources related to popular entertainment in America, Britain, and Europe. 
• Contains: Books, posters, scrapbooks, and optical toys. 
• Dates covered: 1779-1930.

1820-1922
Pamphlets with advice and opinions about all kinds of 19th century controversies.

1600-1926
Cross-search five Making of Modern Law databases: Making of Modern Law: Foreign, Comparative and International Law 1600-1926, Making of Modern Law: Foreign Primary Sources, Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources 1620-1926, Making of Modern Law: Treatises, 1800-1926, and Making of Modern Law: Trials 1600-1926.

Good for: Finding primary source materials on exploration, trade, colonialism, slavery and abolition, the western movement, Native Americans, military actions and more.

Contains: Historical books, pamphlets, serials and other documents about North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Dates covered: 1500-1926

1789-present
Contains searchable full text of all U.S. bills and resolutions from 1789 to the present.

1751-present 
Government reports, laws, legislative histories, ebooks and selected scholarly articles related to branches of the United States armed forces.

• Good for: Texts on the invention and early history of photography, collections of photographs, photograph albums, and early books illustrated with photos.
• Contains: Books, photographs
• Dates covered: 1800s-early 1900s

Art digital images and related data.