History Librarian
Finding Primary Sources
These are primary source databases that focus on Black Americans, but we do also have primary source databases that are more broadly about US history. See my US History Research Guide for a list of those.
- Accessible Archives This link opens in a new windowProvides full text, searchable access to important American magazines and newspapers from the 18th through early 20th centuries.
- African American CommunitiesThe collection presents multiple aspects of the African American community through personal diaries and scrapbooks, pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals, correspondence, official records and in-depth oral histories, revealing the prevalent challenges of racism, discrimination and integration, and a unique African American culture and identity.
- African American Historical Serials Collection This link opens in a new windowContains serials related to African American religious life and culture.
- African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new windowAfrican American Newspapers, 1827-1998 provides online access to approximately 270 U.S. newspapers from 35 states.
- African American Periodicals, 1825-1995 This link opens in a new windowOver 170 periodicals from 26 states by and about African Americans.
- Afro-Americana Imprints, 1535-1922 This link opens in a new windowOnline collection of texts related to African American history from the Library Company of Philadelphia.
- Archives Unbound This link opens in a new windowGateway to a variety of subject specific digital microfilm collections.
- Black Abolitionist Papers This link opens in a new windowPrimary sources documenting the extensive work of African Americans to abolish slavery in the U.S. before the Civil War.
- Black Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text access to the complete backfiles of nine major African American community newspapers.
- Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new windowA collection of approximately 100,000 pages of non-fiction writings by major American black leaders.
- Confidential Print: Africa, 1834-1966 This link opens in a new windowDigital collection of documents issued by the British Foreign and Colonial Offices..
- ProQuest History Vault This link opens in a new windowPrimary sources for 19th and 20th century U.S. history.
- Race Relations in America This link opens in a new windowDocumenting three pivotal decades in the fight for civil rights, this resource compiles the speeches, reports, surveys and analyses produced by the Department’s staff and Institute participants, including Charles S. Johnson, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., and Thurgood Marshall.
- Slavery and Anti-Slavery This link opens in a new windowIncludes newpapers, books and manuscripts from US and European archives on slavery.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States: 1600-2000 This link opens in a new windowPrimary documents, introductory essays, and a definitive bibliography on the involvement of women in social movements.
Finding Secondary Sources
Use the Library Catalog to find books. Be sure to pay attention to the date and publisher of the book - the Catalog does include older materials and primary sources.
- U-M Library Catalog Search This link opens in a new windowCatalog Search results will include everything in the University of Michigan Library physical collection (books, audio, video, maps, musical scores, archival materials, and more), as well as materials available online such as electronic books, streaming audio and video, and online journals.
Use these databases to find articles from scholarly journals. Scholarly journals also have features like book reviews, so make sure it's a research article.
- America: History & Life with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowCovers the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present.
- U-M Library Articles Search This link opens in a new windowUse Articles Search to locate scholarly and popular articles, as well as reference works and materials from open access archives.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to the archives of 2,600+ journals and 35,000+ books in the arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences.
- Project MUSE This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to scholarly journals and e-books published by over 120 scholarly societies and university presses.
Citation
- Chicago Manual of Style Online This link opens in a new windowProvides searchable online access to the 17th (2017) and 16th (2010) editions of the standard style manual.