Newspapers will give you a view of events at the time they were actually happening. You can also skim articles and headlines to learn what else was going on in the world that might have had an impact on the issue you are researching.
Our large news databases often include long runs of many periodicals (always check for the exact date range), which you can then search individually or collectively. The ProQuest Historical Newspapers database has many prominent titles, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Globe and Mail (Toronto), and Chicago Tribune.
However, some periodical archives are sold as separate products - see a selected list of titles, below.