General Sources - U. S. History - Background Information

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Oxford Companion to United States History
Illuminates not only America's political, diplomatic, and military history, but also social, cultural, and intellectual trends; science, technology, & medicine; the arts; & religion. Includes familiar heroes, as well as scientists, writers, radicals, sports figures, & religious leaders. Illuminates events, Supreme Court decisions, landmark legislation, social movements, influential books, ideologies & natural disasters that have shaped the U.S. Addresses the totality of the American experience.
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History (3 vols.) - Reference Collection - Main Level - Ref. E169.1 .E624 2001
This three volume print encyclopedia provides excellent coverage to the cultural and intellectual history of the United States, including the "issues, ideas, movements and places that constitute the American experience".
Historical Atlas of the United States
Oxford Companion to World Exploration
Contains over 800 entries that offer information on all topics of exploration worldwide, including advances in navigation, the discovery of the New World, polar expeditions, and the space age.
Covers navigational and marine sciences and ranges from ancient cultures through modern space exploration.
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(ORO)
New Dictionary of the History of Ideas
A 6-volume survey of the history of Western thought and culture, presented through 700 alphabetically arranged entries. Each entry explores the origin, cultural interpretations, and historical themes of such subjects as beauty, love, feminism, diversity, and social capital, among many others.
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(GVRL)

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Library database that covers the most important and controversial issues of the day. Contains the full text of CQ Researcher, a weekly publication. Each issue provides a comprehensive overview and background essay, data tables and graphs, chronology, pro-con starter, and list of major research and advocacy groups. Includes extensive lists of sources and hot-linked footnotes throughout.
Access from on campus or off campus with Ship ID.

The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature by Mary B. Norton (Editor); Pamela Gerardi (Editor)
Call Number: D20.Z99 A6 1995x (Reference Collection)
ISBN: 0195057279
Publication Date: 1995
This keystone reference work is the place to start researching any topic in any field of history. Hundreds of historians from around the world have selected and provided commentary on the best and most useful works in their fields--almost 27,000 annotated citations--to provide unprecedented bibliographic guidance of extraordinary breadth, from prehistory to the twentieth century. It is divided into sections arranged by chronology and national and regional history, with each section introduced by a brief historiographical essay. Each bibliographic citation is identified by a unique reference number and includes all essential data, along with a brief critical annotation written by a specialist in the field. Also included are guides to the contributors of annotations and complete author and subject indexes.

Primary Sources

Primary and Secondary Sources Collections

American Memory
American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.
Making of America
An early, but very important, digital library project which provides access to a core collection of 19th century books and periodical articles. It is divided into two sections, one at Cornell and one at the University of Michigan, which should be searched separately.
Pennsylvania Gazette
Provides access to a very important 18th century newspaper. A key primary resource for Colonial era research.
Documenting the American South
A key digital library project providing extensive primary documentation for life in the 19th and early 20th century South.
The Valley of the Shadow
One the best and earliest online digital library projects. This site provides primary documents from two 19th century counties - one Northern (Franklin County, PA) and one Southern (Augusta, VA) - for the years from John Brown's raid in 1859 through the reconstruction era (1870).

Harpweek - The Civil War Era: 1857-1865 This link opens in a new window
Covers Civil War era news and events, 1857-1865.
Contains Harper's Weekly content which may be considered primary-source materials.
Access from on campus or off campus with Ship ID

ARTstor
The leading collection of museum quality images, featuring images of art worldwide from all time periods. It also includes a substantial amount of historic photography.

U. S. History - Background Information

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Primary Sources

Primary and Secondary Sources Collections

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