Library Catalog
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Colonial & Revolutionary U.S.
The library has a rich collection of material relating to the founding and creation of the United States. The library catalog, linked at left, will help you find full-length books on the topic. You should search America: History & Life for secondary source journal articles.
The databases listed below will help you find primary sources abut the colonial and revolutionary periods, though you should also use the other techniques found on the Primary Sources page.
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 1-5 (EBSCO platform) This link opens in a new window
Explore aspects of American society from the Colonial period through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Individual Series can be searched together or separately. Coverage: 1691-1912, contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
- American History in Video This link opens in a new windowView streaming films, including online newsreels, archival films, and documentaries covering United States history. This access may be used for on-campus showings by student groups and co-curricular programs for which no admission is charged. Coverage: 1700s to present, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Library of Congress Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Access primary materials from the Library of Congress, covering various periods of American history. This collection includes photographs, manuscripts, rare books, maps, recorded sound, and video. Special online collections include Native American history, African-American history, United States presidents, immigration, literature, and cultural history. Coverage: American history - time periods vary, contains primary sources. Full text. - American Periodicals Series Online 1740-1900 This link opens in a new windowAccess over 1,500 periodicals that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines; 89 journals published between 1740 and 1800 offer insights into America's transition from colonial times to independence; and 118 periodicals published during the Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction (1865-1877) eras; and many other historically-significant periodicals. Coverage: 1740-1900, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new windowAccess census data, military records, birth/death/marriage records, immigration records, slave narratives, historic maps, photographs, and biographical dictionaries and directories. This collection is especially useful for genealogy and advanced biographical research. Coverage: 1500s to present, contains primary sources. Mostly full text.
- Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America This link opens in a new windowSearch newspapers, magazines, academic journals, books, and reviews that cover all aspects of Indigenous North American culture, history, and life. Topics include archaeology, multicultural relations, gaming, governance, legend, and literacy. Coverage: 16th century to present. Citations only.
- Documenting the American South This link opens in a new windowAccess texts, images and audio files related to Southern history, literature, culture, and religion. This collection includes books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews and songs. Coverage: 1500s to 1900s, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Early American Newspapers, 1690-1922 This link opens in a new window
Explore fully searchable historical newspapers from all 50 states. Searches can be limited by date range, article type, language, place of publication, and newspaper title. Coverage: 1690-1922, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Revolutionary War Era Orderly Books from the New York Historical Society This link opens in a new windowAccess orderly books (a form of journal kept by military units containing their orders and other day-to-day information) from American units during the Revolutionary War, as well as some from the French & Indian War, the War of 1812, and from British units. Coverage: 1748-1817, contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
