Library Catalog
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U.S. Civil War & Reconstruction
The library has a rich collection of material relating to the U.S. Civil War, its causes and aftermath. 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 U.S. Civil War, though you should also use the other techniques found on the Primary Sources page.
- 19th Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new windowAccess full-text content, including images, of historical primary source nineteenth century newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the United States. These newspapers are cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources. Coverage: 1800s, contains primary sources. Full text.
- African American Archives This link opens in a new windowExplore original historical documents pertaining to the history of African Americans, mostly in the United States, but also from the Colonial era and the West Indies. Coverage: contains primary sources. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
- American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new windowAccess diaries, letters, and memoirs to research views on almost every aspect of the American Civil War. Coverage: 1855-1875, 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.
- Civil War Era This link opens in a new windowAccess regional United States newspapers from the 1850s, as well as pamphlets covering a wide range of topics. This collection contains primary source documents that encompass the formation and evolution of the American Civil War and the abolitionist movement. Coverage: contains primary sources. Full text.
- 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.
- Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowAccess historical articles and images from the American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger; American Israelite; Atlanta Constitution; Atlanta Daily World; Baltimore Afro-American; Boston Globe; Chicago Defender; Chicago Tribune; Chinese Newspapers Collection; Guardian & Observer; Jewish Advocate; Jewish Exponent; Los Angeles Times; New York Amsterdam News; New York Times; Philadelphia Inquirer; Philadelphia Tribune; Pittsburgh Courier; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Wall Street Journal; and Washington Post. Coverage: varies by paper ranging from 1791-2018, contains primary sources. Full text.
- History Vault This link opens in a new window
Access primary source documents, such as digitized letters, photographs, scrapbooks, diaries, and more, covering aspects of United States history. Collections include: Black Freedom, Immigration, NAACP, Plantations, Politics and Society 1960-75, Slavery and the Law, Vietnam War, Civil War, World War II, and Women's Rights. Coverage: varies, contains primary sources. Full text.
- House Divided This link opens in a new windowExplore stories of the United States Civil War era through the window of Dickinson College. This collection includes images, documents, timelines, maps, blogs, and online exhibits. Coverage: 1840-1880, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines This link opens in a new windowAccess important and rare periodicals from Confederate, Union, abolitionist, and British presses. Note: If you encounter a "Consent" page referencing a "Harpweek" account upon first access, refresh and continue on to the site; a Harpweek account is not necessary to access this resource. Coverage: 1860-1865, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Reconstruction of Southern States: Pamphlets This link opens in a new window
Access openly available pamphlets that provide insights into the three major initiatives of the Reconstruction Era in American history: restoration of the Union, transformation of Southern society, and enactment of progressive legislation favoring the rights of freed slaves. These pamphlets were collected by the Department of State Library and comprise speeches, debates, political statements, legislative bills, and more. Coverage: 1865-1869 and 1877, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Slavery & Abolition Resource Center This link opens in a new windowAccess books and pamphlets reflecting both sides of the American slavery debate. This collection includes first person narratives, legal proceedings and decisions, anti-slavery tracts, religious sermons, and early secondary works. Coverage: 1787-1920, contains primary sources. Full text.
