Primary Sources via the Sawyer Library
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new windowFeatures over 7,500 historical American periodicals from the 17th through the late 19th century.
- Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: A Selection of Primary Sources This link opens in a new windowThis website contains approximately 1,600 documents focused on six different phases of Black Freedom: 1. Slavery and the Abolitionist Movement (1790-1860) -- 2. The Civil War and the Reconstruction Era (1861-1877) -- 3. Jim Crow Era from 1878 to the Great Depression (1878-1932) -- 4. The New Deal and World War II (1933-1945) -- 5. The Civil Rights and Black Power Movements (1946-1975) -- 6. The Contemporary Era (1976-2000). The documents presented here represent a selection of primary sources available in several ProQuest databases. The databases represented in this website include American Periodicals, Black Abolitionist Papers, ProQuest History Vault, ProQuest Congressional, Supreme Court Insight and Alexander Street's Black Thought and Culture
- Current Events and History Periodicals, 1691-1912 This link opens in a new windowCurrent events of the 18th and 19th centuries. Includes reports on economics and government affairs, periodicals dedicated to United States history, as well as regional and local news and interests
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowSelect "American Indian Law Collection / Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law" from the list of HeinOnline's collections to find Indigenous Peoples Treaties (primary source).
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowSelect "Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law" from the list of HeinOnline's collections to find an overview, periodicals (secondary sources), and U.S. federal and state statutes pertaining to slavery, (primary sources).
- HeritageQuest Online This link opens in a new windowLook for the option to browse the U.S. Census Records by date and location.
- Congressional Publications & CRS Reports (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowSearch results will be grouped by category, such as: Congressional Hearings, Executive Orders, and Presidential Materials.
- Freedmen’s Bureau Microfilm CollectionThrough a partnership with the New England chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, the Sawyer Library is now home to the Freedmen’s Bureau Microfilm Collection. The Bureau was established by the US government in 1865 to help former slaves make the transition to freedom. The microfilm collection includes thousands of original, handwritten documents that recount the African-American experience in the post-civil war and Reconstruction eras.
The complete set of microfilm is available for research on the Library’s 3rd floor.
Contemporaneous Newspapers via the Sawyer Library
- Boston Globe 1872-1991 This link opens in a new windowFull text and searchable digitized version of the Boston Globe from 1872 through 1991.
- New York Times 1851-2018 This link opens in a new windowResults may be sorted to view the oldest items first. Articles will be displayed as PDF images of the actual newspaper.
Scholarly - Peer Reviewed Journals (Secondary Sources)
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database from EBSCO, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowA highly selective, multidisciplinary collection of over 1500 academic journals. The Sawyer Library has enhanced this collection with additional subscriptions in the life sciences, business studies, and Irish studies.
- Project MUSE This link opens in a new windowCollection of over 700 journals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
Some periodical databases are publisher-specific. They too will cover a range of subjects, however each publisher may have its own strengths.
- Cambridge Core (Journals and eBooks) This link opens in a new windowIncludes peer-reviewed journals and academic ebooks published by Cambridge University Press.
- Oxford Journals Online This link opens in a new windowInterdisciplinary collection of over 300 journals published by Oxford University Press.
Tertiary Sources (Background, Overviews, Facts, & Dates) - via the Sawyer Library
- Biography (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new windowBiographical essays of famous people, past and present, worldwide.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowLarge collection of online encyclopedias, focused on specific subjects.
- Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new windowContains over 10,000 articles, primary sources, images, maps, and timelines. Core content includes Black Women in America and African American National Biography.
- U.S. History (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new windowThis database includes encyclopedia-type essays on selected topic; secondary scholarly sources, and primary sources on topics in U.S. history.
The Cambridge History of Law in America: Volume 1, Early America (1580–1815) by Call Number: Access via Cambridge Histories OnlineISBN: 1107605059Publication Date: 2008
The Cambridge History of Law in America: Volume 2, The Long Nineteenth Century (1789–1920) by Call Number: Access via Cambridge Histories OnlineISBN: 0521803063Publication Date: 2008-04-28
The Cambridge History of Religions in America: Volume I, Pre-Columbian Times To 1790 by Call Number: Access via Cambridge Histories OnlineISBN: 9781139016865Publication Date: 2012-07-28
The Oxford Handbook of the American Revolution by Call Number: Access via Oxford Handbooks OnlineISBN: 9780199746705Publication Date: 2012-12-06
Beyond the Sawyer Library: National & Regional Collections of Primary Source Materials
- Digital CommonwealthDigital Commonwealth, is a "statewide consortium of libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies from across Massachusetts."
- Digital Public Library of America - Primary Source SetDigitized primary source materials from the Digital Public Library of America, displayed by topic or time period.
- Famous and Infamous Census RecordsSelected census records of famous person in U.S. history and culture.
- Library of Congress - Digital CollectionsExamples of the Digital Collections include 'Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers,' 1777-1963, historic maps, and the Abraham Lincoln papers.
- Library of Congress - Historic American Buildings SurveyPart of the Digital Collections.
- National Archives - "Discovering the Civil War"Online exhibit from the National Archives.
- National Archives - 100 Milestone DocumentsImages and background information for 100 milestone documents from the collection of the National Archives and Records Administration, which chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965.
- National Archives - America's Founding DocumentsImage, transcript, and background information for the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
- United States Congressional Serial Set collection"The Serial Set is comprised of the numbered Senate and House Documents and Senate and House Reports, bound by Session of Congress. The contents of the Serial Set have varied throughout the publication’s history, and at times have included House and Senate Journals, and the reports of executive departments and agencies."
Browse chronologically, or by topic.
