Rohrbach Library Home: History 311 Research: Primary Sources

Library Primary Source Databases

The library has access to over 100 primary source databases. Here are a list of some recommended ones:

American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collections
The five collections from AAS Historical Periodicals include digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals from the mid-18th century through the late-19th century. These specialized collections cover advertising, health, women's issues, science, the history of slavery, industry and professions, religious issues, culture and the arts, and more. Coverage: 1684 and 1912.
American History 1493-1945
This unique collection documents American History from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century. It is sourced from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the finest archives available for the study of American History.
Colonial America
Colonial America makes available all 1,450 volumes of the CO 5 series from The National Archives, UK, covering the period 1606 to 1822. CO 5 consists of the original correspondence between the British government and the governments of the American colonies, making it a uniquely rich resource for all historians of the period.
Pennsylvania Gazette
Published in Philadelphia from 1728 through 1800, The Pennsylvania Gazette is considered The New York Times of the 18th century. It provides the reader with a first hand view of colonial America, the American Revolution and the New Republic, and offers important social, political and cultural perspectives of each of the periods.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans
Early American Imprints, Series I. Evans (1639-1800) is based on the American Bibliography by Charles Evans and enhanced by Roger Bristol's Supplement to Evans' American Bibliography. This collection is a foundation set for research involving early American history, literature, philosophy, religion, and more. It is the definitive resource for information about every aspect of life in 17th- and 18th-century America, from agriculture and auctions through foreign affairs, diplomacy, literature, music, religion, the Revolutionary War, temperance, witchcraft, etc.
Early American Newspapers, Series 1,6,7
Early American Newspapers (1690-1922) features cover-to-cover reproductions of hundreds of historic newspapers, providing more than one million pages as fully text-searchable facsimile images. It offers fully searchable digital facsimiles of nearly 2,000 titles from all 50 states.
Eighteenth Century Journals Portal
Bringing together rare journals printed between c.1685 and 1835, this resource illuminates all aspects of eighteenth-century social, political and literary life. Topics covered are wide-ranging and include colonial life, provincial and rural affairs, the French and American revolutions, reviews of literature and fashion throughout Europe, political debates, and London coffee house gossip and discussion.