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Research Sources For American History

This guide will help you get started with your research in American History.  If you have any questions about the research process, please don't hesitate to ask a librarian for assistance. You can reach a reference librarian at 641-4173 or by email at unhm.library@unh.edu. If you are in the Library, ask for assistance at the Reference Desk. The UNH Manchester librarians are here to help you with your research and to answer any questions that you may have regarding our resources and how to use them.

UNH librarians have developed an online library research tutorial-- InfoBoost--comprised of six modules to introduce you the basics of information literacy and to assist in navigating the UNH library. Each module takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.

To conduct a successful research strategy, you will need to locate books, reference sources, and current journal articles on your topic.  (For an interactive introduction to starting your research process and developing a reseach strategy, try InfoBoost Module 1: Starting Smart and Module 2: Building a Search.

The links below will help you begin your research project.

FINDING BOOKS AND OTHER LIBRARY MATERIALS

You can find books and other library materials on your topic (including videos, DVD's, and journal titles) by using the University of New Hampshire at Manchester Library Catalog. You can search the catalog by author, book or journal title, subject, or keyword.  The Library of Congress Subject Headings is a very useful reference source which can help you broaden or narrow your topic; it will also help you with a subject search by providing you with the specific subject headings--the standard "library vocabulary"—that you can use to search for your topic in the online catalog.  (A librarian can show you how to use this resource.) Here are several examples of possible subject headings in the area of American History:

The UNH Manchester Library shares its catalog with the UNH libraries in Durham; a drop-down menu next to the search bar lets you search only UNH Manchester or expand your search to include the Durham libraries as well ("UNH Entire Collection"). Once you've got your list of books, you can find out detailed information about a particular title by clicking on it. The next screen will give you the book's location (Manchester or Durham), Library of Congress (LC) call number (i.e. its place on the shelf), and its availability. For an interactive introduction to the catalog and finding books, try InfoBoost Module 3: Using the Catalog.

If you would like to obtain a book that is located in one of the Durham libraries, we can get it for you through our delivery service with the Durham libraries. We can electronically request a title from Durham and will receive that material within 48 hours (weekends excluded). This activity requires library staff to place a hold on the requested material through your library record: visit the Reference Desk or call us at 641-4173 to request an item from Durham. (To obtain materials located at other libraries, please use our Interlibrary Loan service.) For assistance using the online catalog, interpreting LC call numbers, or finding a book on the shelf, please ask a librarian.

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USING REFERENCE SOURCES

The Reference Collection is a very good place to start your research. Reference sources can provide background on your area of study, help you focus your topic, and serve as a springboard to other research.   The UNH Manchester Library's Reference Collection includes dictionaries, general encyclopedias (such as World Book), almanacs, and bibliographies.  The Reference Collection also has many specialized encyclopedias which go into depth on one particular area of study.  Check with your professor to verify which reference sources may be cited in your project and which should be used for background research only.

Materials in the Reference Collection are for library use only.  Here are some specialized encyclopedias that you may find useful with your research in American History:

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FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES

The UNH Manchester Library provides access to thousands of periodicals (journals, magazines, and newspapers) in paper and electronic formats. Journal articles are a very important part of your research: they provide current information, are often peer-reviewed, and are focused on a specific topic. To find citations to current periodical articles on your subject, you will need to use the Library's periodical indexes .  Some of the indexes are general, indexing periodicals in a wide range of academic disciplines, while others focus on the periodical literature of a specific subject.  If the index you are searching is a full-text database, you may find the articles online.  For a flowchart of step-by-step instructions on how to get copies of the journal articles you locate in our online indexes, refer to our guide to obtaining journal articles. For an interactive introduction to using online databases, try InfoBoost Module 4: Finding Articles.

Electronic Sources

Many of the Internet-accessible indexes and databases to which the UNH library subscribes are limited to use by UNH faculty, students, and staff.  To access the databases from an off-campus location, follow the instructions to access databases from home.

The following indexes are particularly useful to researchers in the area of American History. For assistance using these or any of our databases, ask a librarian.

 Academic Search Premier
A "scholarly, multi-discipline, full text database designed specifically for academic institutions."

African-American Newspapers: The 19th Century
Full-text collection of African-American newspapers from the 1800s.

America: History and Life
"Historical coverage of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present."

The Civil War: A Newspaper Perspective
Full-text access to newspapers dating from 1861-1865.  Includes first-hand, contemporary accounts of the Civil War period.

Early American Imprints (1639-1800): Evans Digital Edition
"Based on the renowned American Bibliography by Charles Evans. The definitive resource for 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, and just about any other topic imaginable."

Facts.com (Facts on File)
Provides information about major historical events from 1940 to the present.

Godey's Lady's Book
Full-text access to the 19th-century magazine which was a forum for political debate, social activism, and literary publication.

Historical Abstracts
"Historical coverage of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada, which are covered in America: History and Life )."

 JSTOR Digitized Journals
Full text access to scholarly journals in the social sciences and humanities.

Making of America
"Making of America (MOA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction."

New York Times Digital Archive
"Provides digital reproductions of every page of every issue--cover to cover--all the way back to the first issue in September 1851. That means researchers can find not only news, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, and birth and marriage announcements but also historical photos, drawings, maps, charts, and advertisements."

Project Muse
Full text access to scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics.

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WEB SITES

The Internet can be a very valuable tool for students and researchers, opening up avenues of scholarly research formerly out of reach by providing instant access to information and materials from around the world. However, research on the Internet can be overwhelming due to the vast amount of reliable and unreliable information in cyberspace. How can you begin to sort through all the sites to find the one that can provide the information you are seeking? How can you determine that a site you have discovered meets the criteria of solid academic and professional authority? Was the web site you've located created by a reputable source? Is the author an expert in his or her field? Are the views expressed on the site biased in any way? These are the questions you should ask yourself when evaluating the information provided on any web site. For an interactive introduction to the WWW, try InfoBoost Module 5: Using the Web.

The librarians at the UNH Manchester Library have selected several web sites in the area of American History that may prove useful to researchers in the field:

AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American History
Full-text historical documents from the 15th Century to the present.

American and British History Resources via Rutgers University
Links to reference resources and primary documents.

The American Colonist's Library
An online collection of primary source materials from the American Colonial period.

American Memory via the Library of Congress
A rich archive of historical texts, personal narratives, photographs, films, and music from the nation's past.

The American Revolution
Resources on and discussions about the American Revolution.  The site was created by H-Net, Humanities and Social Sciences Online to support the PBS Documentary Liberty!

Archiving Early America
Primary source materials from the 18th Century.

Avalon Project via Yale University
"The Avalon Project will mount digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government."

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873
A Library of Congress site that provides researchers with online access to documents of the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the United States Congress.

Colonial Connecticut Records, 1636-1776 (via the University of Connecticut Libraries)
"The project aims to bring the colonial history of Connecticut alive and more accessible to users worldwide by the online delivery of the complete, digitized volumes of the Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, 1636-1776."

Digitized Primary American History Resources
This site rovides links to the full text of many primary sources in the area of American History.

Documenting the American South
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill site that provides electronic access to primary documents from the American South.

First-Person Narratives of the American South, 1860-1920 (via the Library of Congress)
"This compilation of printed texts from the libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill documents the culture of the nineteenth-century American South from the viewpoint of Southerners."

The Founders' Constitution (via the University of Chicago)
"The documents included [on this site] range from the early seventeenth century to the 1830s, from the reflections of philosophers to popular pamphlets, from public debates in ratifying conventions to the private correspondence of the leading political actors of the day."

The Frederick Douglass Papers
"The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress presents the papers of the nineteenth-century African-American abolitionist who escaped from slavery and then risked his own freedom by becoming an outspoken antislavery lecturer, writer, and publisher."

The Free Speech Movement Digital Archive (via the University of California, Berkeley)
A digital archive of pamphlets, articles, legal documents, and oral histories relating to the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s.

Gateway to African American Hiistory
A U.S. State Department site "which has been established to assist its international audience in acquiring information on the rich and varied contributions of African-Americans to the culture and history of the United States and the world."

Historic Government Publications from World War II: A Digital Library
This site from Southern Methodist University provides researchers with access to primary source materials from the Second World War.

Internet Modern History Sourcebook: American Independence
Electronic texts of documents from the Revolutionary War period.

Internet Modern History Sourcebook: US Civil War
Primary source materials from the Civil War period.

The Making of America (MOA)
"The Making of America (MOA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction."

The Papers of the Presidents of the United States
Full-text access to papers of many U.S. presidents, from George Washington to George W.

The 1718 Migration: The Scots-Irish Journey to the New World
"This website sets out what is known of the history of the Scots and Irish of the 1718 migration, and also reminds us of the lives of those who were left behind in Ireland."  The site provides researchers with historical essays, genealogical information, and links to additional information.  This resource is of special interest to local historians, as many of the Ulster Scots settled in the New Hampshire area.

Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1775-2000
A State University of New York at Binghamton site that contains hundreds of primary documents, images, and links to other online resources.

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HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS

The UNH Manchester Library owns microfilm copies of some early American newspapers, many of which are part of the New Hampshire Newspaper Project , sponsored by the New Hampshire State Library.  (Ask a librarian for assistance using the microfilm readers.) The following are just a few of the  New Hampshire newspapers on microfilm that may help you with your research:

New Hampshire Gazette  (Portsmouth), 1756-1763

Freeman’s Journal  (Portsmouth), 1776-1778

American Republican Gazette (Concord), 1802-1841

Constitutionalist and Weekly Magazine   (Exeter), 1812-1814

Abolition Standard  (Concord), 1840-1841

The Amulet  (Hanover), 1840-1841

Daily Mirror and American (Manchester), 1863-1918
 

The UNH Manchester Library holds microfilm copies of other early New Hampshire documents as well, including:

Letters from John Wentworth  (1767-1778)

Meshech Weare Papers

New Hampshire Provincial and State Papers

In addition, the UNH Manchester Library owns microfilm copies of several microfilm copies of national newspapers from the early American period, including:

The Journal of the Constitutional Convention  (1788, 1792, 1850)

The Liberator (an abolitionist newspaper), 1831-1865

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LOCATING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION FROM OTHER LIBRARIES

It is possible to request items (books, journal articles, videos, etc.) from other libraries—across town, across the state and even across the country—by using a service known as Interlibrary Loan (ILL).  You can search the online catalogs of other libraries to find more resources on your topic.  ILL request forms are available at the library; you can also submit requests electronically by using the UNH Manchester Library's online Interlibrary Loan forms for books and articles. Before submitting an ILL request, make sure that the item is not available here at UNH Manchester or at any of the UNH libraries in Durham by searching for it in the online catalog .  If you would like to obtain a book that is located in one of the Durham libraries, we can get it for you through our delivery service with the Durham libraries.  We can electronically request a title from Durham and will receive that material within 48 hours (weekends excluded). This activity requires library staff to place a hold on the requested material through your library record: visit the Reference Desk or call us at 641-4173 to request an item from Durham.

Once you've verified that UNH does not own the item, you can submit the ILL request. Please fill out each request form completely and accurately.  Interlibrary Loan materials are received anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks after the initial request, so be sure to budget your time wisely when collecting information for a paper or project.  Library staff will contact you when your material arrives at the Library. To find out more about ILL rules and guidelines, refer to the UNH Manchester Library's Interlibrary Loan Policy.

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CITING SOURCES

Remember that information found on the Internet and full-text articles obtained from electronic databases (as well as all research material you use) must be properly cited in your paper or project.  The UNH Manchester Library's homepage provides information on citing electronic resources .  We have provided you with several examples of citations and with links to additional resources about proper academic citation, including information on the Modern Language Association (MLA)    and American Psychological Association (APA) formats.

For an interactive introduction to citing sources and plagiarism, try InfoBoost Module 6: Citing Sources.

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Please send questions or comments about this research guide to Carolyn White, Associate Professor/Library Specialist, University of New Hampshire at Manchester Library, carolyn.white@unh.edu.

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Visit UNH in Durham at www.unh.edu