Each database below includes topically-specific primary sources.
Below is a curated list. For more see: Digitized Primary Sources
- African American CommunitiesThe primary source material in this collection focuses on race relations across social, political, cultural and religious arenas, with particular focus on Atlanta, Chicago, Brooklyn, and towns and cities in North Carolina.
- America's Historical ImprintsCombined search interface for American Broadsides and Ephemera, 1760-1900; Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800; and Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819.
- American Broadsides and Ephemera, 1760-1900Fully searchable full-text of 30,000 posters, playbills, proclamations, menus, advertisements, invitations, fliers, certificates, billheads, ship cards, deathbed confessions, pop songs, etc. illustrating a fascinating range of life in 18th- and 19th-century America.
- American Civil War: Letters and DiariesContains over 2,000 authors and approximately 100,000 pages from over 1,000 letters, diaries and memoirs. Includes some previously unpublished manuscripts, biographies, a bibliography of the sources in the database, and material licensed from The Civil War Day-by-Day, by E. B. Long.
- American WestAmerican West is comprised of original manuscripts, rare printed books, maps and ephemeral material from the Everett D. Graff Collection of Western Americana at the Newberry Library, Chicago, and covering topics including the growth of urban centres, the environmental impact of westward expansion and life in the borderlands.
- AM ExplorerAM Explorer provides a single point of access to search across all of Adam Matthew's archival collections. For more information on doing research with AM Explorer, check out Adam Matthew's Research Methods Primary Sources.
- Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1988Apartheid South Africa makes available British government files from the Foreign, Colonial, Dominion, and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices spanning the period 1948 to 1994. These previously restricted letters, diplomatic dispatches, reports, trial papers, activists’ biographies and first-hand accounts of events give unprecedented access to the history of South Africa’s apartheid regime. The files explore the relationship of the international community with South Africa and chart increasing civil unrest against a backdrop of waning colonialism in Africa and mounting world condemnation.
- Archive of AmericanaCross-search Readex databases: Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800; Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819; American Broadsides and Ephemera, 1760-1900; and Early American Newspapers.
- Archives UnboundPresents digital collections of historical documents. Collections are chosen based on requests from scholars, archivists, and students.
- Compilation of Presidential DocumentsComposed of the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents and its predecessor, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. The website will be updated frequently, as information is released by the White House press office to Federal Register editors. Documents appearing in the Compilation of Presidential Documents collection are edited for accuracy and annotated with additional information to provide an authoritative record of the Presidency.
- Digital National Security ArchiveFull-text of of over 58,000 declassified primary documents central to U.S. foreign and military policy since 1945.
- Digital South Asia LibraryThe Digital South Asia Library provides digital materials for reference and research on South Asia to scholars, public officials, business leaders, and other users. This program builds upon a two-year pilot project funded by the Association of Research Libraries' Global Resources.
- Everyday Life and Women in America, c. 1800-1920This digital collection explores American social, cultural, and popular history, providing access to primary source material from the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History, Duke University and The New York Public Library. It is made up of fully searchable images (alongside transcriptions) of monographs, pamphlets, periodicals and broadsides addressing 19th and early 20th century political, social and gender issues, religion, race, education, employment, marriage, sexuality, home and family life, health, and pastimes.
- ExploreUKA Historical Collection of Images and Text from the University Archives
- History CommonsIncludes full-text access to American County Histories: Kentucky, Godey's Lady's Book, History of Woman Suffrage, Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia, Pa.), Pennsylvania Packet, Scenes from the Life of Harriet Tubman, Twelve Years a Slave.
- Mass Observation OnlineMass Observation Online provides digital access to a life-writing archive, capturing the everyday experiences, thoughts and opinions of people living in the UK through this time period. Writing in response to directives (questionnaires), hundreds of Mass Observers provide a unique insight into an extraordinary range of subjects, from the deeply personal (sex, family) to everyday life (shopping, holidays) to global affairs.
- Roper iPollProvided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University, Roper iPoll contains poll data from U.S. and international polling firms with broad topical coverage of opinions and behavior on social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, and more. Questions, charts, demographic crosstabs, and dataset downloads are immediately available.
- Cartoon America, Library of CongressThese visual editorials reflect multiple viewpoints conveyed by a wide variety of artistic approaches, including the classic cross hatching techniques of Harper's Weekly cartoonist Thomas Nast, the sweeping brush work of Ding Darling, the rich crayon line work of Rube Goldberg and Bill Mauldin, and the painterly styles of contemporary cartoonists Paul Conrad and Patrick Oliphant.
- Clifford K. Berryman Political Cartoon Collection, National ArchivesA collection of 2,400 original pen-and-ink drawings by Clifford K. Berryman from the U.S. Senate Collection is housed at the Center for Legislative Archives. Berryman was Washington's best known and most-admired graphic commentator on politics in the first half of the 20th century.
- Editorial Cartoons of J.N. "Ding" DarlingJ.N. "Ding" Darling was an American editorial cartoonist active in the first half the 20th century. His cartoons were published in the New York Globe and New York Herald Tribune, among others. This online collection is provided by Drake University.
- Internet Archive TV NewsContains more than 3,040,000 news programs collected over 4+ years from national U.S. networks and stations in San Francisco and Washington D.C. The archive is updated with new broadcasts 24 hours after they are aired. Older materials are also being added.
- PuckAn American satirical magazine from the latter part of the 19th century. Published many editorial cartoons and other comics. Access is via HathiTrust. Open a volume for a time period and browse contents or search within volumes once open.
- PunchA British satirical magazine published since the mid 19th century. Older issues can be accessed via HathiTrust. Open volume by volume and browse or search the resulting issues.