UVM Libraries Research Guides: American History: Primary Sources Online

UVM Subscriptions

The following digital collections provide a starting point when looking for online primary resources. They are provided through subscription to UVM students, faculty, and staff.

American History in Video This link opens in a new window
Large collection of archival and documentary streaming video.
Search for videos by keyword or browse by time period, subject, people, places, and more. Each video includes a full transcript, can be browsed by viewing thumbnail images that can be adjusted to provide access at different timed intervals, and many include a detailed study guide.

UVM users can register to take advantage of advanced features such as the ability to create short clips from longer works (great for showing clips in class or embedding into Blackboard!), create play lists, and more.
American State Papers, 1789-1838 This link opens in a new window
This resource provides access to primary source materials related to the Early Republic of the United States. It contains searchable full-page images of documents, reports, maps, and statistics from the U.S. Congress and other federal government agencies.
ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Vast collection of high quality images many with historical interest. See for example the Schlesinger History of Women in America Collection and the Native American Art and Culture Collection.
Colonial State Papers This link opens in a new window
Primary source materials from the 16th to 18th centuries relating to Britain's presence and activities in America, Canada, and the West Indies.
Full-text is available for (CO1) Privy Council and Related Bodies: America and West Indies, Colonial Papers while the Calander of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies 1574-1739 provides descriptive bibliographic information.

Early American Imprints, Series, I: 1639-1800
Huge collection of digitized books, pamphlets, broadsides, and more dating from 1639-1800. Highlights include textbooks, cookbooks, hymnals, maps, literature, diaries, and more.
Early American Imprints, Series, II: 1800-1819
Huge collection of digitized books, pamphlets, broadsides, and more dating from 1800-1819. Highlights include textbooks, cookbooks, hymnals, maps, literature, diaries, and more.

Nineteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
This resource includes a wide variety of primary source materials from 1780-1925 on topics ranging from popular culture, colonialism, literature, religion, science, politics, and women.
Roper Center For Public Opinion Research This link opens in a new window
Online access to results of public opinion polls. Includes public opinion polls social issues, public policy, international affairs, and elections since , as well as other polls. Dates vary but polls are available as far back as the 1930s.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set This link opens in a new window
This resource includes 370,205 full-text publications designated by the U.S. Congress for printing from 1817 - 1994, scanned from original print volumes of the Serial Set. Includes citation records for the Serial Set's 74,495 maps.
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 This link opens in a new window
This resource provides primary and secondary resources related to the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000.

More Collections

The following collections are available inanyone with internet access.

American Memory Project - Library of Congress
Rich collection of primary materials. Highlights include: Broadsides & Printed Ephemera, Panoramic Maps, Daguerreotypes, and American travel narratives.
American Presidency Project
Collection of primary sources related to the US Presidency. Includes speeches, executive orders, papers, press releases, debate materials, and more.
Avalon Project at Yale Law School
Digital collection of documents relating to history, law, and diplomacy. Highlights include: American Revolution - a Documentary Record, The Federalist papers, and documents relating to the Cold War.
Catalog of American Portraits
Searchable guide to locating American portraits from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Search by subject, artists, or biographical details. Searches can be limited to those items with online images.
Cold War International History Project
Collection of documents relating to the Cold War maintained by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Cornell Political Americana Collection
"The Cornell University Collection of Political Americana is comprised of approximately 5,500 Presidential promotional and commemorative items dating from 1789 to 1980."
Documenting the American South
From the University of North Carolina, this collection, "provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture."
Foreign Relations of the United States (1861-1958/1960)
The Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity.
Foreign Relations of the United States (1945-1988)
The Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity.
Library of Congress - Prints and Photographs
The Library of Congress has digitized numerous collections of historical materials from their collections and from other institutions on a wide variety of topics.
Rights & Usage: Each image has a statement on Rights and Reproductions.
Making of America
A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints.
The Nineteenth Century in Print: the Making of America in Periodicals
This collection presents twenty-three popular periodicals digitized by Cornell University Library and the Preservation Reformatting Division of the Library of Congress.
Presidential Speech Archive - Miller Center of Public Affairs
Collection of texts of speeches by American Presidents from George Washington through Barak Obama. Many include audio and video files as well as the text.
Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection
Collection of pamphlets, lectures, and other materials on anti-slavery and abolution from Cornell University.
Slavery & Abolition in the U.S.
This collection is " a digital collection of books and pamphlets that demonstrate the varying ideas and beliefs about slavery in the United States as expressed by Americans throughout the nineteenth century."
Throwaway History: The Broadside in American Culture
From TEVA - Tennessee Virtual Archive a collection of broadsides from the 19th and 20th centuries.
UVM Libraries Center for Digital Initiatives
The Center for Digital Initiatives is a gateway to digital resources at the University of Vermont. These include materials such as photographs, letters, speeches, and documents, with a current emphasis on public policy and Vermont history.
Universal Newsreels
Streaming video of archival newsreels dating from 1929-1967. These newsreels are the precursors of television news reporting.

Highlights

The University of Vermont's Center for Digital Initiatives includes a growing collection of online primary source materials. Highlights inlcude Congressional Papers of over thirty Vermont Representatives since 1791; Congressional Speeches, materials relating to dairy history, and more.

Primary Sources on the Web

The History section of Reference & User Services Association has produced a great guide to locating Primary Sources on the Web. It highlights important online collections and provides useful information for evaluating and analyzing primary sources you find online.

Using Primary Sources on the Web