LibGuides: *Primary Sources: Black History Primary Sources

Primary Source Content

African American Historical Serials Collection (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
This collection was developed with the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) as part of an effort to preserve serials related to African American religious life and culture. It documents the history of African American life and religious organizations from materials published between 1829 and 1922. More than 170 unique titles, approximately 60,000 pages of searchable primary source content, and reports and annuals from African American religious organizations and social service agencies and African American periodicals are included.
Black Thought and Culture (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new window
Comprised of 100,000 pages of non-fiction writings (audio files, books, correspondence, editorials, essays, interviews, journal articles, letters, periodicals, political leaflets, speeches, and trial transcripts) by historically important black leaders (abolitionists, artists, athletes, civil rights activists, entertainers, politicians, scholars, social reformers, and war veterans). Covering 250 years of history.
Race Relations in America (Adam Matthew) This link opens in a new window
Discover a wealth of primary source material on the Civil Rights Movement, segregation, discrimination and racial theory in America during three pivotal decades of the twentieth century.

Digitized Collections of the Civil Rights Movements

Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: A Selection of Openly Available Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
The Black Freedom Struggle website includes more than 2,000 documents curated around six crucial phases of the U.S. Black freedom struggle:

Resistance to slavery by enslaved persons and the abolitionist movement of the 19th century
The end of slavery during the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era
The fight against Jim Crow segregation
The New Deal and World War II
The Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement from 1946-1975
…and the contemporary Black experience since 1976.
Civil Rights and Social Justice This link opens in a new window
From HeinOnline, this database brings together a diverse offering of publications covering civil rights in the United States as their legal protections and definitions are expanded to cover more and more Americans. Containing hearings and committee prints, legislative histories on the landmark legislation, CRS and GAO reports, briefs from major Supreme Court cases, and publications from the Commission on Civil Rights, this database allows users to educate themselves on the ways our civil rights have been strengthened and expanded over time, as well as how these legal protections can go further still.
Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle (ProQuest History Vault) This link opens in a new window
ProQuest History Vault's coverage of the Black Freedom Struggle includes digitized primary source collections of the US government and organization records related to the Civil Rights Movement, the NAACP, the African American Police League, Southern Life and Slavery, with some content leading up to the Civil War. Collections include Working Women in WWII, Women’s Organizations, Union Records, Indigenous Americans, Temperance and Prohibition, the Children’s Bureau, the War Relocation Authority, Truman and Eisenhower Administrations, FBI Files, and Vietnam War Policy.
Race Relations in America (Adam Matthew) This link opens in a new window
Discover a wealth of primary source material on the Civil Rights Movement, segregation, discrimination and racial theory in America during three pivotal decades of the twentieth century.

Slavery

Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new window
The HeinOnline collection contains legal materials on slavery in the United States and western countries. Scholars will find judicial cases, statutes, essays, scholarly articles that date back to the 19th century through the modern history of slavery. Also included are ebooks and pamphlets. This is a collection critical to any scholar looking to find historical material on legal, economic and social aspects on the subject.
Southern Life, Slavery, and the Civil War (ProQuest History Vault) This link opens in a new window
Explore in-depth primary source material on such topics as:
- Slavery and the Law
- Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Law and Order in 19th Century America, 1636-1880
- Slavery in Antebellum Southern Industries (1700-1896)
Transatlantic Slave Trade Database This link opens in a new window
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database comprises nearly 35,000 individual slaving expeditions between 1514 and 1866. Records of the voyages have been found in archives and libraries throughout the Atlantic world. They provide information about vessels, enslaved peoples, slave traders and owners, and trading routes. A variable (Source) cites the records for each voyage in the database. Other variables enable users to search for information about a particular voyage or group of voyages. The website provides full interactive capability to analyze the data and report results in the form of statistical tables, graphs, maps, or on a timeline.

Documents from the U.S. Federal Government and the Supreme Court

Congressional (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Congressional is a comprehensive online collection of primary source congressional publications and legislative research materials covering all topics, including government, current events, politics, economics, business, science and technology, international relations, social issues, finance, insurance, and medicine. Finding aid for congressional hearings (published and unpublished), committee prints, committee reports and documents from 1824-present, and the daily Congressional Record from 1985-present. Compiled legislative histories from 1969-present. Full text access to the U.S. Statutes at Large, which is the official compilation of all public and private laws and resolutions passed by Congress, listed in order by date of enactment from 1789-present.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
The U.S.Congressional Serial Set, including the American State Papers, is a series of reports and documents published by Congress from 1789 to the present.

See this ProQuest Help page to learn how to search this resource.
Supreme Court Insight (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Supreme Court Insight is an online collection of full opinions from Supreme Court argued cases, including per curiam decisions. Includes dockets, petitions for writ of certiorari, petitioner and respondent briefs, joint appendices and amicus briefs. Transcripts of oral arguments dating back to 1955 are also included.

Digitized Collections focused on LGBTQ Communities

LGBT Magazine Archive (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Searchable archive of major periodicals devoted to LGBT+ interests, dating from the 1950s through to recent years
Trace the history and evolution of myriad aspects of LGBT history and culture, including legal contexts, health, lifestyle, politics, social attitudes, activism, gay rights, and arts/literature
LGBT Thought and Culture (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new window
LGBT Thought and Culture is an online resource hosting books, periodicals, and archival materials documenting LGBT political, social and cultural movements throughout the twentieth century and into the present day.
Queer Pasts (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new window
Queer Pasts is a collection of primary source exhibits for students and scholars of queer history and culture. The database uses “queer” in its broadest and most inclusive sense, to embrace topics that are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender and to include work on sexual and gender formations that are queer but not necessarily LGBT.

North American Women Documents

Everyday Life & Women in America c1800-1920 (Adam Matthew) This link opens in a new window
This digital collection is an unparalleled resource for the study of American social and cultural history, providing access to rare primary source material from the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History, Duke University and The New York Public Library. It comprises thousands of fully searchable images (alongside manually double-keyed 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 popular pastimes.
Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new window
This collection brings together 105,000 pages of the personal writings of women of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, displayed as high-quality images of the original manuscripts, Semantically Indexed and online for the first time.
North American Women’s Letters and Diaries (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new window
This collection includes the immediate experiences of North American women through diaries and letters. The collection also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography of the sources in the database.

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*Primary Sources

Primary Source Content

Digitized Collections of the Civil Rights Movements

Slavery

Documents from the U.S. Federal Government and the Supreme Court

Digitized Collections focused on LGBTQ Communities

North American Women Documents

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