Research Guides: CMC HIST 150 African American History since Reconstruction / Fergus / SP 25: Welcome and Places to Start Your Research

Your Research for this Class and this Guide

Hello! Welcome to the Research Guide for HIST 150: African History Since Reconstruction.

The main purpose of this guide is is for you to learn where to find sources for further research. This guide is meant to begin your research. There are many other databases listed in the additional subject guides below. This guide also has sections on Special Collections, search strategies, and citing and citation managers.

Please remember that we are here to help and that you can contact and make appointments with me and other librarians.

Selected Secondary Databases

America: History and Life
Why search here? Useful for anthropological and historical research concerning the United States and Canada from pre-history to the present.
Content type: Scholarly articles, magazine articles, dissertations, conference proceedings, books
Coverage dates: 1914-present
Language: English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, etc.
Academic Search Premier
Why search here? Good starting point when researching topics that intersect with multiple disciplines.
Content type: Scholarly articles, newspaper articles, magazine articles, trade journal articles
Coverage dates: 1887-present; varies by title
Language: English, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, French, Chinese, Arabic etc.
Keywords: ASP

Selected Primary Resources

Proquest Historical Black Newspapers
Why search here? Search the major Black newspapers of the United States from the twentieth century.
Content type: Newspaper articles, primary sources
Coverage dates: 1893-2005
Contains: Atlanta Daily World, (1931-2003); Baltimore Afro-American, (1893-1988); Chicago Defender, (1909-1975); Cleveland Call and Post, (1934-1991); Los Angeles Sentinel, (1934-2005); New York Amsterdam News, (1922-1993); Norfolk Journal and Guide, (1916-2003); Philadelphia Tribune, (1912-2001); and Pittsburgh Courier, (1911-2002).
Language: English
African American Newspapers
Why search here? Access articles from prominent African American newspapers for a glimpse of Black life in the U.S. during the 19th and early-20th centuries.
Content type: Newspaper articles
Coverage dates: 1827-1919
Includes the following titles: Freedom's Journal, The Colored American, The North Star, The National Era, Provincial Freeman, Frederick Douglass Paper, The Christian Recorder, Freedmen's Record, and The Negro Business League Herald.
Language: English
Keywords: Accessible Archives
Fight for Racial Justice and the Civil Rights Congress
Why search here? Access records of the Civil Rights Congress to learn more about the spirit and tactics of this early civil rights organization and its efforts to fight discrimination against labor leaders, African Americans, and other minorities.
Content type: Primary sources, correspondence, case files, transcripts, legal briefs
Coverage dates: 1946-1955
Language: English
Keywords: Archives Unbound
Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century
Why search here? Good for discovering primary sources from the federal government and important national organizations documenting the civil rights movement throughout the 20th Century.
Content type: Primary sources, government documents, correspondence, manuscripts, archival collections
Coverage dates: 1890s-1990s
Included collections: Federal Government Records; Federal Government Records, Supplement; Organizational Records and Personal Papers, Part 1; Organizational Records and Personal Papers, Part 2
Language: English
Keywords: History Vault
Black Thought and Culture
Why search here? Explore this collection for non-fiction writings from prominent Black leaders covering many areas of the last 250 years of American history.
Content type: Primary sources, newspaper articles, correspondence, speeches, diaries, interviews, trial transcripts, scholarly commentary, monographs
Coverage dates: 1800s-present
Language: English

Primary Sources in Library Catalogs

Primary sources of all types can also be found in our regular, circulating books, in special collections, and beyond. Here are few ways to find primary texts and sources by using our own The Library Search.

Use the author search to find books we have by a particular author, politician, journalist or another type of historical witness
Do an advanced keyword search in The Library Search and then limit by publication year under “limit your search”) (note: you can also limit by language and many other ways)
Do an advanced keyword in Library Search and then limit by years and then limit to the word "sources" in the subject field (by using the dropdown menu), for example:

race in the keyword field

"sources" in the subject field.

This brings us the Library of Congress Subject subheading “sources” which is sometimes used to designate primary source collections of different kinds — as in African Americans—Education—History—20th century—Sources.

Another sample search: "Thomas Jefferson" and "sources" in the subject field.

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Arts and Humanities Librarian

Adam Rosenkranz

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