U.S. Women's History Since 1865: Online Sources
The online resources listed below all cover some part of American history to 1865. A few cover all the way back to the colonial era (Empire Online, Early English Books Online, American Memory, Documenting the American South, and Colonial State Papers), while others are more general or more specialized. In using some of them you will want to think broadly - so what can HarpWeek or The Historical New York Times tell you about the concerns of women or what their role was as you look at the advertisments in these items?
You'll also want to remember that politically correct speech came into use only starting in the 1970's so offensive words for minorities, ethnic groups, and women might be what you will want to use in searching or at least not be surprized when you see them in print in these sources, especially in much earlier time periods.
- African American NewspapersFull-text of 8 major newspapers published by African Americans between 1827 – 1902.
- America's historical imprints This link opens in a new windowProvides access to the full-text of printed materials (broadsides, pamphlets, books) from the scholarly bibliographies of Evans (covering 1639 – 1800) and Shaw-Shoemaker (covering 1801 – 1819) – these bibliographies list every work known to be printed in the United States during the dates covered. Also included is a full-text supplement of almost 1,100 previously unknown items not included in the bibliography discovered at the Library Company of Philadelphia. Essential for the study of American history and culture from the colonial era through the early Republic.
- America's historical newspapers This link opens in a new windowFull-text coverage of American newspapers from 1680 into the 20th century. May be searched full-text, by subject and/or era and/or Presidential era.
- American Drama, 1714 - 1915Full-text and background information on over 1,500 American plays which could be used to document the role, status, and image of women in American thought and society.
- American HIstory in VideoProvides full access to acclaimed videos on all eras of American history to provide contextualization of women’s issues within American society and history. Includes transcripts of the video content for citation purposes.
- American Memory: Women's History CollectionsAccess to seven collections from the Library of Congress including pamphlets, broadsides, books, and photographs from 1600 – 2000; includes highlights from the Library of Congress’ Manuscripts Division on women’s history.
- American periodicals This link opens in a new windowSearchable full-text of popular, scholarly, and literary journals published in America between 1740 and the 1930’s. Provides information on culture, society, consumerism, history, and literary influences
- Bibliography of Native North AmericansIndexes popular and scholarly journal articles, essays, Native American/First People's newspapers, books, and book reviews on all aspects of Native Americans. Contains citations for books, essays, journal articles, and government documents of the United States and Canada. Covers history, biography, anthropology, politics, literature, governance, gaming, culture, archaeology, and many other fields. Searchable fields include author, title, abstract, keyword, people, company, geographic terms, and publication. EBSCOhost.
- Congress and the NationOffers comprehensive and signature coverage of Congressional action from 1945 to 2008. The online edition includes the following: over 60 years of coverage of politics and policy; tables, graphs, and charts that help explain the issues; search and browse capabilities within consistent topics areas from one volume to the next; and a linkable cumulative index for all volumes.
- CQ Supreme Court collection This link opens in a new windowProvides summaries and analyses of major supreme court cases, access to the full text of the cases, biographical information on the Supreme Court justices, and the institutional history of the Court. The information may be searched by keyword, justice's name, case name, document type, constitutional area and more. Coverage includes major Court decisions and all the cases that received written opinions by the Burger, Rehnquist, and Robert's courts (Oct 1969 to present).
- Documenting the American South : primary resources for the study of Southern history literature and culture This link opens in a new windowA digitized collection of images, texts, pictures, and audio files on the American South from the colonial era to the 20th Century. Includes first-person narratives and slave narratives of life in the American south, the Library of Southern Literature (colonial era to 20th century), and documents on the “Southern home front” during the Civil War.
- Empire online This link opens in a new windowFull-text of documents, letters, and publications on America as a British colony, including slave narratives, narratives of women abducted by Native Americans, the condition of Native American women, and related items.
- Ethnic newswatch This link opens in a new windowFull text articles from newspapers and periodicals published by the ethnic and minority press in America, some dating back to 1985. Good source for information on _______ - American women (fill in the blank with a specific ethnic group).
- Gender Studies CollectionProvides a collection of peer-reviewed, full-text articles in HTML and PDF format covering gay and lesbian studies; intended primarily for academic researchers. Includes academic journals, magazines, and news sources.
- HarpWeekHarper's Weekly was a major publication of 19th century America which covered the issues of the day and included literature, art, cartoons, and news. Major source for the study of the 19th century. Coverage begins in 1857.
- ProQuest historical newspapers. The New York times This link opens in a new windowThis database offers full-page-images and article images from the New York times from its first issue in 1851 to three years before the current date.
- NINES : nineteenth-century scholarship online This link opens in a new windowAggregates or collects digital resources that provide a comprehensive research environment for scholars working on Victorian and Romantic literature, history, the fine arts, and philosophy of the long nineteenth century (1770-1920) British and American. NINES is the Networked Infrastructure for Nineteenth-Century Electronic Scholarship.
- Pop Culture Collection (Infotrac)A collection of peer-reviewed, full-text articles in HTML and PDF format covering popular culture; intended primarily for academic researchers.
- Readers' guide retrospective : 1890-1982 This link opens in a new windowDate range: 1890-1982. Indexes popular and general interest magazines published in the United States and Canada; Areas covered include children and teen magazines, television guides, news and opinion magazines, art journals, women's and men's magazines, etc.
- Social theory This link opens in a new windowProvides an extensive range of influential writings representing the most important trends of sociological thought from the eighteenth century to the present day. Offers a large selection of full text-documents that explore the complexities and interpret the nature of social behavior and organization.
Use "Browse by Theories" to find documents on "Feminism."
"Browse by Subject" will lead to documents by/on specific people
- U.S. Serial Set, 1789 - PresentU.S. Government publications, hearings, etc. on issues related to women: education, orphanages, penitentiaries, etc.
We also have the print edition and the maps and some documents may be better seen in the print version. - Women & Social Movements in the US, 1600 - 2000Contains over 110 document projects and archives (most uniquely available in WSM only) with 4 – 6 new projects/archives being added annually; over 2600 primary source resources, including the proceedings of women’s abolitionist movements and women’s rights conventions prior to 1866; and full-text coverage of the scholarly journal Women and Social Movements in the United States which covers all eras of American women’s history.
New York Journal, May 17, 1896
Take a close look at the different expressions on the faces of the women atheletes verses those of the the young ladies and women observing their sport.
Feminist Buttons
The buttons on this jacket display just a few of the sentiments of women in the 1960's and 1970's as they sought to change the often limited options they faced. The tv show, MadMen, is an accurate depiction of the sexism of that era (take a look at this Washington Post article from 2010 to get a sense of how accurately that show depicts the lives of working women in the mid-60's).
FBI Typing Pool, 1965
