Family History: Background Sources

Background Sources: Encyclopedias, Chronologies & Statistics

Use encyclopedias and other reference books to provide historical context. They can also be used to identify key people, events, trends and dates. Many also include a short list of related readings. The titles listed here are just a small example of the many encyclopedias we have in the UW Libraries.
Those that are online and marked with a are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. To connect to these encyclopedias from home you will need to first click on the Off-Campus Access link in the upper-right hand corner and login with your UWNetID.

General History

Encyclopedia Britannica
Suzzallo Reference -- AE5 .E363 2005
Countries and their cultures
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- GN307 .C68 2001
A dictionary of twentieth-century world history
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- D419 .P36 1997

United States History

Dictionary of American History
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E174 .D52 2003
Encyclopedia of American cultural & intellectual history
Suzzallo Reference -- E169.1 .E624 2001
Encyclopedia of American Social History
Suzzallo Reference -- HN37 .E38 1993
Encyclopedia of the United States in the twentieth century
Suzzallo Reference -- E740.7 .E33 1996
The encyclopedia of women's history in America
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- HQ1410 .C85 1996

Pacific Northwest History

Encyclopedia of the American West
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- F391 .E483 1996
New Encyclopedia of the American West
Undergraduate Reference -- F391 .N46 1998

Events

Encyclopedia of the Great Depression
Suzzallo Reference -- E806 .E63 2004
Oxford Companion to World War II
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- D740 .O94 1995
Encyclopedia of World War II: a political, social and military history
Suzzallo Reference -- D740 .E516 2005
Encyclopedia of the McCarthy era
Suzzallo Reference -- E743.3 .K37 1996
Encyclopedia of the Korean War: a political, social, and military history
Suzzallo Reference -- DS918 .E33 2000
Encyclopedia of the Cold War
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- D843 .A668 1994
The encyclopedia of civil rights in America
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E186.61 .E344 1998
The Sixties in America
Suzzallo Reference -- E841 .S33 1999
Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: Political, social, and military history
Suzzallo Reference -- DS337.7 .E33 1998
Historical dictionary of the 1970s
Suzzallo Reference -- E839 .H57 1999
Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War
Suzzallo Reference -- UF500 .G8 1995

Immigration & Identity

American immigrant cultures : builders of a nation
Suzzallo Reference -- E184.A1 A63448 1997
Dictionary of American Immigration History
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- JV6430 .D33 1990
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E184 .A1 G14 1993
Harvard encyclopedia of American ethnic groups
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E184.A1 H33

African Americans

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E183 .E34 1996
Encyclopedia of Black Studies
Suzzallo Reference -- E185 .E554 2005
The Greenwood encyclopedia of African American civil rights
Suzzallo Reference -- E185.61 .E54 2003

Asian Americans

Asian American Encyclopedia
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E184 .O6 A827 1993
The Columbia guide to Asian American history
Suzzallo Reference -- E184.A75 C64 2001
Dictionary of Asian American history
Undergraduate Reference -- E184.O6 D33 1986
Encyclopedia of Japanese descendants in the Americas
Suzzallo Reference -- E29.J3 E53 2002
Encyclopedia of Japanese American history
Suzzallo Reference -- E184.J3 E53 2001

Hispanic Americans

Encyclopedia of the Mexican American civil rights movement
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E184.M5 M458 2000
Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E184 .S73 H363 1993
The Latino Encyclopedia
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E184 .S73 L337 1996
The Mexican American experience: an encyclopedia
Suzzallo Reference -- E184.M5 M4535 2003

Native Americans

Encyclopedia of North American Indians
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E76.2 .E33 1996
The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes
Suzzallo Reference -- E77 .G13 1998
A Guide to Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E78 .N77 R79 1986
Native Americans: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Peoples
Suzzallo Reference -- E77 .P89 1998

Chronologies

American chronicle: year by year through the twentieth century
Suzzallo Reference -- E169.1 .G664 1999
Chronology of world history
Suzzallo Reference -- D11 .M39 1999
The encyclopedia of American facts and dates
Undergraduate Reference -- E174.3 .C3 1993
HistoryLink's Seattle & King County timeline
Suzzallo Reference -- F899.S457 C76 2001
Worldmark chronology of the nations
Suzzallo Reference -- G133 .W93 1999

Further statistical sources can be found in the Government Publications section on the ground floor of Suzzallo Library. The U.S. Census Bureau provides a number of print and electronic publications concerning population statistics.

American FactFinder
"American FactFinder is a new data access and dissemination system that provides useful facts and information about your community, your economy, and your society. The system will find and retrieve the information you need from some of the Census Bureau's largest data sets." Based primarily on the 1990 and 2000 census.
Historical Statistics of the United States
Undergraduate Reference, Suzzallo Reference [HA202 .H37 1973]
Two-volume compilation of statistics dating from 1790 to 1970.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Compilation of current statistics covering all aspects of the United States from population to the economy. 1878 to 2005 available online. Also available in print in Undergraduate and Suzzallo Reference [HA202 .U36].
U.S. Historical Census Data Browser
Database that is based on a subset of historical data from the U.S. censuses from 1790 to 1970. You can create tables based on specific variables.

Nebraska family portrait, 1908, courtesy of American Memory.