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Background Sources | Books | Journal Articles | Primary Sources | Web Resources
This webpage provides resources to help you find more information on the themes and topics of the course.
Most of the databases on this page are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. These are marked with a lock
. To connect to these databases from home you will need to first click on the Off-Campus Access link in the upper-right hand corner and login.
Have questions or need research help? Please contact Theresa Mudrock, the history librarian via email at mudrock@u.washington.edu.
Background Sources
Encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms when searching research databases and catalogs. More importantly, because encyclopedias often cover the major issues surrounding the subject, they can help you narrow your research from a broad “who, what, where, when” topic to a “how or why” question. In addition many encyclopedia articles include short bibliographies that will lead you to the major works on the topic.
- A critical dictionary of the French Revolution
Suzzallo Reference - DC148 .D5313 1989- The encyclopedia of the French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars: a political, social, and military history
Suzzallo Reference -- DC220 .E53 2006
Suzzallo Reference -- JV22 .E535 2007- Historical dictionary of Napoleonic France, 1799-1815
Suzzallo Reference -- DC201 .H673 1984- Historical dictionary of the French Revolution, 1789-1799
Suzzallo Reference -- DC147 .H57 1985- Macmillan encyclopedia of world slavery
Suzzallo Reference -- HT861 .M24 1998Books
Use the following catalogs to locate books in the UW Libraries and in other libraries around the region, nation and world. Books unavailable at the UW can be requested through Summit (if available at one of the member libraries) or through Interlibrary Loan.
- UW Libraries Catalog
A listing of the books, journal subscriptions and other material available at the University of Washington Libraries.- Summit
Joint catalog of more than 25 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. Books can be requested and shipped to the UW for pick-up. Especially useful when the book you need is checked-out for the quarter...
Joint catalog of thousands of major libraries in the U.S. and abroad.Journal Articles
Use research databases to find articles on a topic. Since most databases cover a specific subject area, choose those that best fit your research topic. See Other History-Related Databases for additional options.
To find a copy of the article, use the Check for UW Holdings button available on most databases to locate a copy in the library. If there is no button, search the UW Libraries Catalog for the title of the journal to locate a copy. Be sure to have the complete citation (author, title, journal name, volume, pages and year) of your article.
Articles from journals which the UW does not own can be requested via Interlibrary loan.
This is the best database to find articles dealing with modern world history (1450 onward). Use America History & Life for US and Canadian history.
JSTOR is a collection of more than 40 full-text history-related journals.
This is a good general beginning database to find articles on all subjects. Includes some fulltext. For another similar database see Expanded Academic Index.Using Secondary Sources to Find Primary Sources
Secondary sources, scholarly journal articles and books, are a great source for identifying potential primary sources. Find a few articles, books or dissertations related to your topic and then mine the footnotes and bibliography. You will have the best luck finding published primary sources such as books (including memoirs, published collections of letters, etc.), government documents, magazines within the UW Libraries. Use the UW Libraries Catalog to determine if we have the primary source. Finding Primary Sources -- Books
The UW Libraries has a strong collection of books (in print, microform and electronic) that can be considered primary sources for history. These include books written during the period for your topic (i.e., during the 1790s), books written by participants, published collections of correspondence and other personal writings, memoirs and reprinted collections of primary source material. Keep in mind that most of the primary sources will be in French.
Using the UW Libraries Catalog
- Limit your search by publication date.
- Search for books written by key participants and organizations.
- Use special subject terms that designate primary sources:
sources, personal narratives, diaries, correspondence- Example of a Keyword search:
- haiti and revolution and sources
- france and revolution and correspondence
Digitized Book Databases: 15th - 18th centuries
English and American perspectives, for digitized French language sources see the Gallica website.
ECCO is a full-image database of more than 150,000 books published primarily in Great Britain during the 18th century.
Evans is a full-image database of more than 30,000 works published in America between 1639 and 1800.Finding Primary Sources -- Articles
The following databases will help you identify 18th and 19th and century magazine and newspaper articles again from a British and American perspective. Gallica includes some French newpapers and magazines from the Revolutionary era.
Formerly Poole's Plus, index to articles in 19th century American and British magazines. Also indexes selected 19th century U.S. and British government publications.
Digitized collection of fulltext 18 and 19th century American magazines.
Digitized collection of more than 50 newspapers, primarily 19th century but some 18th century.
Transcriptions of the American paper from 1728-1800.
Full-text of the newspaper from 1785-1985.Finding Primary Sources -- Government Documents
The following databases will help you identify 18th and 19th and century government documents again from a British and American perspective. The librarians in the Government Publications secton on the ground floor of Suzzallo can help you find these items.
US Congressional material dating from 1789 to 1838. Also see US Congressional Serial Set for materials dating from 1817-1906.
Fulltext collection of 19th century Parliamentary Papers. For the 18th c. see House of Commons sessional papers of the eighteenth century in Government Publications J301 .K625 1975a.- French parliamentary material is available piecemeal online and in print:
- Gallica - includes revolution era portions of the Archives parlementaires and Gazette nationale ou le Moniteur universel
- Histoire parlementaire de la révolution française; ou, Journal des assemblées nationales, depuis 1789 jusqu'en 1815 [Suzzallo 944.04 B852h]
- Gazette nationale; ou, le moniteur universel 1789-1810 [Suzzallo Folio 944 MO]
- Archives Parlementaires 1787-1861 [Suzzallo 944 FR]
Web Resources
Image: Print of a slave auction in New Orleans printed in Slave States of America (1839).
History Subject Page | UW Libraries
25 June 2007
Theresa Mudrock
