Seattle Labor and Civil Rights

| Background Sources | Secondary Sources: Books | Secondary Sources: Journal Articles |
| Published Primary Sources | Special Collections |

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 button in the upper-right hand corner and login with your UWnetid.

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 such as the national context for Seattle's civil rights and labor movements and can also be used to identify key people, events and dates. More importantly, because encyclopedias often cover the major issues surrounding the subect, 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.

Dictionary of American History Encyclopedia of U.S. labor and working-class history         Suzzallo Reference - HD8066 .A78 2007 Encyclopedia of African-American culture and history Encyclopedia of American civil liberties         Suzzallo Reference - KF4747.5 .E53 2006 Encyclopedia of American social history         Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference - HN57 .E58 1993 Encyclopedia of the American West         Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference - F591 .E485 1996 Oxford African American Studies Center Work in America : an encyclopedia of history, policy, and society         Suzzallo Stacks - HD8066 .W637 2003

Books

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... OCLC WorldCat Joint catalog of thousands of major libraries in the U.S. and abroad. Beta Catalog/WorldCat Local Beta version of the catalog that simultaneously searches the UW Libraries Catalog, Summit and OCLC WorldCat plus an article database. Best used for topical searches; facilitates requesting books from other libraries.

Use databases to find articles on a topic. Use those which best fit your research topic. For a complete list of databases see Research Databases on the Library homepage.

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.

America History & Life This is the best database to find articles dealing with all aspects of American and Canadian history. Also includes citations to selected books, dissertations and reviews. Proquest Databases This is a good general beginning database to find articles on all subjects. Proquest includes newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Subsets included are Ethnic NewsWatch and Alt-Press Watch. For another similar database see Academic Search Premier. JSTOR JSTOR is a collection of more than 40 full-text history-related journals. For another collection of searchable electronic journals related to history see Project Muse.

Finding Published Primary Sources

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, government reports, newspapers and 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 that can be considered primary sources for history. These include books written during the period for your topic (i.e., during the 1930s), books written by participants, published collections of correspondence and other personal writings, memoirs and reprints of collections of primary source material. Use the UW Libraries Catalog to search for these materials. Most of the material dealing with the Pacific Northwest, both published and unpublished, is kept in Special Collections.

Limit your search by publication date. Search for books written by key participants and organizations. Browse the shelves in the appropriate subject area. Use special subject terms that designate primary sources: sources, personal narratives, diaries, correspondence, interviews Example: filipino* and interviews seattle and personal narratives

Finding Primary Sources -- Articles

The UW Libraries has a strong collection of magazines and journals from the 19th and 20th century. Many of them are in print (either in Suzzallo Periodicals or in a storage area), others are on microfilm. There is limited electronic indexing for early 20th century material.

The libraries also has a basic collection of major U.S. newspapers on microfilm for the late 19th and 20th centuries. Complete runs are available for such papers as the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Oregonian and Seattle Times. The libraries has a strong collection on Northwest papers. A selective list of Ethnic and Special Audience newspapers is available and will help identify some of the many local ethnic and labor papers available. Newspapers are housed in the Microform and Newspaper Collections (Mcnews) on the ground floor of Suzzallo.

Alternative Press Index Printed index to articles published in alternative publications, dates from 1969 to the present. Also see Alt-Press Watch with coverage mostly starting in the late 1990s. Chicago Defender - Digitized version of major African American newspaper from 1905 to 1975, part of the Black Studies Center. Ethnic Newswatch Fulltext database to articles from ethnic newspapers and magazines with some coverage back to 1960. Humanities & Social Sciences Retrospective Index, 1907-1984 Index to older American and European (includes some German) journals in the humanities and social science fields. Los Angeles Times Digitized version from 1881-1985. New York Times Digitized version from 1851 to 2003. Pacific Northwest Regional Newspaper and Periodical Index Card index available in the Special Collections located in the basement of Allen South. The regional index covers local newspapers, magazines, and other material dealing with PNW history from the 1850s to the present. Current years are available online. PAIS Index to political/economic journals and selected books and government reports from 1915 to the present. Reader's Guide Retrospective General index to American magazines for the period of 1890 to 1980.

Finding Primary Sources -- Government Reports

The UW Libraries has a strong collection of U.S. government documents including federal agency publications, congressional hearings and reports, statistics, and other material. Some material is printed while others are available on microfilm or electronically. Some material can be found through the UW Libraries Catalog, for other material use the sources listed below. For more information about locating government documents check with the Government Publications section is on the ground floor of Suzzallo.

Congressional Universe Full-text debates, bills, reports dating back to approximately 1989 and indexing of congressional reports and hearings dating back to 1789. MarciveWeb Docs Catalog to U.S. government documents published since 1976. For earlier documents see the Monthly Catalog to United States Government Publications (GovPub. 328.73 Un37m) and its predecessors. Archival Research Catalog (ARC) The National Archives has digitized a hodge-podge selection of their massive collection including more than 400 documents related to the Chinese Exclusion Act and thousands of photographs of relocation camps. Statistical Universe Indexes more than 100,000 federal statistical sources dating back to 1973 plus state, private and international statistical sources. Also see Historical statistics of the United States, colonial times to 1970.

Finding Primary Sources -- Microfilm Collections

Microfilm collections are housed in the Microform and Newspaper Collections on the ground floor of Suzzallo Library. Guides to the sets are also kept in that area.

Alaska Packer's Association records [720 microfiche] Microform-Newspapers M-1327 American Federation of Labor and the Unions: National and International Union Records from the Samuel Gompers Era, 1877-1937 [149 reels] Microform-Newspapers A6683 American Labor Unions Constitutions and Proceedings: Part I, 1836-1974 [197 reels] Microform-Newspapers A5081 American Radicalism Collection [236 reels - esp. Part 3: Race, Gender, and the Struggle for Justice and Equal Rights ] (housed at UW Tacoma, TAC-459, guide available in mcnews, reels can be requested by emailing taclib@u.washington.edu - they will be sent to mcnews) Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Papers - Western Regional Office, 1962-1965 [5 reels] Microform-Newspapers A8104 Papers of the NAACP [383 reels] Microform-Newspapers A8473 Records of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, 1895-1992 [50 reels] Microform-Newspapers A9702 Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Series A, Subject correspondence files [72 reels] Microform-Newspapers A8555 Records of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, 1895-1992 [41 reels] Microform-Newspapers A9701 U.S. Military Intelligence Reports: Surveillance of Radicals in the U.S., 1917-1941 [34 reels] - A8286

Special Collections

Special Collections collects the papers of local people and organizations as well as documents created by the University. See Comprehensive guide to the manuscripts collection and to the personal papers in the University archives for a partial listing of the available collections (Suzzallo Reference & Special Collections Z6621 .W37 1980). Special Collections is located in the basement of Allen Library South.

Finding Guides A small number of their finding guides available online. To find other relevant collections, visit Special Collections. AFL-CIO, Washington State Labor Council Records 1919-1996 [199.62 cubic feet] - Acc. #0450 Building & Construction Trades Council (Seattle, Wash.) Records 1959-1974 [4.0 cubic feet] - Acc. #2299-001 Cannery Workers and Farm Laborers Union, Local 7 records, 1915-1985 [46.31 cubic feet] - Acc. #3927-001, finding guide in Special Collections Central Seattle Community Council Federation Records 1945-1984 [28.29 cubic feet] - Acc. #1801, Congress of Racial Equality, Seattle Chapter, Records 1961-1970 [5 cubic feet] - Acc. #1563-001 Broussais C. Beck Papers 1919-1961 [2.1 cubic feet] - Acc. #0155-001, 0155-002, 0155-003 Lola Day Papers [4.97 cubic feet] - Acc. #2746-001 Katharine Bullitt Papers 1950-1991 [68 cubic feet] - Acc. #5101-001 King County Labor Council of Washington Records 1889-2003 [38.26 cubic feet] - Acc. #1940-001, 1940-002 NAACP. Seattle Branch records, 1950-1968 [1.47 cubic feet], Acc. #0465-001 Tyree Scott papers, ca. 1970-1995 [73 cubic feet] - Acc. #5245-001 University of Washington Equal Opportunity Office 1959-2005 [74.39 cubic feet] - Rec. #10.03.01 Victorio A. Velasco papers, 1920-1968 [15.17 cubic feet] - Acc. #1435-003