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
Looking for Background Info? Start here.
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 for finding additional information. 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. Many also provide a jumpstart on your research by listing related readings.
Two searchable collections of encyclopedias are
- The ABC-CLIO companion to the 1960s counterculture in America
Suzzallo Reference -- E169.02 .H3515 1997- Encyclopedia of American civil liberties
Suzzallo Reference - KF4747.5 .E53 2006- Encyclopedia of American social history
Undergraduate Reference, Suzzallo Reference -- HN57 .E58 1993- Encyclopedia of the Cold War
Suzzallo Reference -- D840 .E63 2008- Encyclopedia of the United States in the twentieth century
Suzzallo Reference -- E740.7 .E33 1996Looking for Books? Start here.
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
Use the catalog to find books in the UW Library system as well as to find out if the library has a subscription to a magazine or journal.- Summit
Use Summit to request books that are not available, or are checked out, from other Northwest academic libraries.- Beta Catalog/WorldCat Local
Beta version of the catalog that simultaneously searches the UW Libraries Catalog, Summit and libraries worldwide plus an article database. Best used for topical searches; facilitates requesting books from other libraries.
Looking for Articles? Start here.
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.
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.
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
JSTOR is a collection of more than 40 full-text history-related journals. For another collection of searchable electronic journals related to history seeLooking for Primary Sources? Start here.
Using Secondary Sources to Find Primary Sources
One of the quickest ways to identify primary sources on a topic is to scan the footnotes and bibliography of a secondary source such as a book or article. 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 1940s), 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.
Finding Primary Sources -- Articles
- 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:
- vietnam war and veterans and interviews
- civil rights workers and correspondence
- vietnam war and personal narratives
The UW Libraries has a strong collection of magazines, journals and newspapers from the 20th century. Most magazines and journals are kept in Suzzallo Periodicals on the 3rd floor of Suzzallo Library. Newspapers are on microfilm and kept in the Microform and Newspaper Collections on the ground floor of Suzzallo.
- Alternative Press Index - Suzzallo Reference AI3 .A48
Printed index to articles published in alternative publications, dates from 1969 to the present. Also see
Fulltext database to articles from ethnic newspapers and magazines with some coverage back to 1960.
Index to older American and European journals in the humanities and social science fields.- Kaiser Index to Black Resources 1948-1986 - Suzzallo Reference Z1361 N39 K34 1992
Index to articles published in African American publications such as Jet and Ebony
Digitized version from 1881-1985.
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.
Index to political/economic journals and selected books and government reports from 1915 to the present.
General index to American magazines for the period of 1890 to 1980.Looking for Government Documents? Start here.
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. Also check under the website section for links to presidential libraries with digitized documents. For more information about locating government documents check with the Government Publications section is on the ground floor of Suzzallo.
Full-text debates, bills, reports dating back to approximately 1989 and indexing of congressional reports and hearings dating back to 1789.
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.
Digitized declassified documents regarding critical US foreign policy decisionsLooking for Microfilm Collections? Start here.
Microfilmed manuscript collections provide a rich and comprehensive set of primary sources from a particular organization or on a specific topic. The collections below are those that are most relevant for this class. For a more complete list see selected list of microfilm sets. Microfilm collections and their guides are housed in the Microform and Newspaper Collections (mcnews) on the ground floor of Suzzallo.
- 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)
- FBI File, NAACP [4 reels] - A8259
- FBI file on NNC [2 reels] - A8260
- Gay Rights Movement: Gay Activists Alliance, 1969-1981 [21 reels] - A9675
- Gay Rights Movement: Mattachine Society of New York, Inc. 1955-1987 [24 reels] - A9664
- Malcolm X: FBI surveillance file [2 reels] - A7225
- The Martin Luther King, Jr., FBI file [25 reels] - A8281 pt.1 and pt. 2
- Papers of the NAACP [383 reels] - A8473
- Papers of the Nixon White House - M2771
- Records of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, 1895-1992 [50 reels] - A9702
- Records of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, 1895-1992 [41 reels] - A9701
- The Will Hays Papers, 1879-1954 [78 reels] - A9793
Looking for Websites? Start here.
The Web is a growing source for primary sources dealing with U.S. history. The sites listed here have substantial collections of primary sources dealing with American history. See Using Primary Sources on the Web for information on finding and evaluating history websites.
History on the Web | Chicago Styleguide | Research 101 tutorial | E. Till example
24 September 2007
Theresa Mudrock
