Primary Documents

American History 1493-1945 This link opens in a new window
Module 1: Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859
Sources from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York. Contains books, diaries, correspondence, newspapers, photographs, military documents, pamphlets, broadsides and other ephemera.
“The majority of the collection is unique manuscript. It is an extensive resource for scholars, educators and students and is considered one of the finest archives for material on the revolutionary, early national, antebellum and civil war eras.”
Module 2: Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945
Includes documents on slavery, the Civil War, and secession.
HeritageQuest Online This link opens in a new window
Powered by Ancestry® provides access to more than 4.4 billion records. It delivers an essential collection of genealogical and historical sources—with coverage dating back to the 1700s—that can help people find their ancestors and discover a place’s past.
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new window
This HeinOnline collection brings together, for the first time, all essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Search JSTOR for primary documents here
Make sure you are searching in the "Search JSTOR Primary Souces" search box instead of the search box at the top of the page.

Civil War Diaries and Letters
A collection of diaries and letters from Auburn University, covering both sides of the war; each item is scanned and transcribed.
Library of Congress
Explore the Digital Collections.
- African American Women Authors of the Civil War Era: A Resource Guide
Massachusetts Digital Commonwealth
"Digital Commonwealth is a Web portal and fee-based repository service for online cultural heritage materials held by Massachusetts libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives."

Historic Newspapers

= Emmanuel Faculty, Staff & Students only

Boston Globe

Boston Globe Archive (1872-1987)
Courtesy of the BPL. Requires a BPL e-card.
Sign up for one at https://www.bpl.org/ecard/

New York Times

Web Sites

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Options include All Digitized Newspaper Pages from 1789 to 1963 and U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690 - Present. Library of Congress
Historical Newspapers Online
"Website directory of U.S. historical newspapers organized by state. Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania."
Newspaper Archives/Indexes/Morgues
Website directory for both international and U.S. news archive resources. Library of Congress.
NewspaperCat: Catalog of Historical Newspapers
"[A] tool that facilitates the discovery of online digitized historical newspaper content from newspapers published in the United States and the Caribbean." George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida

Registering for a Library Card

How to register for a full-service library card for access to all the library resources.
- Note: Apply for a BPL eCard to access the library’s remotely-accessible electronic resources.
Borrowing and Circulation information.

Resources

Newspapers guide
Includes access to 19th Century US Newspapers, American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collections, Boston Globe (1872-1987), Gale Newsvault, and Newspaper Archives.
History and Political Science guide
Includes access to several databases with primary resources.
Geneology
Select Databases at BPL. Some can only be accessed in the Central Library.
A-Z List of Electronic Resources (most available with an eCard remotely).

Tips for searching internet sources

Search terms to include: oration, speeches, letters, diaries, primary sources, archives. Limit search to specific extensions (e.g., .edu or .gov)