Primary Documents
- American History 1493-1945 This link opens in a new windowModule 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. - Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America This link opens in a new windowContains manuscripts, artwork, photographs, rare printed books, and maps related to the historical and personal stories of the colonization of the Americas from early contacts between European settlers and American Indians to the modern era, and told against the backdrop of the 19th century expansion into the Western Frontier right through to the civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century. Sources from the Edward E. Ayer Collection at The Newberry Library, Chicago.
- HeritageQuest Online This link opens in a new windowPowered 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 windowThis HeinOnline collection brings together, for the first time, all essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world.
- Civil War Diaries and LettersA collection of diaries and letters from Auburn University, covering both sides of the war; each item is scanned and transcribed.
- Library of CongressExplore the Digital Collections.
- 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
- New York Times - Academic Pass This link opens in a new windowUse the TimesMachine site to explore over 150 years of Times journalism, as it originally appeared.
Web Sites
- Chronicling America: Historic American NewspapersOptions include All Digitized Newspaper Pages from 1789 to 1963 and U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690 - Present. Library of Congress
- Newspaper Archives/Indexes/MorguesWebsite 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
- Google Archival NewspapersClick "Search Archive" to limit to the archive newspapers.
BPL Resources
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).
Additional Resources
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)