US History Sources in Oxford Jane Rawson Vere Harmsworth Librarian US Studies Subject Consultant

Summary Finding publications ◦ Books, journals, journal articles, theses Electronic resources ◦ e-books via SOLO/OLIS ◦ Subscription databases via OxLIP+ ◦ e-journals via OU e-journals Primary sources Special collections & archives

Vere Harmsworth Library Principal research library for US History at Oxford Located in the Rothermere American Institute on South Parks Road facebook.com/vereharmsworthlibrary

Finding books Library catalogues ◦ SOLO/OLIS ( ◦ British Library ( ◦ COPAC ( ◦ WorldCat ( or via OxLIP+) Bibliographies ◦ America: History & Life Reviews ◦ American Historical Review ◦ Reviews in American History

Finding journals Print & electronic ◦ Library catalogues ◦ Bibliographies ◦ OU e-journals (via OxLIP+) Journal articles ◦ Bibliographies (print & online) ◦ Google Scholar (

Finding dissertations & theses ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (US) Index to Theses (UK) Theses completed and in progress (UK, online/theses) online/theses SOLO/OLIS (Oxford) ORA (Oxford recent, via SOLO or EThOS (UK,

America: History & Life Bibliographic database History of the US and Canada from prehistory to the present Published since 1964 with details of journal articles etc since 1954 Indexes over 2,000 journals Available via SOLO/OxLIP+

Electronic resources e-books ◦ SOLO/OxLIP+ ◦ Google Books ( ◦ Internet Archive ( e-journals via OU e-journals/OxLIP+ Subscription databases via OxLIP+ ◦ Primary sources Remote access ◦ Sign in to SOLO/OxLIP+ using single sign-on

Sources: books Early American Imprints I: Evans Early English Books Online (EEBO) Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) Google Books ( Internet Archive ( Making of Modern Law Making of America (U of Michigan, Cornell) Microform collections in VHL ◦ Travels in the Old South ◦ Travels in the New South ◦ Travels in the West and Southwest

Early American Imprints I: Evans Collection of 37,000+ full text early printed American imprints ( ) Originally compiled in the American Bibliography by Charles Evans, and the supplement by Roger Bristol Very wide-ranging: covers every aspect of life in 17 th & 18 th century America, and all sorts of publications from books & pamphlets to advertisements, chapbooks, hymnals, wills etc

Early English Books Online (EEBO) Contains bibliographical references of Pollard & Redgrave’s Short Title Catalogue ( ) and Wing’s Short Title Catalogue ( ). 96,000+ images of early printed material Includes material printed in the American colonies

Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) Nearly 150,000 English-language titles and editions published between 1701 and 1800 being made available online (still in progress) When complete, will allow full-text searching of more than 33 million pages of material – every significant English- language and foreign-language title printed in the UK, along with thousands of important works from the Americas

Google Books & the Internet Archive Millions of digitised printed books Full text access only to out-of-copyright material, but listings and snippets of many more Google Books agreement extends coverage to ‘orphan works’ Oxford material can be found in Google Books

Making of Modern Law Over 21,000 works from the 19 th and early 20 th centuries Covers British, Commonwealth and American law Legal focus: casebooks, treatises, manuals, as well as monographs But wide-ranging in terms of subjects covered: also politics, military, religion, labour, social welfare etc

Making of America University of Michigan: Cornell University (much smaller): Thousands of digitised primary sources (books and journals) 19 th century US social history

Microform collections Subject guide in VHL or online at Hundreds of books, journals, travel literature, diaries, biographies Three major collections of printed material: ◦ Travels in the Old South ◦ Travels in the New South ◦ Travels in the West and Southwest (not all on SOLO, see also the online lists at

Sources: Newspapers, magazines, periodicals American Periodicals Series 19 th Century US Newspapers ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chronicling America Ethnic NewsWatch Black Journals Nexis UK (current) Early American Newspapers Print news magazines in VHL and BOD BAAS newspaper catalogue BL newspaper catalogue Online digitisation projects

American Periodicals Series Over 1,100 periodicals that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900 Includes special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children’s and women’s magazines, and many other historically significant periodicals Access via SOLO/OxLIP+

19 th Century US Newspapers Approximately 1.7 million pages (over 28 million articles) from c.500 newspapers Newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the US Covers entire 19 th century Emphasis on topics such as the American Civil War, African-American culture & history, Western migration, economic development, the Antebellum era and many other subjects

ProQuest Historical Newspapers Full-text access to the archives of major US newspapers: ◦ The New York Times, ◦ The Washington Post, ◦ The Chicago Defender, ◦ The New York Amsterdam News, ◦ The Pittsburgh Courier, New York Times and Washington Post also held on microfilm in the VHL (up to 2005)

Chronicling America Freely available online Provided by the Library of Congress Search and view newspaper pages from Includes newspapers from Arizona, California, DC, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington

Ethnic NewsWatch Covers US ethnic and minority newspapers and other periodicals Coverage begins in 1990 Bilingual database (English and Spanish) Access via SOLO/OxLIP+

Black Journals Microfilm of 17 titles from the first half of the 20 th century VHL Micr. USA Listed in VHL microform guide (

Nexis UK Access to thousands of news sources from all over the world Current and recent (up to 20 years in some cases) Not page images Restrict search by source (either individual titles or geographic location)

Early American Newspapers Microfilms in VHL (search SOLO or browse microform list) 18 th /19 th century (largely c ) Coverage is particularly good for the original 13 states Online list of all newspapers on microfilm at the VHL available at Available online from British Library (for BL members) until September

News magazines Many available in VHL or Bodleian bookstack – search SOLO. Often also available online via Nexis UK etc. VHL titles include: ◦ The Nation, ◦ The New Republic, ◦ National Review, (incomplete) ◦ National Journal, (incomplete) ◦ US News & World Report, ◦ Ebony, BOD titles include: Time, (also online from 1923 via LIFE magazine available via Google Books

Elsewhere BAAS newspaper catalogue ◦ Listing of US newspaper holdings in UK libraries ◦ ew=catalog&joobase=4&letter=f&Itemid=20 ew=catalog&joobase=4&letter=f&Itemid=20 BL Newspaper Library ◦ British Library’s newspaper holdings all at Colindale. ◦ Search via BL catalogue ( Wikipedia list of online newspaper archives ◦ ine_newspaper_archives#United_States ine_newspaper_archives#United_States

Sources: Official papers, government publications, foreign policy etc. Monthly Catalog US Congressional Serial Set Congressional Record & predecessors House & Senate Journals Congressional Committee Hearings American State Papers Colonial State Papers Presidential Papers American Founding Era Collection

Sources: Official papers, government publications, foreign policy etc. Foreign Relations of the United States Declassified Documents Reference System Digital National Security Archive Confidential Print North America HeinOnline FDSys VHL online guide:

Monthly Catalog Indexes all US government publications Print, , VHL reference section Online from July ( Cumulative subject index ( ) in VHL (Ref. Z 1223.A )

US Congressional Serial Set Contains reports and documents of Congress Contains House & Senate Journals until 1952 Covers [via SOLO/OxLIP+] Post-1994 freely available online via FDSys ( 19 th century print volumes also in VHL Stack.

Congressional Record (and predecessors) Verbatim record of proceedings in Congress VHL holdings cover 43 rd -97 th Congresses ( ) in print, then 97 th -101 st Congress ( ) in microform. Post 1918 volumes on ground floor, earlier volumes in stack. Microforms at Micr. USA 237 Online access via FDSys (1994-), THOMAS ( ) American Memory ( ) Preceded by Annals of Congress ( ), Register of Debates ( ), Congressional Globe ( ), all in print VHL Stack. Some also available online via American Memory or Google Books.

House & Senate Journals Minutes, daily record of business Not verbatim record of debates (though earlier volumes may contain excerpts of speeches) Contained in Serial Set until 1952 (via OxLIP+). VHL also has some print volumes: ◦ House Journal: 1963, 1966, (xKF 46.A22) ◦ Senate Journal: , 1981 (xKF 45.A22)

Congressional Committee Hearings Not to be confused with the reports to Congress in the Serial Set (although some 19 th C hearings included in Serial Set) VHL has a substantial collection of mid 20 th century hearings in print – search SOLO (but not all catalogued). CIS Index to Committee Hearings ( ) in VHL Reference section (Ref. Z 1223.Z7 C ) Also listed in Monthly Catalog ( Need the SuDoc reference number (begins Y.4) to find the document in the VHL stack (ask staff) If not in VHL, try the British Library Recent hearings and prints (1995-) available online via FDSys

American State Papers Legislative and executive documents from Arranged in 10 topical classes: ◦ Foreign Relations ◦ Indian Affairs ◦ Finances ◦ Commerce & Navigation ◦ Military Affairs ◦ Naval Affairs ◦ Post Office Department ◦ Public Lands ◦ Claims ◦ Miscellaneous Available via SOLO/OxLIP+ (also in VHL Stack)

Colonial State Papers Thousands of papers concerning English activities in the American, Canadian, and West Indian colonies. Covers Includes papers presented to the Privy Council and Board of Trade between Available via SOLO/OxLIP+

Other Early State Papers Journals of the Continental Congress, : ◦ ml ml Papers of the Continental Congress, ◦ Freely available via footnote.com _congress_papers/ _congress_papers/

Other Early State Papers Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, [VHL Stack] Journals of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts, [VHL J 84.M4] Journals of the House of Representatives (South Carolina), [VHL xJ 87.S ] Journals of the House of Representatives of the Commonweath of Pennsylvania, [Available via Early American Imprints (OxLIP+)]

Presidential Papers Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, [VHL J 80.A283; online via HeinOnline] US Presidential Library [via HeinOnline (OxLIP+)] Published/collected papers of various presidents (search SOLO; some early papers also in American Founding Era Collection via OxLIP+) American Presidency Project ( Many digitisation projects online (Jefferson, Lincoln, Washington, Madison) Presidential Libraries for private papers (

American Founding Era Collection Digital versions of papers of major figures from the early republic: ◦ Papers of James Madison ◦ Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution ◦ Papers of Thomas Jefferson ◦ Adams Papers ◦ Papers of George Washington ◦ Dolley Madison letters ◦ Papers of Alexander Hamilton [pending] Via SOLO/OxLIP+

Foreign Relations of the United States Presents the official documentary historical record of major US foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. NB, edited! Documents come from Presidential Libraries, Departments of State and Defense, National Security Council, CIA among others. Volumes are arranged geographically/thematically Currently publishing volumes for Nixon-Ford Administrations. Available: HeinOnline (1861-) [via OxLIP+] University of Wisconsin ( ) State Department (1945-) Print in VHL (JX 233.A3)

Declassified Documents Reference System Over 75,000 declassified documents covering Includes memos, cables, correspondence, field reports, situation reports, extensive background studies, minutes of meetings Excludes GPO publications, treaties and agreements, statistics, and legislation Via SOLO/OxLIP+

Digital National Security Archive Over 60,000 declassified documents Obtained under FOIA requests by the National Security Archive at George Washington University Arranged into topical collections Available via OxLIP+

Confidential Print North America Selection of Colonial Office and Foreign Office papers from the National Archives in Kew. Covers Includes reports, dispatches, weekly summaries Covers US, Canada, Caribbean. Also some coverage of South America. Available via OxLIP+

19 th C Diplomatic Despatches and Instructions Microfilms of despatches from US Consuls in Latin America/South America and China Microfilms of Diplomatic Instructions of the Department of State, See microfilm guide ( for full list of countries coveredhttp://bit.ly/vhlmicrofilms

HeinOnline Vast legal database, available via OxLIP+ Collections relevant to US legal history/governent: ◦ Federal Register Library, ◦ Foreign Relations of the United States, ◦ Treaties and Agreements Library, ◦ United States Code, ◦ US Federal Legislative History Library ◦ US Presidential Library ◦ US Statutes at Large, ◦ US Supreme Court Library

FDSys (Federal Digital System) Government Printing Office online system Provides access to full text of most government publications from the mid- 1990s-

Sources: Censuses, Statistics, Data Print census volumes (early censuses in Serial Set) Historical Census Browser (University of Virginia) Footnote.com Census project [requires subscription for full information] Historical Statistics of the United States [via OxLIP+, also print in VHL reference section] Online eg. Gallup Presidential Job Approval Center ( Approval-Center.aspx) (see VHL’s delicious page for more) Approval-Center.aspx Opinion polls: iPoll [via OxLIP+], Gallup [print in VHL]

Sources: Papers, Archives, Special Collections VHL microforms Rhodes House Library Bodleian Library Elections Archive (VHL) Finding aids

VHL microforms Subject guide and title listing available either in the library or online at: As well as newspapers, papers of individuals and organisations: ◦ Individuals: Adams Family, James Buchanan, Salmon P. Chase, William H. Seward, Thaddeus Stevens ◦ Organisations: NAACP, CORE, Nixon White House, Republican Party, American Colonization Society, American Home Missionary Society, Freedman’s Aid Society

Rhodes House Library Archives United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel ◦ Founded in 1701 as a result of an enquiry into the state of the Church of England in the American Colonies. ◦ Sent priests and schoolteachers; remit also included evangelisation of slaves and Native Americans Papers of the (British) Anti-Slavery Society ◦ Collection covers and includes correspondence, minutes, sermons, reports, financial records, maps, photographs.

Bodleian Library Special Collections Includes papers of three British Ambassadors to the US: ◦ Sir John Crampton, ◦ Sir James Bryce, ◦ Roger Mellor Makins, 1 st Baron Sherfield, cialcollections for more information cialcollections

US Elections Campaigns Archive Large archive of election campaigns ephemera donated to the VHL/RAI. Mostly late 20 th century, but some older items Contains buttons, bumper stickers, leaflets, ballot papers and other campaign materials. Material from all levels of elections, local, state, congressional, presidential. Currently being catalogued.

Finding aids UK: ArchivesHub ( US: National Archives and Records Administration ( ◦ Includes more than 124,000 digital images through the Archival Research Catalog NIDS (National Inventory of Document Sources) ◦ Index: VHL Ref. Z 6621.U58 N37 (microfiche)

Sources: audio-visual Lyndon B. Johnson: Recordings of Telephone Conversations and Meetings, May 1968-January 1969 [43 CDs + transcripts; ask VHL staff] Presidential Recordings Program (Miller Center for Public Affairs) YouTube ◦ Library of Congress ◦ National Archives ◦ Presidential Libraries Elsewhere on the web (see VHL’s delicious page)

Sources: biographical American National Biography (via SOLO/OxLIP+) World Biographical Archive (via SOLO/OxLIP+) Who’s Who (VHL and online via Nexis UK) Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, (

Sources: other electronic (via OxLIP+) Early Encounters in North America ◦ Over 100,000 pages of letters, diaries, memoirs and accounts from 1,482 authors North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories ◦ More than 100,000 pages of personal narratives ◦ Covers North American Women’s Letters and Diaries ◦ 150,000 pages of published letters and diaries ◦ Covers Colonial times to 1950

Sources: on the web VHL’s delicious page ( State digital libraries & historical associations Hathi Trust ( Other digitization projects Library of Congress ◦ American Memory ( ◦ THOMAS ( Footnote.com [subscription for full access] ◦ List of collections at:

For more help! Online Guide to US History Sources ( US Studies Resources Blog (