HIST 302W: U.S.-Mexico War
Research Resources
Reference Works | Finding Books on a Topic | Scholarly Articles |
U.S. Government Documents | Primary Source Collections |
Early Magazine & News Articles
Can provide brief overviews of historical people, places, and events. They also refer you to key articles and books, and supply important names and dates.
Online Reference Works, http://www.lias.psu.edu/alall.html
- Encyclopedia of American Studies
- Gale Virtual Reference Library (hundreds of online sources)
- Oxford Reference Online (works published by Oxford University Press)
- Biographies, http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/format/biographies.htm
- Statistics: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/format/statistics.htm
Print Reference Works
Autobiographical Writings on Mexico : an Annotated Bibliography of Primary Sources
Call # CT553.W655 2005, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, 2nd Floor Pattee
Early U.S.-Hispanic Relations, 1776-1860: An Annotated Bibliography
Call # F1418.T37 1994, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, 2nd Floor Pattee
Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society, and Culture
Call # F1204.E539 1997, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, 2nd Floor Pattee
Encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War
Call # E404.C93 1999, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, 2nd Floor Pattee
Historical Dictionary of the United States-Mexican War
Call # E404.M84 1997, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, 2nd Floor Pattee
International Historical Statistics, the Americas, 1750-2000
Call # HA1755.M55 2003, Social Sciences Reference Collection, 2nd Floor Paterno
Mexican-American War: An Annotated Bibliography
Call # Z1241.T87, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, 2nd Floor Pattee
Searching for Books on Your Topic
Use The CAT (Penn State's catalog) to search for materials (books, videos, maps, etc…) in the library's collections.
To search other libraries use the database WorldCAT. Material can be sent to PSU for your use (allow at least a week for delivery).
To search E-Books, http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/format/electronicbook.htm
Tips for locating published primary sources in The CAT
Try the following in The CAT.
- Sources (printed collections of documents, e.g. Mexico AND sources)
- Eyewitness (Mexican war AND eyewitness)
- Personal Narratives (Mexican War AND personal narratives)
- For Memoirs, Letters, or Diaries, search the name of the author, e.g. James Polk
Use the Date limiter in the CAT to find materials published around 1846.
Searching for Scholarly Articles on Your Topic
To find articles on your topic, use an Index. The primary indexes are listed below. Almost none of these resources are available on the free Web. If the article is not online, search The CAT to see if the library owns the journal the article appeared in. If the library owns the journal The CAT will indicate where it can be found.
- America: History & Life (Articles published since 1954 in history journals)
Includes links to full-text journals in History Cooperative, JSTOR, and MUSE - Handbook of Latin American Studies
- Hispanic American Periodicals Index
- Historical Abstracts (articles in world history journals)
- IIBP (International Index to Black Periodicals) Full Text
- Periodicals Archive Online
For MORE Article databases use the Find Articles by Subject page,
http://www.lias.psu.edu/gensubjlist.html
United States Government Publications
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The U.S. Government issues thousands of reports on legal, social, and political issues. Most are in the Social Sciences Library, 2nd Floor, Paterno. Some government documents appear in The CAT, others require specialized access tools. |
CONGRESSIONAL DEBATES appear in a series of publications: Annals of Congress, 1789-1824, Congressional Debates, 1824-1837, Congressional Globe, 1835-1874, Congressional Record, 1874-Present. Volumes up to 1873 are online: A Century of Lawmaking, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html. Print volumes can be found in the Social Sciences Library, 2nd Floor Paterno.
LEXIS NEXIS CONGRESSIONAL, http://www.lias.psu.edu/alall.html An index to many Congressional documents. Also includes the full-text of the U.S. Serial Set. Copies of most Congressional publications are in the Social Sciences Library, 2nd floor Paterno.
FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1861- (3rd Floor Paterno) The official record of U.S. foreign policy with correspondence and papers on major policies and decisions. Some years are online, http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/FRUS/
EXECUTIVE BRANCH DOCUMENTS (State Dept., U.S. Army, etc.) are often listed in The CAT. Search by topic, or agency. Search the President as AUTHOR in The CAT to find other documents. Many early Presidential messages and addresses are included in The Serial Set (see Lexis Nexis Congressional above)
COURT DECISIONS and LAWS are online via Academic Universe, http://www.lias.psu.edu/alall.html Laws from 1789 are also in U.S. Statutes at Large , Call #, KF50.A3, Legal Alcove, Social Sciences Library, 2nd Floor Paterno
Collections of Primary Sources Online
Available from the list of library databases, http://www.lias.psu.edu/alall.html
- Archive of Americana (early U.S. books, pamphlets and newspapers)
- North American Women: Letters and Diaries (From colonial times to present)
- Women's History Online, 1543-1945 (early books and journal articles)
Full-text Literary Databases,
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/artshumanities/literature/index.htm#primary
Early Books Online,
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/format/electronicbook.htm#c
Contemporary News and Magazine Articles
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Magazine and news articles can provide a snapshot of contemporary opinion on a topic, revealing current attitudes |
18th and 19th Century News Sources
Online Databases, http://www.libraries.psu.edu/eres/PSU_azlist.html
- American Periodicals Series, 1741-1900+, 1,000+ magazines up to around 1930
- America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922
- British Periodicals (still being developed)
- Nation Digital Archive, 1865-present (a liberal news magazine)
- New York Times, 1851-2003 (current years on Proquest)
- Times of London, 1785-1985 (for a British perspective)
20th Century News Sources
Online Databases, http://www.libraries.psu.edu/eres/PSU_azlist.html
- Academic Universe (full-text news sources, some back to the early 1980's)
- Ethnic Newswatch (Hispanic-American news)
- Nation Digital Archive, 1865-present
- New York Times, 1851-2003 (current years on Proquest)
- Times of London, 1785-1985 (if a British perspective is desired)
Looking for More News? – See Microfinder for a list of early newspapers on microfilm, http://www.libraries.psu.edu/newsandmicroforms/microfinder/intronew.htm
Questions????
Ask at any Reference Desk, or contact me:
Eric Novotny, ecn1@psu.edu, 814-865-1014, AIM: HistoryLibrarian