HIST 467: Latin America and the U.S.
Research Resources
Primary Sources | U.S. Government Documents |
Early Magazine and News Articles | Finding Books on a Topic |
Scholaryly Articles
Locating Primary Sources in the CAT
- Sources (for printed collections of documents, e.g. Texas AND sources)
- Eyewitness (Mexican war AND eyewitness)
- Personal Narratives (Mexican War AND personal narratives)
- For Speeches, Letters, Correspondence, or Diaries , search by the name of the author, e.g. James Monroe
- Use the Archives and Manuscripts limiter to search for materials in Special Collections
Use the Date limiter in the CAT to find early published material.
Collections of Primary Sources Online
Available from the list of library databases
- 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)
United State 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. Print volumes can be found in the Social Sciences Library, 2nd Floor Paterno.
LEXIS NEXIS CONGRESSIONAL 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. Laws from 1789 are also in U.S. Statutes at Large , Call #, KF50.A3, Legal Alcove, Social Sciences Library, 2nd Floor Paterno
Contemporary News and Magazine Articles
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A snapshot of contemporary opinions and attitudes |
18th and 19th Century News Sources Online
- 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
- 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)
See Microfinder for a list of early newspapers on microfilm.
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).
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.
Questions????
Ask at any Reference Desk, or contact me:
Eric Novotny, ecn1@psu.edu, 814-865-1014, AIM: HistoryLibrarian