U.S. History: Finding Articles

Here is a sample of search terms:

Primary sources: are documents or pieces of evidence written or created during the time period you are researching or studying.  A primary source is an original source that allows you to examine evidence firsthand without opinions from others.

Examples of primary sources for History:

• Diaries, personal letters, and correspondence
• Photographs and video footage
• Official documents and records (birth certificates, property deeds, trial transcripts)
• Physical objects
• Interviews, surveys, and fieldwork
• Books, magazine and newspaper articles and ads published at the time
• Speeches and oral histories
• Research data, such as census statistics
• Official and unofficial records of organizations and government agencies
• Artifacts of all kinds, such as tools, coins, clothing, furniture, etc.
• Government documents (reports, bills, proclamations, hearings, etc.)
• Scientific journal articles reporting experimental research results

Secondary sources: describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources.  A secondary source is generally one or more steps removed from the event or time period and are written or produced after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. 

Examples of Secondary Sources in History:

• Bibliographies
• Biographical works
• Reference books, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and atlases
• Articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers after the event
• Literature reviews and review articles (e.g., movie reviews, book reviews)
• History books and other popular or scholarly books
• Works of criticism and interpretation
• Commentaries and treatises
• Textbooks
• Indexes and abstracts

History Reference Center 

A full-text history reference database designed for secondary schools, public libraries, junior/community colleges, and undergraduate research. The database features reference books, encyclopedias, non-fiction books, and history periodicals as well as thousands of historical documents, biographies of historical figures, photos, maps, and over 80 hours of historical video.

Chronicling America 

Provides access to nearly 3,000 digitized newspapers. The site was developed as an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages. Use Chronicling America to search digitized newspaper pages from 1789-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information.

Congressional Research Service 

The Library of Congress Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides searchable access to the full-text CRS reports. Created by experts in CRS, the reports present a legislative perspective on topics such as agriculture policy, counterterrorism operations, banking regulation, veterans issues and much more.

The Reference Shelf - Salem Press 

Access to full-text of significant documents in American History from 1763 to 2003. Each entry includes an overview of the document, context of the document, a time line, information about the author and the audience, explanation and analysis of the document, impact of the document, and more.

Research Guide for Students 

Explore in-depth resources for key literary works, and writing and research guides to assist with research.

The Process of Research Writing 

A web-based research writing textbook by Steven D. Krause