Primary Source Databases via CSU Libraries
- AAS Historical Periodicals Collection. Series 1
Coverage: 1684-1820
Provides digital access to a comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1820. Subject coverage includes advertising, health, women's issues, science, the history of slavery, industry, and professions, religious issues, culture, the arts, and more. - AAS Historical Periodicals Collection. Series 2Coverage: 1821-1837
Provides digital access to a comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1821 and 1837. Subject coverage includes advertising, health, women's issues, science, the history of slavery, industry, and professions, religious issues, culture, the arts, and more. - AAS Historical Periodicals Collection. Series 3Coverage: 1838-1852
Provides digital access to a comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1838 and 1852. Subject coverage includes advertising, health, women's issues, science, the history of slavery, industry, professions, religious issues, culture, the arts, and more. - AAS Historical Periodicals Collection. Series 4Coverage: 1853-1865
Provides digital access to a comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1853 and 1865. Subject coverage includes advertising, health, women's issues, science, the history of slavery, industry, professions, religious issues, culture, the arts, and more. - AAS Historical Periodicals Collection. Series 5Coverage: 1866-1877
Provides digital access to a comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1866 and 1912 Subject coverage includes advertising, health, women's issues, science, the history of slavery, industry, professions, religious issues, culture, the arts, and more. - Ebony Magazine ArchiveCoverage: 1945-2014
Originally published by John H. Johnson beginning in November 1945, Ebony has served as an influential African-American magazine promoting stories important to the black community and focusing on the achievements of African-American leaders. Spanning 70 years of content, from 1945 through 2014, this searchable full-text archive provides an in-depth look at African-American business, history, politics, entertainment, fashion, and culture. - Eight CenturiesCoverage: 1106 to 1930
Eight Centuries (formerly: 19th Century Masterfile): 1106-1930 is a comprehensive database aggregating scholarly indexes to journals, newspapers, books, documents, artwork, and images. - Eighteenth Century Collections OnlineCoverage: 1701-1800
Sponsored By: CSU Department of English Wentworth Funds
Over 180,000 titles (200,000 volumes). Includes books, pamphlets, essays, broadsides and more. Primarily in English and published in the UK in the 18th century. Full-text searchable. Digital page images. Topics include history, geography, social sciences, religion, philosophy, fine arts, literature, language, law, medicine, science, and technology. - Ethnic NewsWatchCoverage: 1959 to present
A comprehensive full-text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. - Independent VoicesCoverage: Varies
Sponsored By: CSU Department of English Wentworth Funds
Collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines, and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.
- American Civil War: Letters and DiariesCoverage: 1855-1875
Collection of American Civil War (1861-1865) letters, diaries, memoirs, and biographies. - American Civil War: Letters and DiariesCoverage: 1855-1875
Collection of American Civil War (1861-1865) letters, diaries, memoirs, and biographies. - Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940
Made possible through the generosity of the College of Liberal Arts. Information on LGBTQ life in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond. Experiences of the LGBTQ community as a whole and individuals of different races, ethnicities, ages, religions, political orientations, and geographical locations. Historical records of political and social organizations founded by LGBTQ individuals, publications by and for lesbians and gays, and extensive coverage of governmental responses to the AIDS crisis. Personal correspondence and interviews. Gay and lesbian newspapers, and much more.
- Archives UnboundCoverage: Varies
U.S. foreign policy; U.S. civil rights; global affairs and colonial studies; and modern history. Broad topic clusters include: African American studies; American Indian studies; Asian studies; British history; Holocaust studies; LGBT studies; Latin American and Caribbean studies; Middle East studies; political science; religious studies; and women’s studies - Black Freedom Struggle in the United StatesCoverage: 1790-2000
Features approximately 1,600 primary source documents related to critical people and events in Black or African American history, particularly regarding the struggle against racial injustice in the United States. - Black Thought and CultureCoverage: Varies
Contains the non-fiction published works of leading African Americans, including interviews, journal articles, letters and other fugitive material. - Black Women in AmericaCoverage: Varies
Describes the achievements of black women throughout history and highlights their ongoing contributions in America today. - British & Irish Women's Letters & DiariesCoverage:1550-1950
Provides access to more than 400 years of personal writings, bringing together the voices of women from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. - Civil War in Words and DeedsCoverage: 1860-1865
These first-person accounts, compiled in the postwar period and early 20th Century period, chronicle the highs and lows of army life. - Civil War Primary Source DocumentsCoverage:1861-1865
Archives contain original historical documents an information from individual collections. Chronicles various aspects of the Civil War, including warfare on land and sea, hospitals, prison camps, and reactions and impressions about the War from the home front. Primary resources include original manuscripts of letters, diaries, administrative records, photographs, illustrations, and artifacts. Both Northern and Southern perspectives are represented. It also contains contextual documents leading up to the War and after its conclusion - Early American Imprints: Evans 1639-1800Coverage: 1639-1800
Sponsored By: Irene Bostrom Endowment in the CSU College of Liberal Arts and Wentworth Funds
Books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the renowned bibliography by Charles Evans. - Early American Imprints: Supplement, 1670-1800Coverage: 1670-1800
Sponsored By: Irene Bostrom Endowment in the CSU College of Liberal Arts and Wentworth Funds
From the acclaimed holdings of the Library Company of Philadelphia comes a broad range of recently uncovered books, pamphlets and broadsides, etc. - Early Encounters in North AmericaCoverage: 1474 to present
The collection focuses on personal accounts and perspectives from traders, slaves, missionaries, explorers, soldiers, native peoples, and officials, both men and women. Published and unpublished accounts, including narratives, diaries, journals, and letters. - Early English Books OnlineCoverage: 1473-1700
Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700. Searchable full text is also available for a subset of the collection. - Eight CenturiesCoverage: 1106 to 1930
Eight Centuries (formerly: 19th Century Masterfile): 1106-1930 is a comprehensive database aggregating scholarly indexes to journals, newspapers, books, documents, artwork, and images. - Eighteenth Century Collections OnlineCoverage: 1701-1800
Sponsored By: CSU Department of English Wentworth Funds
Over 180,000 titles (200,000 volumes). Includes books, pamphlets, essays, broadsides and more. Primarily in English and published in the UK in the 18th century. Full-text searchable. Digital page images. Topics include history, geography, social sciences, religion, philosophy, fine arts, literature, language, law, medicine, science, and technology. - Gateway to North America: People, Places, and Organizations of the 19th-Century New YorkCoverage: 19th Century
Print and manuscript directories, member lists, travel guides and other sources, chronicling the people and organizations of New York City from the late 18th through the early 20th century. - Gilded AgeCoverage: 1865 to 1902
Rare materials, including songs, letters, photographs, cartoons, government documents, and ephemera. Covering such themes as race, labor, immigration, commerce, western expansion, and women’s suffrage, to illuminate the rapidly changing cultural landscape of America during the decades between the end of the Civil War and the election of Theodore Roosevelt. - Iter Bibliography
Coverage: Varies
Sponsored By: CSU Department of English Wentworth Funds
Indexes materials pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400–1700), including books, articles, bibliographies, catalogues, abstracts, dissertations, and essays. - North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral HistoriesCoverage: 1840 to present
Publications of all kinds, from the political party newspapers at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the dailies at the century's end. Includes major newspapers as well as those published by African Americans, Native Americans, women's rights groups, labor groups, the Confederacy, and other groups and interests. Also included are illustrated papers. - North American Women's Letters and DiariesCoverage: 1675 to 1950
Collection of women's diaries, correspondence, and published letters and diaries from individuals writing from Colonial times to 1950. Drawn from: journal articles, pamphlets, newsletters, monographs, and conference proceedings. Represented are all age groups and life stages, all ethnicities, many geographical regions, the famous and the not so famous. It includes some 300 biographies. - Overland Journeys; Travels in the West, 1800-1880Coverage: 1800-1880
Selections from the microfilm collections Travels in the West and Southwest and the Plains & Rockies, this digital collection provides a unique window on Western History. 71,133 images - Revolutionary War Era Orderly Books from the New York Historical SocietyCoverage: 1748-1817
Contains handwritten volumes documenting military orders, movements and engagements by brigade, regiment, company and other specific military units between 1748 and 1817. Provides detailed accounts of troops' daily lives, documenting everything from court-martial cases to the price of necessities charged by locals. - Indigenous Peoples of North America
Coverage: 18th to 20th centuries
For research into the culture and heritage of indigenous people, a comprehensive yet personal collection covering the history of American Indian tribes and supporting organizations. Content is sourced from both American and Canadian institutions, as well as direct-from-source from newspapers from various tribes and Indian-related organizations. Also features indigenous-language materials, including dictionaries, bibles, and primers.
- Access World NewsCoverage: Varies
Access World News from NewsBank provides full-text information and perspectives from over 600 U.S. and over 700 international sources, each with its own distinctive focus offering diverse viewpoints on local, regional and world issues. Date coverage varies with individual newspaper. - Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 1Coverage: Colonial to 1960 (with occasional later items)
U.S. Hispanic history, literature and culture from colonial times until 1960. Focuses on the creative life of U.S. Latinos and Hispanics. Content is written, indexed and searchable in Spanish and English. - Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 2Coverage: 18th century to 1970s (with occasional later items)
U.S. Hispanic history, literature and culture from colonial times until 1960. Focuses on Hispanic American civil rights, religion and women’s rights from the 18th through the 20th century. Content is written, indexed and searchable in Spanish and English. - Chicago Tribune (1985-present)Coverage: 1985 to present
Full text of the Chicago Tribune via ProQuest U.S. Major Dailies. - Colorado Historic Newspapers CollectionCoverage: 1859 to 1923
Provides full-page images of newspapers published in Colorado from 1859-1922, and others post-1922 as copyright clearance permits. Newspapers within the collection come from throughout the state and include papers published in English, German, Spanish, or Swedish. - Early American NewspapersCoverage: 1823-1860
Events covered include: Second Great Awakening, Lowell Textile Mills, Monroe Doctrine, Trail of Tears, Indian Removal, Height of Plantation Slavery, California Gold Rush, Dred Scott decision, Mexican War. - Ethnic NewsWatchCoverage: 1959 to present
A comprehensive full-text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. - Independent VoicesCoverage: Varies
Sponsored By: CSU Department of English Wentworth Funds
Collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines, and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century. - Los Angeles Times (1985-1996)Coverage: 1985-1996
Full text of the Los Angeles Times via ProQuest U.S. Major Dailies. - New York Times Historical Newspapers (1851-2021)
Coverage: 1851-2008
This is the paper of record in the U.S., best known for its analysis of news, issues and social changes. Navigate by title, date, and page number. Photos, graphs, and tables are replicated providing cover-to-cover full image content. - Nexis UniCoverage: Varies
Nexis Uni is a comprehensive database with access to over 17,000 news, business and legal sources. It provides full-text of local, regional, national and international newspapers, as well as access to scholarly journals, trade publications, television and radio broadcasts, newswires and blogs. Its extensive legal sources include federal and state cases and statutes, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 1790. With business information on more than 80 million U.S. and international companies and more than 75 million executives, it is a robust resource for in-depth business research. - Nineteenth Century U.S. NewspapersCoverage: 1800-1899
Publications of all kinds, from the political party newspapers at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the dailies at the century's end. Includes major newspapers as well as those published by African Americans, Native Americans, women's rights groups, labor groups, the Confederacy, and other groups and interests. Also included are illustrated papers. - The Sunday Times Historical Archive, 1822-2006
Coverage: 1822-2006
Provides access to the back issues of The Sunday Times (London). Resource for all humanities and social sciences courses, especially in history, media studies/journalism, literature, cultural studies, politics, and performing arts. - Times Digital ArchiveCoverage: 1785-2010
Sponsored By: Years 1986-2005 are a gift from the Irene Bostrom Endowment in the CSU College of Liberal Arts.
The Times Digital Archive is an online, full-text facsimile of more than 200 years of The Times, one of the most highly regarded resources for the 19th – 20th Century history detailing every complete page of every issue from 1785. - Washington Post (1877-2000) (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)Coverage: 1877-2000
This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.
- American State PapersCoverage: 1789-1838
Sponsored By: Irene Bostrom Endowment in the CSU College of Liberal Arts
Contains the legislative and executive documents of the first 14 U.S. Congresses. The collection includes documents that cover the critical historical gap from 1789 to the printing of the first volume of the U.S. Serial Set in 1817 - Congressional Publications (ProQuest)Coverage: 1789- Present
This is a database of hearings, committee prints, reports, documents and other Congressional resources. Provides full text of hearings and citations and selected full text for other publication types. Primary source content on subjects ranging from war and military incursions to nuclear energy, space exploration, terrorism, and human rights - Historical Statistics of the United StatesCoverage: 1790 to present
Historical statistics of the United States, colonial times to 1970. Topics ranging from migration and health to crime and the Confederate States of America. - Serial SetCoverage: 1817-1994
All the reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from 1817-1994. Covers subjects ranging from slavery in Antebellum America and the expansion of the American West and the impeachment of presidents to the founding of the United Nations, public and private legislation, and more. - Territorial Papers of the United States, Series OneCoverage: 1764-1902
Official history of the states’ formative territorial years recorded in primary source documents. Territories in Series I include Colorado (1859-1888), Dakota, Washington, Orleans/Louisiana (selected), Nevada, Florida (selected), Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin (selected), Minnesota (selected), and Iowa (selected). - United States Congressional Serial SetCoverage: 1817 to 1994
Sponsored By: Irene Bostrom Endowment in the CSU College of Liberal Arts
All the reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from 1817-1994. Covers subjects ranging from slavery in Antebellum America and the expansion of the American West and the impeachment of presidents to the founding of the United Nations, public and private legislation, and more.
Search Engines
Search engines can be useful for locating specific primary source documents. If you use Google, enter the names of specific documents in quotation marks.
- "Yellowstone National Park"
- "Civil Rights Act"
For broader searches, add primary source keyword terms, such as documents, primary sources, or papers to your search.
- "Great Depression" "primary sources"
- "Martin Luther King" "speeches"
Freely Available Online Archival Collections
Librarian
Library Help
Connect with library staff via chat, email, phone or text.