LibGuides: Subject Guide: History: Background

Reference Sources

Middle English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive analysis of Middle English lexicon and usage for the period 1100-1500. (Free website.)
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) This link opens in a new window
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Current, online version of the definitive dictionary of the English language. Traces the evolution of a word over time.
Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
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Includes Encyclopedia of African American History, Black Women in America, Africana, content from the African American National Biography project, Encyclopedia of African American Art & Architecture, Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature, articles from other reference works, bibliographies, timelines, maps, images, primary source documents, links to Internet resources.
Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment This link opens in a new window
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Reference book covering the historical period known as the Enlightenment, from 1690 through 1815.
Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History This link opens in a new window
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Explores the events, policies, people, ideas, institutions, groups, and movements that have created and shaped political life in the United States; organized around seven time periods that correspond to key eras in American history.

African American Historical Serials Collection This link opens in a new window
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African American periodicals, annuals and reports published from 1829-1922 including materials from African American religious organizations and social service agencies.
America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
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1690-1876, including Early American Newspapers Series 1. includes more than 730 American newspapers.
Offers essential titles from 23 states and the District of Columbia Search full text & view scanned pages. tags: HistoryQL

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1924 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. From the Library of Congress.

Civil War: A Newspaper Perspective This link opens in a new window
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Contains the full text of selected articles from Northern and Southern American newspapers, Nov. 1860-April 1865.
Nineteenth Century Masterfile (Now called Eight Centuries) This link opens in a new window
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Eight Centuries (formerly 19th Century Masterfile) is a database covering source material dating from 1106 until 1960, aggregating indexes, catalogs, collections, and other finding aids. 8C provides access to articles, newspapers, books, U.S. patents, government documents, and images, with links to full-text where available.
Pennsylvania Gazette This link opens in a new window
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Text and images from one of the major and longest-running newspapers of 18th century America. Covers 1728-1800, with additional excerpts from The Pennsylvania Packet after 1766. ( Choose Pennsylvania Gazette from the menu when connected. )
Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new window
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Indexes popular topics in older issues of popular journals. Covers 1890 through 1983.
Women Writers Online This link opens in a new window
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230+ sources from pre-Victorian women.

FDsys This link opens in a new window
Catalog of U.S.Government Publications. Documents from 1976 onward can be found in this catalog. Links to full text where available. (free website)
GovInfo This link opens in a new window
Portal to U.S Government Information Online

AHA Directory of Affiliated Societies
Provided by the American Historical Association, this identifies hundreds of specialized historical societies, ranging from American Conference for Irish Studies to the Urban History Association.