ResearchGuides: Area and Cultural Studies: North American Studies : Databases

U.S. Declassified Documents Online

U.S. Declassified Documents Online (Gale) provides facts and insights into the political, economic, and social conditions of the United States and other countries. The resource offers unique insights into the inner workings of the US government and world events in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The types of materials include intelligence studies, policy papers, diplomatic correspondence, cabinet meeting minutes, briefing materials, and domestic surveillance and military reports. A significant primary source for researchers in almost every discipline (Gale).

Find a Database (Helka)

American FactFinder

American FactFinder provides access to data about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas. The data in American FactFinder come from several censuses and surveys.

Political Science and International Relations

Databases, Text Collections

Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity [open access]

Foreign Relations of the United States (1861-1958/1960 -- full-text) - University of Wisconsin Libraries
Department of State, Office of a Historian (1945-1980's -- not all volumes are full text)

American Presidency Project [open access] Search thousands of documents related to historical and current U.S. presidencies, such as speeches, official papers, executive orders, proclamations, news conferences, and press briefings. Contains all major publications of the U.S. Office of the President, including: Public Papers of the President, Inaugural Addresses, Executive Orders, Signing Statements, and other information such as radio addresses, party platforms, videos of debates, and popularity polling data.
Congress.gov Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public.
Core Documents of U.S. Democracy [open access] Access to core group of current and historical government documents. Includes the Bill of Rights, presidential inauguration speeches and other judicial and regulatory documents.
FDsys [open access] Provides free online access to official Federal Government publications: the Congressional Record, congressional publications of all kinds, the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Supreme Court decisions, executive branch documents and more.
Founders Online [open access] Documents from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison
Sociological Abstracts (Proquest) Sociological Abstracts, and its companion file Social Services Abstracts, cover the international literature of sociology, social work, and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. It provides abstracting and indexing of articles and book reviews drawn from thousands of serials publications, plus books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers, and working papers. Coverage: 1952 - current
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (ProQuest) Provides abstracts and indexing of the international literature of political science and international relations, along with complementary fields, including international law and public administration/policy. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from over 750 core serials publications and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and working papers. Coverage: 1975-current

Useful websites

Cold War International History Project [open access] The CWIHP supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War, and seeks to accelerate the process of integrating new sources, materials and perspectives from the former "Communist bloc" and the non-Western world more generally with the historiography of the Cold War which has been written over the past few decades largely by Western scholars reliant on Western archival sources.
National Security Archive [open access] Selected declassified documents of the US government on a wide range of subjects: Nuclear History, Middle East, Latin America, Asia, Intelligence and Secrecy, September 11, etc. A valuable collection of primary sources. Also lists documents for sale

Research Methods

Sage Research Methods

Multi-content Core Databases

See Multi-Content Core Databases on Area and Cultural Studies on Welcome page.

Primary Sources for the North American Studies

19th century U.S. Newspapers (Gale) Nineteenth century U.S. Newspapers is a full-text searchable, facsimile-image database – which provides an as-it-happened window on events, culture, and daily life in nineteenth-century America that is of interest to both professional and general researchers.
U.S. Declassified Documents Online (Gale) U.S. Declassified Documents Online provides facts and insights into the political, economic, and social conditions of the United States and other countries. The resource offers unique insights into the inner workings of the US government and world events in the 20th and 21st centuries.The types of materials include intelligence studies, policy papers, diplomatic correspondence, cabinet meeting minutes, briefing materials, and domestic surveillance and military reports. (Gale Primary Sources)

Indigenous Peoples: North America (Gale) Indigenous Peoples: North America provides users with a robust, diverse, informative source that will enhance research and increase understanding of the historical experiences, cultural traditions and innovations, and political status of Indigenous Peoples in the United States and Canada. Researchers will explore the impact of invasion and colonization on Indigenous Peoples in North America, and the intersection of Indigenous and European histories and systems of knowledge through the use of manuscripts, monographs, newspapers, photographs, motion pictures, images of artwork, and more.

Selection of Resources: Native American Studies

Digital Collections

American Indian Oral History [open access] Provides access to typescripts of interviews (1967 -1972) conducted with hundreds of Indians in Oklahoma regarding the histories and cultures of their respective nations and tribes. Related are accounts of Indian ceremonies, customs, social conditions, philosophies, and standards of living.
American Indians of the Pacific Northwest [open access] This site provides an extensive digital collection of original photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures, complemented by essays written by anthropologists, historians, and teachers about both particular tribes and cross-cultural topics. Maps are available that show traditional territories or reservation boundaries.
Indian Peoples of the Northern Great Plains [open access] The Indian Peoples of the Northern Great Plains Collection includes photographs, paintings, ledger drawings, documents, serigraphs, and stereographs from 1874 through the 1940's -- The major tribes represented in this collection include the Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Chippewa-Cree, Crow, Kootenai, Nez Perce, Salish (Flathead), Shoshone, and Sioux.
Indigenous Peoples: North America (Gale) Indigenous Peoples: North America provides users with a robust, diverse, informative source that will enhance research and increase understanding of the historical experiences, cultural traditions and innovations, and political status of Indigenous Peoples in the United States and Canada. Researchers will explore the impact of invasion and colonization on Indigenous Peoples in North America, and the intersection of Indigenous and European histories and systems of knowledge through the use of manuscripts, monographs, newspapers, photographs, motion pictures, images of artwork, and more.

Mountain West Digital Library [open access] Provides free access to over 690,000 resources from universities, colleges, public libraries, museums, historical societies, and government agencies, counties, and municipalities in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, and other parts of the U.S. West.
Plateau Peoples' Web Portal [open access] The Plateau Peoples' Web Portal is a collaboration between the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the Confederated Tribes Of The Colville Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation and Native American Programs at Washington State University.
more...less...
This Portal is a gateway to Plateau peoples' cultural materials held in multiple repositories including WSU's Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections, the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture, the National Anthropological Archives and the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution. The materials in the Portal have been chosen and curated by tribal representatives. Each item has one or more records associated with it as well as added traditional knowledge and cultural narratives to enhance and enrich understanding to many audiences.

Law and Treaties

Early Recognized Treaties with American Indian Nations [open access] Provides access to the nine federally recognized Indian treaties that are absent from volume 2 of Charles J. Kappler's Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties.
Edward S. Curtis's North American Indian [open access] Edward Sheriff Curtis published The North American Indian between 1907 and 1930 with the intent to record traditional Indian cultures. The work comprises twenty volumes of narrative text and photogravure images. Each volume is accompanied by a portfolio of large photogravure plates.
Index of Treaties [open access] Index of Treaties Entered Into By The Various North American Indian Tribes, Bands, and Nations - compiled by G. William Rice, Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Tulsa.
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties [open access] Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, is an historically significant, seven volume compilation of U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII). The work was first published in 1903-04 by the U.S. Government Printing Office.
Indigenous Law Portal [open access] Links to tribal constitutions and treaties - Library of Congress.
National Indian Law Library The National Indian Law Library (NILL) is a law library devoted to American Indian law. It serves both the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and the public. NILL serves the public by developing and making accessible a unique and valuable collection of Indian law resources and by providing direct research assistance and delivery of information.
American Indian Treaties Portal [open access] Provides texts of American Indian treaties that are not covered by Kappler, peer-reviewed articles on various treaties, and an original biography of Charles J. Kappler. University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Archives & Museums

Native American Heritage in the National Archives Among the billions of historical records housed at the National Archives throughout the country, researchers can find information relating to American Indians from as early as 1774 through the mid 1990s. The National Archives preserves and makes available the documents created by Federal agencies in the course of their daily business.
National Museum of the American Indian A diverse and multifaceted cultural and educational enterprise, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex. The NMAI cares for one of the world's most expansive collections of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego.

Maps

Invasion of America [open access] An interactive site that maps every Native American treaty and executive order between 1776 and 1886, as originally compiled by Charles Royce in 1899. When available, the map contains links to the original treaty text.

Other Resource Guides

Native American Studies (Berkeley Library, University of California)

Media and Film Studies

Media History Digital Library [open access]
Digitized public domain media periodicals and online access to the histories of cinema, broadcasting, and recorded sound.

Resource Guides

Film research (Helsinki University Library)

Southern Studies

Databases, Digital Collections

Behind the Veil: Documenting African American Life in the Jim Crow South [open access] A selection of 410 recorded oral history interviews chronicling African-American life during the age of legal segregation in the American South, from the 1890s to the 1950s.
Documenting the American South (DocSouth) Documenting the American South (DocSouth) is a digital publishing initiative that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs.
Faulkner at Virginia: An Audio Archive [open access] This archive contains audio files of Faulkner's sessions and readings with UVA students, along with transcripts and other materials. QuickTime is required to play audio files.
Louisiana Digital Library The Louisiana Digital Library (LDL) is an online library of more than 144,000 digital items from Louisiana archives, libraries, museums, and other repositories, making unique historical treasure accessible to students, researchers, and the general public in Louisiana and across the globe.
The Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) The Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) supports the teaching, research, and community-building missions of Tulane University by collecting, preserving, and making easily accessible library and archival resources relating to the study of Louisiana.
South Carolina Digital Library (SCDL) The South Carolina Digital Library provides free access to historic materials, such as photographs, manuscripts, journals, books, oral histories, objects, etc. illustrating the history and culture of South Carolina from over 40 cultural heritage institutions across the state. Over 200,000 items have been added so far

Institutes, Resource Guides

Center for the Study of Southern Culture, University of Mississippi The Center’s mission is to investigate, document, interpret, and teach about the American South through academic inquiry and publications, documentary studies of film, photography, and oral history, and public outreach programs. The cross-disciplinary Southern Studies faculty and the undergraduate and graduate degree programs are the core of the Center’s work.
The Center for the Study of the American South The Center extends University of North Carolina's historic role as the world’s premier institution for research, teaching, and public dialogue on the U.S. South.
Florida History Resources (Research Guide) Florida History Resource Guide -- George A. Smathers Library, University of Florida
Institute for Southern Studies Non-profit research center providing information, news, reports, and a newsletter on Southern issues. An essential resource for grassroots activists, community leaders, scholars, policy makers and others working to bring lasting social and economic change to the region.
Louisiana Information Sources : a Guide Research tools for finding historical and current newspapers, journals, media, and information about Louisiana -- Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University.

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.

Digital Library of America (DLA)

DPLA is available for free to the public and offers digital access to photographs, manuscripts, maps, recordings, music scores, videos and more from libraries, archives, and museums around the U.S.

Making of America (MoA)

Making of America (MoA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction.

Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS)

Siris
The Smithsonian Collections Search Center is an online catalog containing most of Smithsonian major collections from their museums, archives, libraries, and research units. There are 13.4 million catalog records relating to areas for Art & Design, History & Culture, and Science & Technology with over 2.5 million images, videos, audio files, podcasts, blog posts and electronic journals.

More Open Access Resources

Peel's Prairie Provinces
Peel's Prairie Provinces is a resource dedicated to assisting scholars, students, and researchers of all types in their exploration of western Canadian history and the culture of the Canadian prairies.