LibGuides: HIST 301: The Historian’s Craft: Reading, Research and Writing History: Colonial Period/Revolutionary War Sources

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Subjects: American Indian Studies, California Studies, Gender and Women's Studies, History, Jewish Studies, Queer Studies

Library Database Sources (Primary Sources)

America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Digital archive of more than 1,000 U.S. historical newspapers. Includes: Early American Newspapers, Series 1-3, 1690-1922; African American Newspapers, 1827-1998; California's Historical Newspapers, 1850-1922; and Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980.
American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new window
The AAS Historical Periodicals Collection includes periodicals from America from 1684 until 1912. It includes more than 500 titles, giving researchers access to contemporary accounts of historical events.
American History, 1493-1945 This link opens in a new window
Drawing on holdings of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, this collection includes manuscript material, posters, broadsides, pamphlets and other materials related to American history from the start of the colonies through the end of the second world war.
American Periodicals Series Online This link opens in a new window
Collection contains searchable, digitized images of the pages of over 1,100 American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century, chronicling the development of America across 150 years.
Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital images of over 125,000 works printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere between 1473 and 1700 - from the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to full-text digitized versions of every significant English-language and foreign-language title printed in the United Kingdom between the years 1701 and 1800, comprising over 136,000 titles relevant to the fields of history, literature, religion, law, fine arts, science and more.

Selected Primary Internet Resources

Library of Congress American Revolution Digital Collections Research Guides
The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of primary source materials associated with the American Revolution era (1763-1783), including manuscripts, broadsides, government documents, books, images, and maps. Provided below is a link to the home page for each relevant digital collection along with selected highlights.

National Archives: Founders Online
Through this website, you can read and search through thousands of records from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison and see firsthand the growth of democracy and the birth of the Republic.

American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-1776
9 volumes of rare pamphlets, correspondence, and proceedings relating to the settlement of the colonies from 1774-1776

A Guide to the American Revolution, 1763-1783

Internet History Sourcebooks: American Independence

Papers (Letters, Diaries & More)

Arnold, Benedict, 1741-1801. Papers

Benjamin Franklin Papers

George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress 1741-1799

Letters of delegates to Congress, 1774-1789

Primary Sources (Providence College): diaries, journals, etc. from the American Revolution

Spy Letters of the American Revolution

Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources