- St. Olaf Libraries
- Research Guides
- History 370: American Revolution
- Find Primary Sources
History 370: American Revolution
in Database Collections
- Accessible Archives Complete This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to primary source materials and newspapers from 18th & 19th century America. The collection includes: letters, advertisements, editorials, sketches, county records, complete runs of important periodicals and much more. Titles of interest include: The Pennsylvania Gazette, the Virginia Gazette, The South Carolina Gazette,Godey's Lady Book, and The North Star.
- America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowDigitized newspapers published in the United States between 1690 and 2000. Searchable by date range, era in US history, place of publication, and article type as well as by keyword.
- American Periodicals Series Online 1740-1900 This link opens in a new windowDigitized periodicals published in the United States between 1741 and 1900. This full-text collection of primary sources includes popular magazines and early professional and scientific journals.
- Burney Collection Newspapers This link opens in a new windowThe Burney Newspapers comprise the most comprehensive collection of early English newspapers anywhere in the world, primarily from the 17th-18th century.
- North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new windowFull-text diaries and letters written by North American women, 1675-1950. Users can browse by year, historical event, location, or life experience in addition to searching. Also includes brief biographies of the authors.
- African American Experience This link opens in a new windowFull-text primary and secondary sources illuminating African American history and culture. Includes scholarly books and articles, oral histories, slave narratives, images, speeches, a historical timeline, teaching resources, and more.
- America's Historical Imprints This link opens in a new windowA collated version of three resources: Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800; Early American Imprints Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819; and American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 This link opens in a new windowFull-text primary and secondary sources in US women's history, 1600-2000. Includes primary documents in many genres, images, a biographical dictionary, a dictionary of social movements/organizations, a timeline, and teaching resources.
- Sabin Americana, 1500-1926 This link opens in a new windowDigitized primary sources on the Americas, 1500-1926. The collection includes materials produced in the Americas as well as materials about the Americas but produced around the world, offering a global perspective on this period. Sources include books, pamphlets, broadsides, and documents across genres.
In Catalyst
Scholars will sometimes gather important documents on a topic and publish them as a sourcebook.
Search Catalyst:
By Subject: Add the word "Sources" to any Subject Heading
e.g. United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources
By keyword: document or reading or source
e.g. document* AND "American revolution"
Examples:
- American Independence, The War: Facsimiles of DocumentsCall Number: (Oversize) E203 .G69 1976
- The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence.Call Number: E203 .A579 2001
People write of their experiences -- and they are often later published as memoirs, journals, letters, autobiographies, or collected papers
To find personal writings, try the following searches:
By subject: Add one of the following to the end of your Subject heading: Correspondence, Personal narratives, Reminiscences, or Interviews
(e.g. United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Personal narratives)
By keyword: [topic keyword] and (memoir* OR autobiography OR diary OR diaries OR letters OR correspondence OR speech OR sermon OR papers)
By author (if the name is known)
Examples:
- Revolutionary War Journals of Henry Dearborn, 1775-1783Call Number: Carleton Gould Library Microfilm
- Letters from a Distinguished American: Twelve Essays by John Adams on American Foreign Policy, 1780Call Number: Rolvaag Government Documents (E203 .A57)
To find government documents, it is best to search the name of a governmental body and appropriate topic words in a keyword search.
Use the Location filter to select Government Documents collections.
Examples:
- Proceedings and debates of the British Parliaments respecting North America, 1754-1783Call Number: E187 .G79
- Naval Documents of the American RevolutionCall Number: Rolvaag Library Government Documents (D 207.12)