Resources By Department: History: Antebellum Period

ANTEBELLUM PERIOD - REFERENCE BOOKS

DIGITAL PUBLIC LIBRARY OF AMERICA The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. DPLA aims to expand this crucial realm of openly available materials, and make those riches more easily discovered and more widely usable and used.
DOCUMENTING THE AMERICAN SOUTH Primary resources for the study of southern history, literature, and culture. Includes collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs." (UNC Chapel Hill University Library)
DOCUMENTS FOR THE STUDY OF AMERICAN HISTORY A collection of links to primary documents in American history from the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the current presidency. (George Laughead Jr., manager, WWW Virtual Library, United States History)

EARLY ENCOUNTERS IN NORTH AMERICA: PEOPLES, CULTURE, AND THE ENVIRONMENT This link opens in a new window
A searchable collection of over 85,000 pages of letters, diaries and memoirs documenting the lives of early inhabitants and visitors to North America from 1534 to 1850. (Alexander Street Press)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DIGITAL COLLECTIONS Gateway to digitized photographs, manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, motion pictures, and books.
MAKING OF AMERICA Primary source materials on American social history, from the Antebellum period through Reconstruction. (Univ. of Michigan)
NINETEENTH CENTURY DOCUMENTS PROJECT Primary texts from 19th century American history from the Avalon Project.
NATIONAL ARCHIVES The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Find online documents and information about materials preserved at the archives. Also hosts Presidential Libraries.

SABIN AMERICANA This link opens in a new window
This collection contains works about the Americas published throughout the world from 1500 to the early 1900's. Included are books, pamphlets, serials and other documents that provide original accounts of exploration, trade, colonialism, slavery and abolition, the western movement, Native Americans, and military actions.

CHRONICLING AMERICA: HISTORIC NEWSPAPERS Chronicling America covers local newspapers from across the United States from 1789-1925 (exact coverage varies by title).

NINETEENTH CENTURY U.S. NEWSPAPERS This link opens in a new window
Digital facsimile images of full pages and articles for hundreds of 19th century U.S. newspapers.
HISTORICAL NEW YORK TIMES This link opens in a new window
The Historical New York Times provides searchable full text, full page, and article-level images. Indexing is provided. Goes back to the first issue, but does not provide the most current 3 years worth of articles.

NORTH CAROLINA NEWSPAPER DIGITIZATION PROJECT Historic North Carolina newspapers dating from 1752-1890s. Compiled by the State Archives of North Carolina.