Reference Books
Encyclopedia of American History by Call Number: REF E174 .E53 2010ISBN: 9780816071364Publication Date: 2009-12-01
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History by Call Number: E169.1 .E624 2001ISBN: 0684805618Publication Date: 2001-03-26
American Eras by Call Number: E169.1 .A47 1979 vol 1-8 (1600-1899)ISBN: 0787614785Publication Date: 1998-07-24
American Decades (1900-1999) by Call Number: E 169.12 .A419 vol. 1-10ISBN: 0810357224Publication Date: 1996-03-26
American National Biography by Call Number: CT 2113 .A68, vol 1-25ISBN: 0195206355Publication Date: 1999-01-21
Dictionary of American Biography by Call Number: E 176 .D56 vol. 1-22Publication Date: New York, C. Scribner's sons, 1928-58
Milestone Documents in African American History by Call Number: REF E184.6 .M55 2010x vol. 1-4ISBN: 9781935306054Publication Date: 2010-05-01
Encyclopedia of American Social Movements by Call Number: HN57 .E594 2004 vols. 1-4ISBN: 0765680459Publication Date: 2004-08-10
Historical Statistics of the United StatesCall Number: Online accessISBN: 0521817919Publication Date: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Journal Literature
Pennsylvania History ISSN: 0031-4528, 2153-2109.
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography ISSN: 0031-4587, 2169-8546.
Western Pennsylvania History ISSN: 1525-4755.
Where to look? Browse the shelves.
Call Numbers (Library of Congress classification)
E 11-143 America
E 151-909 United States
E186-199 Colonial history (1607-1775)
E201-298 The Revolution, 1775-1783
E337.8-400 Early nineteenth century, 1801/1809-1845
E456-655 Civil War period, 1861-1865
E660-738 Late nineteenth century, 1865-1900
E740-837.7 Twentieth century
E838-889 Later twentieth century, 1961-2000
E895-904 Twenty-first century
F 1-975 United States local history
F1-15 New England (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT)
F106 Atlantic coast. Middle Atlantic States (NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, DC)
F206-220 The South. South Atlantic States (VA, WV, NC, SC, GA)
F296-301 Gulf States. (FL, AL, MS, LA, TX)
F396 Old Southwest. (AR, TN, KY, MO)
F476-485 Old Northwest. (OH, IN, IL, MI, WI)
F590.3-596.3 West and Great Plains (MN, IA, ND, SD, NE, KS, OK)
F721-722 Rocky Mountains (MT, ID, WY, CO)
F786-790 New Southwest. (NM, AZ, UT, NV)
F850.5-851.5 Pacific States (CA, OR, WA, AK)
F 1001-1145.2 British America (including Canada) and Dutch America
F 1170 French America
F 1201-3799 Latin America. Spanish America
Primary Materials
- Accessible Archives This link opens in a new window
A wealth of diverse primary sources regarding American life and culture ranging from colonial times to the early 1900s including collections on African American Newspapers, Woman’s Suffrage, and Native Americans in History among others.
Pennsylvania History
Pennsylvania ArchivesColonial Records (CR) 16 1838-1853
First Series 12 1852-1856
Second Series 19 1874-1890
Third Series 30 1894-1899
Fourth Series 12 1900-1902
Fifth Series 8 1906
Sixth Series 15 1906-1907
Seventh Series 5 1914
Eighth Series 8 1931-1935
Ninth Series 10 1931-1935
This database contains 118 volumes of compiled Pennsylvania records from the state’s early days as an English possession through the end of the 19th century.
Access Pennsylvania Digital Repository - HSLC/Access PA manages a statewide digitization service on behalf of the Office of Commonwealth Libraries using the CONTENTdm software product licensed through OCLC.
Digitized collections from Pennsylvania institutions – Collections scanned from Penn State, UPenn, and many other notable PA intuitions.
Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia - From abolition and the American Revolution to yellow fever and zoos, the digital Encyclopedia offers a comprehensive, authoritative reference source for the Philadelphia region.
Explore PA History - "Stories from PA History" includes histories built around state historical markers. "Teach PA History" includes elementary, middle, and high school lesson plans for teachers of Pennsylvania and American history. "Visit PA Regions" provides useful information for those who are interested in visiting historic sites.
Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh - From the pre-revolutionary drama of the French & Indian War to the legendary match-ups of the Super Steelers, discover 250 years of Pittsburgh history at the Senator John Heinz History Center.
Pennsylvania Sanborn Maps - Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for the state of Pennsylvania offer historically significant details of a town or city dating from the mid 1800s.
Valley of the Shadow - The Valley of the Shadow is a digital archive of primary sources that document the lives of people in Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, during the era of the American Civil War. Here you may explore thousands of original documents that allow you to see what life was like during the Civil War for the men and women of Augusta and Franklin.
PA Digital - digital collections of the Commonwealth’s cultural heritage institutions
PA Photos and Docs - Explore thousands of digitized documents and photographs from unique collections in libraries across Pennsylvania.
Newspapers / Periodicals
- HarpWeek: Access to Harper's Weekly political cartoonsMessiah has Harper's Weekly from 11/01/1860 - 03/31/1865, in print.
View political cartoons on various topics, people, and places.
- New York Times (Historical, 1851-2018) This link opens in a new window
North American History
- History MattersGateway to web resources.
- POTUSPresidents of the US.
- Yale Avalon ProjectDocuments in Law, History & Diplomacy
- The King Center ArchivesMLK Papers
- Digital Collections and ServicesLibrary of Congress
- Facts for American HolidaysProfile America Facts for Features consist of collections of statistics from the Census Bureau's demographic and economic subject areas pertaining to holidays, anniversaries, observances or topics in the news. The data are intended to assist media in writing feature stories on these commemorations, which range from Hispanic Heritage Month to the Holiday Season.
- Primary Documents of American HistoryLibrary of Congress
- Trail of Tears (Indian Removal Act)Treaty of New Echota, which implemented the Indian Removal Act for the Cherokees, can be found in the U.S. Statutes at Large, volume 7, pages 478-488.
click here - American Doctoral Dissertations, 1933-1955Comprehensive record of dissertations accepted by American universities from 1933-1955, the print index Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities. Containing twenty-two years of dissertation research and amounting to over 93,000 citation.
- Immigration History Research CenterFrom the University of Minnesota. Its collection is primarily post-1848, with strong representation of immigrants and refugees arriving between 1880 and 1980.
- Digital Public Library of America16 million digital items from over 120 contributing institutions
- Regional RecordingsFrom Dictionary of American Regional English. Various recordings from around the country capture unique dialects and patterns of speech.
- Colonial North American Project at Harvard UniversityAll known archival and manuscript materials in the Harvard Library that relate to 17th and 18th century North America
Subject Guide
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