Guides
Subject Headings
General Encyclopedias, Handbooks
Atlases and Maps
Biography
Bibliography
Indexes to Periodicals and Newspapers
Periodicals
Historic Documents
U.S. Government Documents
Presidential Papers
Statistics
Colonial and Revolutionary
Nineteenth Century
Civil War and Reconstruction
Twentieth Century
Cold War
Regional History
Government and Politics
Women
African American
Native American
Foreign Relations

Guides

• Handbook for Research in American History Ref Z 1236 .P78 1994
• The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature Ref Z6201 .A55 1995
• Harvard Guide to American History Ref E 174 .A2 F74 2 vols.
• Reader's Guide to American History Ref E178 .R43 1997
• A Short Guide to Writing About History Miller Reserve D13 .M294 1995

Subject Headings

Note: Below are examples of subject headings relating to American History. Use the Library of Congress Subject Headings volumes for help in identifying subject terms appropriate to your topic. North America - Civilization - British influences North America - History - Colonial period, CA1600-1775 Great Britain - Colonies - America Women Colonists - United States - History United States- Description and Travel United States - Economic Conditions United States - Foreign Relations United States - History - Revolution, 1775-1783 United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865 United States - Politics and Government Untied States - Race Relations United States - Social Conditions

Specific names and events

Teapot Dome Scandal, 1921-1924 New Deal Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 Presidents Afro-Americans - History Women - United States - History Women - United States - Social Conditions

General Encyclopedias and Handbooks

• Dictionary of American History Ref E 174 .D52 1976 + supplements
• Encyclopedia USA Ref E 156 .E52 1983
• Encyclopedia of American Social History Ref HN 57 .E58 1993
• Handbook of American Popular Culture Ref E169.1 .H2643 1989

Atlases and Maps

• Historical Atlas of the United States Ref G 1201 .S1 N3 1993
• The West Point Atlas of American Wars Ref G 1201 .S1 U5 1995 v.1-2
• Historical Atlas of the American West Ref G 1381 .S1 B4 1989
• U.S. Serial Set Index and Carto-Bibliography of Maps 1789-1969 Ref J 74 .A2 C65 1075

Biography

• Dictionary of American Biography Ref E176 .D56
• American National Biography Ref E176 .D565 1999 v.1-24
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Ref JK1010 .A52 v.1774-1996
• Biographical Directory of American Colonial and Revolutionary Governors Ref E187.5 .R3
• Guide to American Biography. Part I, 1607-1815. Part II, 1815-1933 Ref E 176 .A2 D37
• Biographical Directory of the United States Executive Branch, 1774-1977 Ref E 176 .B576
• National Cyclopedia of American Biography Ref E 176 .N27
• Who Was Who in America (1607+) Ref E 663 .W629
• Notable American Women: 1607-1950 Ref CT 3260 .N57
• Notable American Women: The Modern Period Ref CT 3260 .N573
• Black Biography 1790-1950: A Cumulative Index Ref Z 1361 .N39 B52 1990 v.1-3 Provides basic biographical data and is an index to the microfiche collection Black Biographical Dictionaries 1790-1950 held at Bowdoin.
• American Historians 1607-1865 Ref E 175.45 .A48 1984
• American Historians 1866-1912 Ref E 175.45 .A483 1986
• Twentieth-Century American Historians Ref E 175.45 .T85 1983
• American Women historians 1700-1990's Ref E 175.45 .S27 1996

Bibliography

See also sources under Guides above.

• Index to the Writings on American History Ref Z 1236 .W75 Index 1902/40 Citations to the Annual Report of the American Historical Association held in the Government stacks GOVT SI 4. 1:.
• Writings on American History Ref Z1236.W75 Colby holds this series for the years 1962-1990. "Many of the listings derive from the 'Recently Published Articles' section of American Historical Review (1895-1976)…". Books and other monographs receive coverage 1962-1973.
• The database America History and Life below provides access to articles, book reviews and dissertations from 1964 to present.

Indexes- Periodical and Newspaper

• AMERICA HISTORY AND LIFE (ONLINE) (1964+) Abstracts from more than 2400 journals on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistoric time to the present.
• NEW YORK TIMES INDEX 1851+ Ref AI21 .N567 (see 19th Century Masterfile below)
• POOLE'S INDEX TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE 1802-1906 Ref AI3 .P7 Poole's is an important index to 479 American and English periodicals.
• 19th Century Masterfile Available: Colby only Coverage: 1802 - 1906 Publisher: Paratext Inc. A work in progress, 19th Century Masterfile will include access to 19th century periodicals, books, newspapers, and some government documents. Presently limited to periodicals and books.
• NINETEENTH CENTURY READERS' GUIDE TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE 1890-1899 Ref AI3 .R39 v.1-2
• READERS' GUIDE TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE 1900+ Ref AI3 .R4
• INTERNATIONAL INDEX TO PERIODICALS 1907-1965 Ref AI3 .R49
• BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NATIVE NORTH AMERICANS Based on the cumulative 8 volumes of the Ethnographic Bibliography of Native North America, the standard reference work on the native peoples of North America. Presents 17 broad regions including 290 ethnic groups, with over 80,000 citations published from the 16^th century to the present.

Periodicals

Note: listed here are only major journals devoted to American History to which Colby subscribes. An * denotes a full text electronic backfile available through JSTOR. Check the Colby Catalog for full holdings. American Heritage The American Historical Review* American History American Jewish History Annual Report of the American Historical Association Civil War History; A Journal of the Middle Period Diplomatic History Journal of American Ethnic History Journal of American History* (formerly Mississippi Valley Historical Review*) Journal of American Studies Journal of Negro History* Journal of Southern History* New England Quarterly Pacific Historical Review Perspectives in American History Reviews in American History* Vols. 1-22 Vols. 23-28 Virginia Magazine of History and Biography The Western Historical Quarterly The William and Mary Quarterly: A Magazine of Early American History and Culture*

Historic Documents

• Documents of American History Ref E173 .D59 1988
• Annals of America Ref E 173 .A793
• Early Congressional Documents
• Documents from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention

• The Declaration of Independence
• The Federalist Papers

• The Constitution of the United States Ref KF 4527 .U54 1996
• The Constitution of the United States of America, Analysis and Interpretation
• Avalon Project at the Yale Law School Historical documents relevant to law, economics, politics, diplomacy, and government.
• National Archives and Records Administration
• The American Memory Project exhibits at the Library of Congress, and LC's other services are here.
• A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1873
• University of Michigan Documents Center - Historic Documents Connects to many sites offering historic documents from the Mayflower Compact (1620) through the Cold War.
• Federal Government Historical Documents

U.S. Government Documents, Presidential Papers, Congressional Publications

Colby has been a Depository for federal documents since 1880. Access to the collection is mainly through the publications below.

• Colby's Congressional Publications Finding Guide.
• Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government, 1881-1893 (Ames) Ref Z 1223 .A1905
• Descriptive Catalogue of Government Publications, 1774-1881 Ref Z 1223 .A1885
• Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications (1895+) Ref Z 1223 .A159 date
• Cumulated Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications 1900-1971 Ref Z 1223 .Z7 C8 1973 v.1-15
• Marcive Web Docs (1976+) U.S. government documents published by the Government Printing Office.
• U.S. Serial Set Index (1784-1969) Ref J 74 .A2 C65
• U.S. Serial Set Index and Carto-Bibliography of Maps (1789-1969) Ref J 74 .A2 C65 1975
• Congressional Indexes 1789-1969 Available:Colby only Coverage: 1789 - 1969; unpublished hearings to 1972 Access:LexisNexis Serial Set (1789-1969); Senate Executive Documents And Reports (1817-1969); Published Committee Hearings (House and Senate, 1833-1969); Unpublished Committee Hearings (House, 1833-1954 and Senate 1823-1972); Committee Prints to 1969.
• Congressional Universe Available: Colby only Coverage: 1970 - present Access:LexisNexis A Web version of CIS Index to Congressional Documents with a seamless link to some full text documents available on the web. In addition indexes and links to Congressional Record, members voting records & financial data, U.S. regulations & laws.
• Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (Hoover +) Ref Govt AE 2.114:

Presidential Papers

• Indexes to the Public Papers of the Presidents: (Hoover +) Ref J 82 .E1

Presidential papers prior to Hoover are located under the name of the president as author in the Colby Catalog. The following bibliography is also useful.

• Presidents of the United States: Their Written measure Govt LC 14: P 92
• National State Papers of the United States 1789-1797 (George Washington) J 81 .C93 1993
• National State papers of the United States 1789-1817 (John Adams) J 82 .A2 1980
• Journals of the Continental Congress 1776-1789 J 10 .A5 and links from A Century of Lawmaking site above
• Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States from George Washington 1789 to George Bush 1989 J 81 .c89
• The State of the Union Messages of the Presidents 1790 to 1966 Ref J 81 .C66

Statistics

• Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970 Ref HA 202 .B87 1975 2 vols.
• United States Historical Census Data Browser (U. Virginia)
• See Colby's United States Census Publications guide

Colonial and Revolutionary

• Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies Ref E 45 .E53 1993 3 vols.
• Colonial America to 1763 Ref E 188 .P86 1999
• Revolutionary America 1763-1800 Ref E 162 .P86 1995
• Encyclopedia of Colonial and Revolutionary America Ref E 188 .E63 1990
• The American Revolution: An Encyclopedia Ref E 208 .A433 1993 2 vols.
• Atlas of Early American History: The Revolutionary Era 1760-1900 Ref G 1201 .S3 A8 1976
• Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution Ref E 209 .M36 1999
• Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution Ref E 277 .P24 1984

Nineteenth Century

• The Gay Nineties in America: A Cultural Dictionary of the 1890's Ref E 169.1 .G26 1992

Civil War and Reconstruction

• Atlas of the Civil War Ref G 1201 .S5 A85 1994
• Encyclopedia of the Confederacy Ref E 487 .E55 1993
• Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy Ref E 467 .W2
• Biographical Dictionary of the Union Ref E 467 .B56 1995
• Historical Dictionary of Reconstruction Ref E 668 .T66 1991
• The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Ref GOVT W 45.5:
• Official Records Of The Union And Confederate Armies Supplement E464.U61
• Southern Historical Society papers (1876-1959) These and the War of the Rebellion provide an extensive amount of primary information on the Confederacy. Complete runs are available at Bowdoin and Bates.
• The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research Ref Z 1242 .A47 1996
• Civil War Resources on the Internet: Abolitionism to Reconstruction (1830's -1890's) (Rutgers)

Twentieth Century

• Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century Ref E740.7 .E53 1996
• Historical Dictionary of the 1920's Ref E 784 .O44 1988
• Historical Dictionary of the New Deal Ref E 806 .H85 1985
• Historical Dictionary of the Progressive Era 1890-1920 Ref E 661 .H6 1988
• The Sixties in America Ref E 841 .S55 1999
• American and British History Resources on the Internet (Rutgers University)
• See list: Microform Collections held by Colby.

Cold War

• See Subject Guide: Cold War (Colby)

Regional History

• Encyclopedia of Southern History Ref F 207.7 E52
• Documenting the American South: The Southern Experience in 19^th-century America
• Encyclopedia of the American West Ref F 591 .E485 1996
• New Encyclopedia of the American West Ref F 591 .N46 1998
• Oxford History of the American West Ref F 591 .O95 1994

Women

• Chronology of Women's History Ref HQ1121 .O47 1994
• Handbook of American Women's History Ref HQ 1410 .H36 1990
• Women's Studies Encyclopedia Ref HQ 1115 .W645 1999
• Women's Progress in America Ref HQ 1410 .F76 1994
• United States Government Documents on Women 1800-1990: a comprehensive bibliography Ref HQ 1410 .H85 1993 v.1-2
• Academic Info. American Women's History: An Annotated Directory of Internet Resources

African-American

See Subject Guide: African-American Studies  (Colby)

• Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History Ref E 185 .E54 1996
• Historical Statistics of Black America Ref E 185 .H543 1995
• Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery Ref E 441 .D53 1988
• Timelines of African-American History Ref E 185 .C86 1994
• Historical Dictionary of the Civil Rights Movement Ref E 185 .61 .L84 1997
• Internet Resources for Students of Afro-American History and Culture (Rutgers)
• Academic Info: African American History: An Annotated Directory of Internet Resources on Black History and Culture

Native American

See Subject Guide: Native North American History (Colby)

Government & Politics

• See Subject Guide: Government and Politics
• Encyclopedia of the American Constitution Ref KF 4548 .E53 1986 + supplement
• Harpercollins Dictionary of American Government and Politics Ref JK 9 .S43 1992
• Encyclopedia of the American Presidency Ref JK 511 .E53 1994
• Encyclopedia of the United States Congress Ref JK 1067 .E63 1995
• Encyclopedia of the American Legislative System Ref JF 501 .E53 1994
• Facts about the Presidents Ref E 176.1 .K3 1989
• Presidential Also-Rans and Running Mates, 1788-1980 Ref E 176.1 .S695 1984
• Political Parties & Elections in the United States: An Encyclopedia Ref JK 2261 .P633 1991
• Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the Supreme Court Ref KF 8742 .W567 1997

Foreign Relations

• Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations Ref E 183.7 .E53 1997
• Documents on American Foreign Relations Ref JX231 .D6
• The Cumulated Index to the U.S. Department of State Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States. Ref JX 233 .A32 Index
• Foreign Relations of the United States (1862 - 1968 ) Ref Govt S 1.1

Last Updated Date: 09/29/2008    
Created by:  Menchen, Margaret P. 
Email: mpmenche@colby.edu