Databases
- AM-Explorer This link opens in a new window
Access millions of pages of primary source collections spanning content from the 15th-21st centuries.
- Gale Primary Sources (OhioLINK Access) This link opens in a new window
Topically focused collections of historical documents, including the American Civil Liberties Union Papers (1912-1990), Archives Unbound, Archives of Sexuality & Gender, British Library Newspapers, The Economist Historical Archive (1843-2014), 18th Century Collections Online, Indigenous Peoples: North America, 19th Century Collections Online, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Political Radicalism & Extremism in the 20th Century, Sabin Americana (1500-1926), and The London Times Digital Archive (1785-1985).
- Early Encounters in North America This link opens in a new window
Letters, diaries, memoirs and accounts of early encounters between Native Americans and peoples from Europe, as well as Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Finding print primary sources with OBIS & Summon
Many useful primary sources will be collected in print or ebook compilations, with several texts or images on a related topic collected in a single volume. The Towns of Italy in the Later Middle Ages is an example of such a source.
The Towns of Italy in the Later Middle Ages by ISBN: 0719052041Publication Date: 2000-05-25The towns of Italy in the later middle ages presents over one hundred fascinating documents, carefully structured around the crisis of the fourteenth century and arranged in contrasting groups of texts. By connecting documents in translation to recent scholarship and debates, it addresses five key areas of medieval urban history: the physical environment, civic religion, economy, society and politics.
Subjects that are useful for finding primary sources in OBIS and Summon:
- Sources
- Correspondence
- Diaries
- Interviews
- Pictoral Works
- Maps
- Early Works to 1800
- Medieval
- Centuries (e.g. 11th century)
Summon indexes the full text of some (but not all) of our print sources. Therefore it can be useful to combine a subject search for subject headings associated with primary sources with a keyword search for more specific concepts. The proximity search can help ensure that multiple concepts are addressed in the same text inside a collection.
To find books where the word city and the word food appear within 100 words of each other, you would use the following search in Summon:
- "city food"~100
Edited Primary Source Collections
Slave Revolution in the Caribbean, 1789-1804 by Call Number: Main Library F1923 .D84 2006ISBN: 9780312415013Publication Date: 2006-02-22This volume details the first slave rebellion to have a successful outcome, leading to the establishment of Haiti as a free black republic and paving the way for the emancipation of slaves in the rest of the French Empire and the world. Incited by the French Revolution, the enslaved inhabitants of the French Caribbean began a series of revolts, and in 1791 plantation workers in Haiti, then known as Saint-Domingue, overwhelmed their planter owners and began to take control of the island. They achieved emancipation in 1794, and after successfully opposing Napoleonic forces eight years later, emerged as part of an independent nation in 1804. A broad selection of documents, all newly translated by the authors, is contextualized by a thorough introduction considering the very latest scholarship.
King Leopold's Congo and the "Scramble for Africa" by Call Number: Main Reserve DT652 .R88 2018ISBN: 9781624666568Publication Date: 2018-03-01Pay particular attention to the documents chapter to find primary sources.
Colonial North America and the Atlantic World by Call Number: Main Library E46 .C65 2009ISBN: 9780132342377Publication Date: 2008-02-26A comprehensive collection of primary documents for students of early American and Atlantic history, Colonial North America and the Atlantic World gives voice to the men and women, Amerindian, African, and European, who together forged a new world.
The Colonial Era by Call Number: Main Library E187 .C67 2008ISBN: 9781405156615Publication Date: 2008-01-22More than 60 essential documents on Colonial America.
Converging Worlds by Call Number: Main Library E18.82 .C672 2012ISBN: 9780415964968Publication Date: 2011-12-20A collection of primary documents that contextualize and bring to life the exciting narrative of early America, including:
letters, pamphlets and newspaper articles, excerpts from diaries, patents and charters, court records.
Debating the Issues in Colonial Newspapers by Call Number: Main Library E187 .C78 2000ISBN: 0313309825Publication Date: 2000-08-30For every major event or issue of the colonial period, newspapers printed the opinions of the day, in many cases attempting to influence public opinion. Issues such as medical discoveries, education, and censorship are covered in this collection along with important events such as the French and Indian War, the trial of John Peter Zenger, and the Boston Massacre. Each chapter introduces the event or issue and includes news articles, letters, essays, even poetry representing both sides of the argument as they affected Americans.
Women in Colonial Latin America, 1526 To 1806 by Call Number: Main Library HQ1460.5 .W627 2018ISBN: 9781624667503Publication Date: 2018-09-15A remarkable range of primary sources that will enrich courses on women as well as Latin American history more broadly. Within these pages are captivating stories of enslaved African and indigenous women who protest abuse; of women who defend themselves from charges of witchcraft, cross-dressing, and infanticide; of women who travel throughout the empire or are left behind by the men in their lives; and of women's strategies for making a living in a world of cross-cultural exchanges.
Documenting Latin America, Volume 1 by Call Number: Main Library F1410 .D63 2011ISBN: 9780132085083Publication Date: 2010-07-27Documenting Latin America focuses on the central themes of race, gender, and politics.
Colonial Lives by Call Number: Main Reserve F1410 .C725 2000ISBN: 0195125126Publication Date: 1999-12-23Colonial Lives offers a rich variety of archival documents in translation which bring to life the political and economic workings of Latin American colonies during 300 years of Spanish rule, as well as the day-to-day lives of the colonies' inhabitants. The concerns, struggles and perspectives of the inhabitants of colonial Latin America are reflected in transcripts of civil and criminal court cases, administrative reviews, ecclesiastical investigations, Inquisition trials, wills, and letters the editors have included in this reader.
Britain in India, 1765-1905 by Call Number: Main Library DS463 .B75 2006ISBN: 1851968156Publication Date: 2006-08-01Seeks to explore the nature of the relationship between Britain and India at the height of imperial expansion.
The World Turned Upside Down by Call Number: Main Reserve E77 .W883 1994ISBN: 0312083505Publication Date: 1994-03-15Presents Native American perspectives on the events of the colonial era, from the first encounters between Indians and Europeans in the early seventeenth century through the American Revolution in the late eighteenth century. The documents collected here are drawn from letters, speeches, and records of treaty negotiations in which Indians addressed settlers.
