LibraryGuides: Finding Primary Sources: 1800-1900

Primary Sources For Dates Between 1800 and 1900

Gale Primary Sources
Primary source documents in seven topic areas, including 19th-century missions, westward expansion, the Federal Writer's Project, Native American issues, and the Vatican in World War II.

Library of Congress Digital Collections
Digital collection of primary documents, maps, sound recordings, motion pictures, and photos, from the Library of Congress.
Avalon Project at Yale University
Documents in law, history and diplomacy for the 18th through 21st centuries.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp
Chronicling America
"Chronicling America is a Website providing access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages, and is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP)."
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
Documenting the American South
A digital publishing initiative sponsored by the University Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that provides access to digitized primary materials that offer Southern perspectives on American history and culture.
http://docsouth.unc.edu/
EuroDocs: Primary Historical Documents From Western Europe
Links to Western European historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated.
Gallica - National Library of France (BNF)
Digitized primary source documents from the National Library of France.

HathiTrust
HathiTrust is a partnership of major research institutions and libraries working to ensure that the cultural record is preserved and accessible long into the future. Contains over 10 million volumes, roughly 28% of which are available in full text online.
HeinOnline HeinOnline is an online database containing more than 270,000 titles of historical and government documents in a fully searchable, image-based format. HeinOnline bridges an important research gap by providing comprehensive coverage from the inception of more than 2,700 law-related periodicals. In addition, HeinOnline contains the entire Congressional Record, Federal Register, and Code of Federal Regulations, complete coverage of the U.S. Reports back to 1754, and entire databases dedicated to treaties, constitutions, case law, world trials, classic treatises, international trade, foreign relations, U.S. Presidents, and much more.
MyHeritage
Genealogy collection of U.S. Census data (1790-1930), family and local history, Revolutionary War records and more.
Submit a CU Libraries' Troubleshooting ticket to request the password for access.

Historical Statistics of the United States (HSUS)
Historical Statistics on a range of topics and locations. An essential source for statistical data before 1975.
Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Features the full text of this definitive edition.
http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu
National Archives (UK)
National Archives
Access to federal records from the National Archives, available in archival databases, the archival catalog, and museum exhibits.
http://www.archives.gov/research/

Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO)
Digital archive of 19th-century primary sources dealing with British politics and society, Asia and the West, European literature (1790-1840), and British arts and culture.

19th Century British Periodicals
Available through Hathi Trust, a collection of some of the most prominent periodicals published in 19th century Britain, including Punch, The Spectator, The Westminster Review, and the Illustrated London News.
Project Gutenberg
A collection of over 50,000 ebooks, many from the 19th and early 20th century.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times
This resource digitally reproduces every issue of the New York Times (1851-2020) from cover-to-cover. It provides full page-image and full-text searching of the newspaper.

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database
Information on almost 35,000 slaving voyages that forcibly embarked over 10 million Africans to the Americas from the 15th to the 19th centuries.
http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces

The Times Digital Archive
A searchable, full-text, online database of more than 200 years of The Times (London, England), with every page of every issue from 1785 through 2012. Covers local events in Britain and international events in India, China, South Africa, and the Americas.

Women Writers Online
A large database of documents written by female writers, most from the late 16th century to the early 19th century.

Available by subscription only from Northeastern University.
World Digital Library
Significant primary materials that represent the culture of countries around the world. Sponsored by UNESCO and the Library of Congress.
http://www.wdl.org