LibGuides: Primary Sources: U.S. Collections

Major US Digital Archive Collections

Major Digital Archive Collections

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873
1774-1875
Digital Public Library of America
Duke University Libraries Digital Collections
FBI Records: The Vault
National Archives and Records Administration
National Archives Experience
National Museum of American History: Albert H. Small Documents Gallery
National Security Archive (NSA): Electronic Briefing Books
George Washington University. The National Security Archive's continually growing collection of Electronic Briefing Books (EBBs) provide timely online access to critical declassified records on issues including U.S. national security, foreign policy, diplomatic and military history, intelligence policy, and much more. Updated frequently, the EBBs represent just a small sample of the documents in our published and unpublished collections.
Our Documents - 100 Milestone Documents
100 milestone documents, compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration, and drawn primarily from its nationwide holdings. The documents chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965.
Primary Source Sets
Each set collects primary sources on a specific topic, all as easy-to-use PDFs, with historical background information and teaching ideas.
Primary Sources by State
Selected primary sources for each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories.
Smithsonian Digital Collections
Portal for searching all of America's national museums, each of which has primary source material--from Air & Space to the Postal Museum.
Themed Resources
The best Library of Congress resources on the most frequently taught themes.
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Abraham Lincoln; Advertising; Asian Pacific Americans; Baseball; Civics and Government; Civil Rights; Colonial and Early America; Elections Exploration and Explorers; Flight and Early Aviators; Geography and Maps; The Great Depression; Hispanic Americans; Holidays; Immigration; Labot; The Lewis and Clark Expedition; Literature and Poetry; Music and Dance; Native Americans; Nature and the Environment; Political Cartoons; Science and Invention; Summertime and Recreation; Wars and the Homefront; Women's History
Web Guides: Collection Guides & Bibliographies
In-depth guides to resources on a wide variety of topics.

Presidential Collections

Presidential Collections

Presidents of the USA
#1 to #44. Each Inaugural Address, State of the Union Address, and other Key Speeches or Addresses. American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and beyond
Presidential Libraries Museum Exhibits
National Archives. Online resources and tours of: Herbert Hoover Library; Franklin D Roosevelt Library; Harry S Truman Library; Dwight D Eisenhower Library; John F Kennedy Library; Lyndon B Johnson Library; Richard Nixon Library; Gerald R Ford Library; Jimmy Carter Library; Ronald Reagan Library; George Bush Library; William J Clinton Library; George W Bush Library
Public Papers of the Presidents
The official publication of United States Presidents' public writings, addresses, and remarks is published by the Federal Register. Online Editions for Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, G.W. Bush; Obama.
Research Presidential Materials
How to Get Copies of Presidential Materials; Other Places to Research Presidential Materials
The American Presidency Project
The American Presidency Project was established in 1999 as a collaboration between John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Contains 104,562 documents related to the study of the Presidency.

United States - Specific Collections

United States -- Specific Collections

Ad*Access - Duke Libraries
Over 7,000 U.S. and Canadian advertisements covering five product categories - Beauty and Hygiene, Radio, Television, Transportation, and World War II propaganda - dated between 1911 and 1955.
AMDOCS: 800AD - 2008
Documents for the Study of American History: US History:
American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and Beyond
1600-1964
American Rhetoric: Online Speech Bank
Archive of American Television
Television Academy Foundation
Calisphere - A World of Digital Resources
California, 1780s-1970s
CIA: Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room
Civil Rights Digital Library
Consortium of University of Georgia Libraries, Digital Library of Georgia, GALILEO, The New Georgia Encyclopedia, and the Walter J Brown Media Archives
Core Documents of Our Democracy
U.S. Government Printing Office
Digital Public Library of America
Amazing resource. Search by Timeline, Map, Exhibitions, or Bookshelf.
Documenting the American South
University of North Carolina
Documents | Teaching American History
Colonial Era to the Modern Era; Constitution; Legislative Branch; Executive Branch; Judicial Branch; Religion in American History and Politics
Emergence of Advertising in America, 1850-1920 - Duke Libraries
FBI — The Vault
Documents, photos, digital resources. A-Z (Anti-War to Violent Crime)
Foreign Relations of the United States
University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
Free Speech Movement Archives
From 1964
Historical Census Browser, 1790 - 1960
University of Virginia Library
Historically Significant Court Cases in American History
Digital History. From 1692 Salem Witch Trials through Scopes Trial and Alger Hiss Trial to 1995 O.J. Simpson Trials
Historically Significant Newspaper Articles in American History
Digital History. Search by Topic from Menu or Keyword or Display Chronologically
Historically Significant Supreme Court Cases in American History
Digital History. Search by Case, Date, or Keyword
History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web
Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930: Aspiration, Acculturation, and Impact
Harvard University. Provides unparalleled, free and open digital access to a significant selection of unique source materials—more than 410,000 pages, 100 individually cataloged maps, and 7,800 photographs.
Internet Archive -- 78 RPMs & Cylinder Recordings
Free Audio : Download & Streaming
Landmark Documents
Colonial Era - 2000. Digital History
Library of Fur Trade Historical Source Documents
Rocky Mountain Fur Trade's "Mountain Men" diaries, narratives, and letter
LIFE Photo Archive hosted by Google
1860s - 1970s
LOUISiana Digital Library
Making of America
American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. University of Michigan
Medicine and Madison Avenue - Duke Libraries
Missouri Digital Heritage
National Jukebox
Library of Congress
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Historical recordings
New Mexico Digital Collections
Hosted by the University of New Mexico Libraries
New Perspectives on The West
PBS (1806-1914)
NYPL Digital Gallery
Old Television Commercials (YouTube Channel)
Prelinger Archives - Moving Images
Amazing resource
The Triangle Factory Fire
Cornell University - ILR School -
United States Historical Maps - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection
University of Texas at Austin
Scripps Library and Multimedia Archive—Miller Center
U.S. Public Policy

Americans at War

America at War -- Collections

Foreign Relations of the United States
University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
Civil War Collections
Virginia Tech Libraries' Special Collections
Civil War Documents
Cornell University Library Making of America Collection
Civil War Washington
Data, Maps, Texts, Visual Works. University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Secession Era Editorials Project
Furman University. Period editorials from southern presses on Civil War issue: Nebraska Act; Fort Sumner; Dred Scott decision; John Brown
The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War
Richmond Daily Dispatch
1860-1865. University of Richmond Libraries
World War I Document Archive
Brigham Young University
The Vietnam Center and Archive: Virtual Vietnam Archive
The ‘War of the Rebellion Atlas’
American Civil War