HIST 253: First Peoples: Find Primary Sources

HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world.

Sort newspapers by ethnicity, date, and state.

Digitized papers from cultural sources, image collections, political figures, and more. Spans all time periods.

Debates & proceedings in the U.S. Congress 1789-present

The historical map collection has over 87,000 maps and related images online. The collection includes rare 16th through 21st century maps of America, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Pacific, Arctic, Antarctic, and the World.

Over 44,000 map images of the Library's 250,000 map collection have been scanned. From the University of Texas.

European records of travelers encountering what would become the United States. 1000 AD - 1844 AD

The Early Americas Digital Archive (EADA) is a collection of electronic texts and links to texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820.

The Chaco Research Archive is an online resource providing access to a wealth of information documenting the history of archaeological research in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. The archive includes material from dozens of sites excavated in the Chaco Culture National Historical Park and beyond.

(From the World History Encyclopedia) The Jesuit Relations, published in France from 1632 to 1673, were a series of annual reports from the Roman Catholic Jesuit missions in the lands claimed by France in North America. The Relations were written as an appeal to French Catholics in hopes of gathering the political and financial support that was essential for the maintenance of the missions.

Focus on early New England, but rich resources throughout.

Legal documents from Yale, with a focus on colony-level charters and agreements.

Colonial North America at Harvard Library provides access to digitized manuscripts and archives documenting a wide range of topics related to 17th- and 18th-century North America.

Documents by and about the Virginia Company and their settlement in what is now the state of Virginia.

A good list of digitized colonial records, listed by colony.

Includes some digital records of the first years of the colony, including military records, town records, court documents, and more.

The Early Americas Digital Archive (EADA) is a collection of electronic texts and links to texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820.

The records of these congregations document births, deaths, and marriages, but also open a window onto the lives of ordinary people deliberating on matters both sacred and secular.

European records of travelers encountering what would become the United States. 1000 AD - 1844 AD

This collection covers the American colonies from the British perspective, utilizing British governmental documents.

Images filtered by date, place, subject, and searchable. Concentration on images from printed books.

European records of travelers encountering what would become the United States. 1000 AD - 1844 AD

Legal sources, with a focus on revolutionary records.

As a collection of general Americana, the Newberry’s Edward E. Ayer Collection is one of the best in the country and one of the strongest collections on American Indians in the world.

Images filtered by date, place, subject, and searchable. Concentration on images from printed books.

Several collections of materials on the South. Focuses on North Carolina and the 19th century, but other periods and places may be found.

"Consists of the original correspondence between the British government and the governments of the American colonies, making it a uniquely rich resource for all historians of the period." Coverage: 1606-1822.

The Early Americas Digital Archive (EADA) is a collection of electronic texts and links to texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820.

Louisiana documents from 1655 to 1924 with a strong emphasis on the French colonial, Spanish colonial, and early national periods.

The material covering North America covers the varied frontier regions from fur trappers in Canada to cowboys in Texas and government in Baja California. It is divided into the frontier regions of the American East, the American Midwest, the American Southwest, California & Mexico and Canada.

The Bexar Archives are the official Spanish documents that preserve the political, military, economic, and social life of the Spanish province of Texas and the Mexican state of Coahulia y Texas.

Revolutionary-era Boston newspapers and pamphlets collected, annotated, and indexed by Harbottle Dorr, Jr., a shopkeeper in Boston.

Advertisements in Colonial American newspapers from 250 years ago.

Documents and photos gathered as a part of research done for a PBS documentary. Some citations robust, some scant.

In general, collecting at the DeGolyer Library emphasizes the American West, the borderlands, exploration, business history and transportation, particularly the railroads.

A central search portal for digital collections about the Mountain West region.

The material covering North America covers the varied frontier regions from fur trappers in Canada to cowboys in Texas and government in Baja California. It is divided into the frontier regions of the American East, the American Midwest, the American Southwest, California & Mexico and Canada.

As a collection of general Americana, the Newberry’s Edward E. Ayer Collection is one of the best in the country and one of the strongest collections on American Indians in the world.

Hundreds of photos of the West from 1867-1900, with a focus on the Kansas Pacific Railroad and the 1898 Indian Congress.

The Denver Public Library’s Western History/Genealogy Department collection of digitized photographs (formerly Photoswest) chronicles the people, places and events that shaped the settlement and growth of the Western United States.

The Early Advertising of the West collection consists of over 450 print advertisements published in local magazines, city directories, and theater pamphlets from 1867 to 1918.

Digitized materials from institutions in California. Collection strengths include California history, Chinese immigration, and the 19th century.

Explore more than 130,000 digitized images from the Newberry’s renowned Graff collection, documenting America’s westward expansion. Topics covered include narratives from explorers, pioneers, hunters, traders, and prospectors; accounts of the Mormon treks of 1846 and 1849, the California gold rush, and overland travel during the 19th century; the development of transcontinental railroads; the growth of Western city and town life; and the history and culture of Native Americans.

Includes manuscripts by indigenous people, records of Native-pioneer meetings, Civil War manuscripts, and more.

The Bexar Archives are the official Spanish documents that preserve the political, military, economic, and social life of the Spanish province of Texas and the Mexican state of Coahulia y Texas.

European records of travelers encountering what would become the United States. 1000 AD - 1844 AD

Popular magazines of the era digitized by Cornell

Legal sources, focuses on Manifest Destiny and foreign policy.

Focus on international military and economic documents, and major laws and acts.

Collections of declassified government documents from George Washington University, including some documents on 20th century indigenous movements.

Browse 14 newspapers from indigenous communities. Mostly Oklahoma and Minnesota-based.

Several digital collections on radicalism, notably on the events at Wounded Knee. Citations are minimal.

The official website of AIM, an organization that grew from and with the Red Power movement of the mid-20th Century.

"This collection features materials covering the centuries long struggles of Indigenous Americans to resist European imperialism and maintain their culture and autonomy. Focuses of the collection include Native American political prisoners, documents and recordings from the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the 1992 Tribunal which centered on challenging the 500th anniversary of Columbus "discovering" America."

Includes FBI, CIA, White House, and Department of Justice declassified documents on the American Indian Movement.