LibGuides: Introduction to History Research at MSU: Primary Source Collections

Primary Source Collections

American History in Video This link opens in a new window
As a biographical resource, American History in Video will include hundreds of profiles of great American leaders and personalities. As an encyclopedia of history, it provides footage of seminal historic events. Compare Kennedy’s rhetorical flair with Nixon’s. Examine racial stereotypes as presented in newsreels featuring African Americans prior to 1950. Consider Ed Herlihy’s use of alliteration and other tropes of propaganda in WW2 newsreels. These and thousands of other searches are easy with American History in Video.
American Slavery Collection 1820-1922 This link opens in a new window
This digital edition of the American Antiquarian Society’s extraordinary holdings of slavery and abolition materials delivers more than 3,500 works published over the course of more than 100 years. The American Slavery Collection addresses every facet of American slavery—one of the most important and controversial topics in U.S. history. These diverse materials, all filmed in full-resolution color, include books, pamphlets, graphic materials, and ephemera; among them are a large number of invaluable Southern imprints.
AM Explorer This link opens in a new window
AM Explorer is the gateway to a broad and diverse range of primary source content spanning the fifteenth to twenty-first centuries. Content that we own:
- African American Communities
- Age of Exploration
- America in World War II: Oral Histories and Personal Accounts
- American History, Module I. Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859
- American History, Module II. Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945
- American Indian Histories and Cultures. Sources from the Edward E. Ayer Collection at the Newberry Library, Chicago
- American Indian Newspapers
- American West. From the Everett D. Graff Collection of Western Americana at the Newberry Library, Chicago
- Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1980. Sources from the National Archives, UK. Section I - 1948-1966
- Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1980. Sources from the National Archives, UK. Section II - 1967-1975
- Apartheid South Africa, 1948-1980. Sources from the National Archives, UK. Section III - 1976-1980
- Central Asia, Persia and Afghanistan, 1834-1922. From Silk Road to Soviet Rule
- Children's Literature and Culture
- China, America and The Pacific. Trade and Cultural Exchange
- China: Culture and Society. Sources from the Wason Pamphlet Collection at Cornell University
- China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980. Sources from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the British Library.
- Church Missionary Society Periodicals, Module I. Global Missions and Contemporary Encounters, 1804-2009
- Church Missionary Society Periodicals, Module II. Medical Journals, Asian Missions and The Historical Record, 1816-1986
- Colonial America, Module I. Early Settlement, Expansion and Rivalries
- Colonial America, Module II. Towards Revolution
- Colonial America, Module III. The American Revolution
- Colonial America, Module IV. Legislation and Politics in the Colonies
- Colonial America, Module V. Growth, Trade and Development
- Colonial Caribbean, Module I. Settlement, Slavery and Empire, 1624-1832
- Colonial Caribbean, Module II. Colonial Government and Abolition, 1833-1849
- Confidential Print: Africa, 1834-1966
- Confidential Print: Latin America, 1833-1969
- Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969
- Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1961
- Defining Gender
- Early Modern England. Society, Culture and Everyday Life, 1500-1700
- East India Company, Module I. Series A-D. Trade, Governance and Empire, 1600-1947
- East India Company, Module II. Series G. Factory Records for South Asia and Southeast Asia, 1595-1830
- East India Company, Module III. Series G. Factory Records for China, Japan and the Middle East, 1596-1870
- East India Company, Module IV. Series E. Correspondence: Early Voyages, Formation and Conflict
- East India Company, Module V. Series E: Correspondence: Domestic Life, Governance and Territorial Expansion
- Eighteenth Century Drama. Censorship, Society and the Stage
- Eighteenth Century Journals. A Portal to Newspapers and Periodicals, c 1685-1835. Module I: Newspapers and Periodicals,1693-1793
- Eighteenth Century Journals. A Portal to Newspapers and Periodicals, c 1685-1835. Module II: Newspapers and Periodicals,1699-1812
- Eighteenth Century Journals. A Portal to Newspapers and Periodicals, c 1685-1835. Module III: Newspapers and Periodicals,1680-1816
- Eighteenth Century Journals. A Portal to Newspapers and Periodicals, c 1685-1835. Module IV: Newspapers and Periodicals, 1708-1820
- Eighteenth Century Journals. A Portal to Newspapers and Periodicals, c 1685-1835. Module V: The Lady's
- Magazine and other titles, 1712-1835
- Empire Online
- Ethnomusicology. Global Field Recordings
- Everyday Life and Women In America, c1800-1920. From Duke University and the New York Public Library
- First World War Portal, Module I. Personal Experiences
- First World War Portal, Module II. Propaganda and Recruitment
- First World War Portal, Module III. Visual Perspectives and Narratives
- First World War Portal, Module IV. A Global Conflict
- Food and Drink in History, Module I
- Food and Drink in History, Module II
- Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980. Section I - 1919-1929
- Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980. Section II - 1930-1937
- Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980. Section III - 1938-1948
- Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980. Section IV - 1949-1956
- Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980. Section V - 1957-1966
- Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980. Section VI - 1967-1980
- Foreign Office Files for India, Afghanistan and Pakistan, 1947-1980. Section I
- Foreign Office Files for India, Afghanistan and Pakistan, 1947-1980. Section II
- Foreign Office Files for India, Afghanistan and Pakistan, 1947-1980. Section III
- Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952. Section I - 1931-1945
- Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952. Section II - 1946-1952
- Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952. Section III - 1919-1930
- Foreign Office Files for Middle East, 1971- 1981. Section I
- Foreign Office Files for Middle East, 1971- 1981. Section II
- Foreign Office Files for Middle East, 1971- 1981. Section III
- Foreign Office Files for South East Asia 1963 - 1980, Module I. Cold War in the Pacific, Trade Relations, and the Post-Independence Period, 1963-1966
- Foreign Office Files for South East Asia, 1963 - 1980, Module II. Foundations of Economic Growth and Industrialisation, 1967-1980
- Frontier Life. Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters
- Gender: Identity and Social Change
- The Gilded Age and Progressive Era
- Global Commodities. Trade, Exploration and Cultural Exchange
- The Grand Tour
- India, Raj and Empire. Sources from The National Library of Scotland.
- Interwar Culture, Module I. The 1920s
- J Walter Thomson: Advertising America
- Jewish Life in America, c1654-1954
- Leisure, Travel and Mass Culture. The History of Tourism
- Life at Sea: Seafaring in the Anglo-American Maritime World, 1600-1900
- Literary Manuscripts Berg. Victorian Manuscripts from the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of the New York Public Library
- Literary Manuscripts Leeds. Sources from The Brotherton Library, University of Leeds
- Literary Print Culture. The Stationers' Company Archive, London
- London Low Life
- Macmillan Cabinet Papers, 1957-1963. Sources from The National Archives, UK
- Market Research and American Business, 1935-1965
- Mass Observation Online, 1937-1967. Section I
- Mass Observation Online, 1937-1967. Section II
- Mass Observation Online, 1937-1967. Section III
- Mass Observation Online, 1937-1967. Section IV
- Mass Observation Online, 1937-1967. Section V
- Mass Observation Project, Module I. 1980s
- Mass Observation Project, Module II. 1990s
- Mass Observation Project , Module III. The 2000s
- Medical Services and Warfare, Module I. 1850-1927
- Medical Services and Warfare, Module II. 1928-1949
- Medieval Family Life. The Paston, Cely, Plumpton, Stonor and Armburgh Papers
- Medieval Travel Writing
- Meiji Japan. The Edward Sylvester Morse Collection from the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem
- Migration to New Worlds, Module I. The Century of Immigration
- Migration to New Worlds, Module II. The Modern Era
- Nineteenth Century Literary Society. The John Murray Publishing Archive
- The Nixon Years, 1969-1974. Sources from The National Archives, UK
- Perdita Manuscripts, 1500-1700
- Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975, Section I.
- Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975, Section II.
- Popular Medicine in America, 1800-1900
- Poverty, Philanthropy and Social Conditions in Victorian Britain
- Race Relations In America. Surveys and Papers from the Amistad Research Center, 1943-1970
- Romanticism: Life, Literature and Landscape
- Service Newspapers of World War II, Module I
- Service Newspapers of World War II, Module II
- Sex & Sexuality, Module I. Research Collections from The Kinsey Institute Library & Special Collections
- Sex and Sexuality, Module II. Self Expression, Community and Identity
- Shakespeare in Performance. Prompt Books from The Folger Shakespeare Library
- Shakespeare's Globe Archive. Theatres, Players & Performance
- Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice
- Socialism on Film, Module I. Wars & Revolutions
- Socialism on Film, Module II. Newsreels & Magazines
- Socialism on Film, Module III. Culture and Society
- Trade Catalogues in the American Home
- Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History
- Victorian Popular Culture, Module I. Spiritualism, Sensation and Magic
- Victorian Popular Culture, Module II. Circuses, Sideshows and Freaks
- Victorian Popular Culture, Module III. Music Hall, Theatre and Popular Entertainment
- Victorian Popular Culture, Module IV. Moving Pictures, Optical Entertainments and the Advent of Cinema
- Victorians on Film. Entertainment, Innovation & Everyday Life
- Virginia Company Archives
- Women in the National Archives. Sources from The National Archives, UK.
- World’s Fairs. A Global History of Expositions
Archives of Sexuality and Gender This link opens in a new window
Archives of Sexuality & Gender, the largest collection available in support of the study of gender and sexuality, enables scholars to make new connections in LGBTQ history and activism, cultural studies, psychology, health, political science, policy studies, and other related areas of research.

Includes: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Parts I & II; Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century; International Perspectives on LGBTQ Activism and Culture; L'Enfer de la Bibilothèque Nationale de France; and Community and Identity in North America.
Archives Unbound Collections This link opens in a new window
Archives Unbound presents topically-focused digital collections of historical documents that support the research and study needs of scholars and students at the college and university level. Collections in Archives Unbound cover a broad range of topics from the Middle Ages forward--from Witchcraft to World War II to twentieth-century political history.
Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window
When complete, Black Thought and Culture will provide approximately 100,000 pages of monographs, essays, articles, speeches, and interviews written by leaders within the black community from the earliest times to 1975. The collection is intended for research in black studies, political science, American history, music, literature, and art.
Border and Migration Studies Online This link opens in a new window
Border and Migration Studies Online is a collection that explores and provides historical background on more than thirty key worldwide border areas, including: U.S. and Mexico; the European Union; Afghanistan; Israel; Turkey; The Congo; Argentina; China; Thailand; and others. Featuring at completion 100,000 pages of text, 175 hours of video, and 1,000 images, the collection is organized around fundamental themes associated with border and migration issues.
C19: The Nineteenth Century Index This link opens in a new window
C19: The Nineteenth Century Index is a gateway, or portal, into a variety of primary sources for 19th Century studies, especially of the British Isles. Each resource or database may also be accessed/searched individually in the Electronic Resources pages: Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals,1824-1900,American Periodicals Series, Periodicals Index Online, NSTC, House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, Palmer's Index to the Times, Archives USA, U.S Congressional Serial Set. Results of searches in the Times newspaper, 1800-1870 link to full-text, as do most searches in Wellesley Index, APS, PIO, and House of Commons Parliamentary Papers. For results from NSTC searches, use our online catalog to see if we own the book.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans 1639-1800 This link opens in a new window
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 is the definitive resource for information about every aspect of life in 17th- and 18th-century America, from agriculture and auctions through foreign affairs, diplomacy, literature, music, religion, the Revolutionary War, temperance, witchcraft, and just about any other topic imaginable. This resource consists of more than 37,000 books, pamphlets, and broadsides.
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819 This link opens in a new window
Covering every aspect of American life during the early decades of the United States, Early American Imprints, Series II (1801-1819) provides full-text access to the 36,000 American books, pamphlets and broadsides published in the first nineteen years of the nineteenth century. In addition to its books, pamphlets and broadsides, this comprehensive collection features many state papers and government materials, including published reports; presidential letters and messages; congressional, state and territorial resolutions.
Eighteenth-Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new window
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) contains digital versions of 150,000 works published or printed from 1701-1800 in England, and other English-speaking places around the world (including the rest of the British Isles, the American colonies, and the early United States).
HistoryMakers Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
The HistoryMakers Digital Archive provides access to a collection of thousands of African American video oral histories.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO) This link opens in a new window
Includes archive collections on British politics and society; Asia and the West; British Theatre, Music, and Literature; European Literature, 1700-1840; Europe and Africa; Photography; Science, Technology, and Medicine; Children's Literature; Maps and Travel Literature; and Religion, Society, Spirituality, and Reform.
Slavery & Anti-Slavery: a Transnational Archive This link opens in a new window
This resource includes documents from the United States and Europe, as well as other parts of the world. In addition to newspaper collections and books published in the antebellum era, Slavery and Anti-Slavery contains documents from several archives. Includes:

Part I: Debates Over Slavery and Abolition
Part II: Slave Trade in the Atlantic World
Part III: The Institution of Slavery
Part IV: The Age of Emancipation