Databases by Subject: History

Restricted to OU students, faculty, and staff

A digital collection of more than 1,700 full-text books offered by the ACLS in collaboration with twelve learned societies, nearly 95 contributing publishers, and librarians at the University of Michigan’s Scholarly Publishing Office.

America: History & Life

The definitive index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. Provides indexing for 1,700 journals. How to export to RefWorks. Coverage: 1964-present

American Periodicals Online Series

This source includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from 1740-1940. Titles range from Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine and America's first scientific journal, Medical Repository; popular magazines such as Vanity Fair and Ladies' Home Journal; regional and niche publications; and groundbreaking journals like The Dial, Puck, and McClure's.

Arts and Humanities Citation Index

Provides indexing coverage of the journal literature in the arts and humanities, including literature, music and film studies. Provides information on who has cited a researcher's work. Coverage: 1975 - present. How to export to RefWorks

ARTstor

ARTstor is a nonprofit digital library of more than one million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences with a suite of software tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes.

Cambridge Companions

Offers introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics and periods.

Cambridge Histories Online

More than 260 volumes from the esteemed Cambridge Histories series covering 14 subject areas including general and regional history, literary studies, philosophy and religious studies.

Chicago Defender Historical

Covers several editions of the Chicago Defender newspaper from 1910-1975.

Detroit Free Press Historical

Covers several editions of the Detroit Free Press from 1831-1999.

Dissertations and Theses

This database is the world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world. It includes materials from 1861 to the present day. How to export to RefWorks

Dissertations and Theses @ OU

Full text access to Oakland University dissertations and theses. How to export to RefWorks

Early American Imprints, entire series

Includes Evans 1670-1800, Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819, Series I Supplement from the Library Company of Philadelphia, and Series II Supplement from the Library Company of Philadelphia. How to export to RefWorks

Early English Books Online

Contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700 - from the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.

Eighteenth Century Collections Online

180,000 titles (200,000 volumes) including books, pamphlets, essays, broadsides and more. Works published in the UK during the 18th century plus thousands from elsewhere. Based on the English Short Title Catalogue.

Google Scholar

You can check the availability of article full text if you use our link to Google Scholar, which will ask you to log in with your OU NetID. How to export to RefWorks

See our guide to adding OU Libraries resources to Google Scholar

Harper's Weekly

Directly experience the richness and historical significance of Harper’s Weekly, America's leading 19th century illustrated newspaper. Coverage: 1857-1889

HeritageQuest

HeritageQuest Online provides access to digital, searchable images of U.S. federal census records from 1790-1930. Other valuable content includes Revolutionary War records, Freedman's Bank records, the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), and digitized pages from more than 28,000 genealogy and local history books.
Thanks to MeL

Historical Abstracts

Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, the history of education, and more. Provides indexing of more than 1700 academic historical journals in over 40 languages since 1955. How to export to RefWorks

History Vault: Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle

A collection of digitized primary sources documenting the civil rights movement, from the early 20th century to the 1970s with an emphasis on the 1960s. NAACP Papers are included.

History Vault: Southern Life and Slavery

A collection of digitized primary sources documenting the far-reaching impact of slavery and the plantation system on the American South and the nation.

JSTOR

Full text of core scholarly journals from their beginning to approximately one year ago. Disciplines include botany, business, ecology, general science, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and statistics. Browsable by discipline and full-text searchable across all disciplines. Especially good for historic or classic articles in most fields. Coverage: 1665 to present. How to export to RefWorks

Legislative Insight

A federal legislative history service that makes available professionally researched compilations of digital full-text congressional publications relevant to enacted U.S. public laws.

Michigana

This subscription database is taken from the Sabin Americana collection giving teachers access to early American published accounts by the people who lived the events they wrote about! “Michigana” includes "130 works totaling over seventeen thousand pages of text that cover the history of the land that would become the State of Michigan in 1835". It also has contextual essays written by historians/librarians on the different aspects of Michigan history including one on using Primary resources in the classroom.

New York Times - Current

Full-text from 1985 to the present date. How to export to RefWorks

New York Times Historical

Offers full-text, full-image articles of The New York Times, going back to 1851. The database can be used to search national and international news, editorials, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, plus historical photos and advertisements. The documents are downloadable in PDF format. How to export to RefWorks

Nineteenth Century British Pamphlets

Online access to the most significant British pamphlets from the 19th century held in UK research libraries. Focus is on the political, economic and social issues of the time.

Project MUSE

Project Muse provides full-text access to the content from over 400 scholarly journals in the humanities and the social sciences. How to export to RefWorks

Reveal Digital: Independent Voices

A growing collection of magazines, journals, and newspapers of the independent alternative press of the 1960s-1980s. Good primary sources for the history of feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Latinos, gays, lesbians and more.

Statistical Abstract of the United States (Proquest)
Note: Historical statistical abstracts available 1878-1969

The Statistical Abstract of the United States Online is the standard summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States – including vital and health statistics. It is also designed to serve as a guide to other statistical publications and sources, both in print and on the Web. Visit the Statistical Abstract Guide for more information on using this resource.

Women's Magazine Archive

An archival research resource comprising the full backfiles of leading women’s interest consumer magazines. Titles are scanned from cover to cover in high-resolution color and feature detailed article-level indexing. Coverage ranges from the late-19th century through to 2005 and these key primary sources permit the examination of the events, trends, and attitudes of this period.

World Newsreels Online: 1929-1966

Streaming video capturing full runs of many of the key international newsreels produced during the early twentieth century.

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Databases by Subject

History

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	ACLS Humanities A digital collection of more than 1,700 full-text books offered by the ACLS in collaboration with twelve learned societies, nearly 95 contributing publishers, and librarians at the University of Michigan’s Scholarly Publishing Office.
	America: History & Life The definitive index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. Provides indexing for 1,700 journals. How to export to RefWorks. Coverage: 1964-present
	American Periodicals Online Series This source includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from 1740-1940. Titles range from Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine and America's first scientific journal, Medical Repository; popular magazines such as Vanity Fair and Ladies' Home Journal; regional and niche publications; and groundbreaking journals like The Dial, Puck, and McClure's.
	Arts and Humanities Citation Index Provides indexing coverage of the journal literature in the arts and humanities, including literature, music and film studies. Provides information on who has cited a researcher's work. Coverage: 1975 - present. How to export to RefWorks
	ARTstor ARTstor is a nonprofit digital library of more than one million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences with a suite of software tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes.
	Cambridge Companions Offers introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics and periods.
	Cambridge Histories Online More than 260 volumes from the esteemed Cambridge Histories series covering 14 subject areas including general and regional history, literary studies, philosophy and religious studies.
	Chicago Defender Historical Covers several editions of the Chicago Defender newspaper from 1910-1975.
	Detroit Free Press Historical Covers several editions of the Detroit Free Press from 1831-1999.
	Dissertations and Theses This database is the world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world. It includes materials from 1861 to the present day. How to export to RefWorks
	Dissertations and Theses @ OU Full text access to Oakland University dissertations and theses. How to export to RefWorks
	Early American Imprints, entire series Includes Evans 1670-1800, Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819, Series I Supplement from the Library Company of Philadelphia, and Series II Supplement from the Library Company of Philadelphia. How to export to RefWorks
	Early English Books Online Contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700 - from the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.
	Eighteenth Century Collections Online 180,000 titles (200,000 volumes) including books, pamphlets, essays, broadsides and more. Works published in the UK during the 18th century plus thousands from elsewhere. Based on the English Short Title Catalogue.
	Google Scholar You can check the availability of article full text if you use our link to Google Scholar, which will ask you to log in with your OU NetID. How to export to RefWorks See our guide to adding OU Libraries resources to Google Scholar
	Harper's Weekly Directly experience the richness and historical significance of Harper’s Weekly, America's leading 19th century illustrated newspaper. Coverage: 1857-1889
	HeritageQuest HeritageQuest Online provides access to digital, searchable images of U.S. federal census records from 1790-1930. Other valuable content includes Revolutionary War records, Freedman's Bank records, the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), and digitized pages from more than 28,000 genealogy and local history books. Thanks to MeL
	Historical Abstracts Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, the history of education, and more. Provides indexing of more than 1700 academic historical journals in over 40 languages since 1955. How to export to RefWorks
	History Vault: Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle A collection of digitized primary sources documenting the civil rights movement, from the early 20th century to the 1970s with an emphasis on the 1960s. NAACP Papers are included.
	History Vault: Southern Life and Slavery A collection of digitized primary sources documenting the far-reaching impact of slavery and the plantation system on the American South and the nation.
	JSTOR Full text of core scholarly journals from their beginning to approximately one year ago. Disciplines include botany, business, ecology, general science, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and statistics. Browsable by discipline and full-text searchable across all disciplines. Especially good for historic or classic articles in most fields. Coverage: 1665 to present. How to export to RefWorks
	Legislative Insight A federal legislative history service that makes available professionally researched compilations of digital full-text congressional publications relevant to enacted U.S. public laws.
	Michigana This subscription database is taken from the Sabin Americana collection giving teachers access to early American published accounts by the people who lived the events they wrote about! “Michigana” includes "130 works totaling over seventeen thousand pages of text that cover the history of the land that would become the State of Michigan in 1835". It also has contextual essays written by historians/librarians on the different aspects of Michigan history including one on using Primary resources in the classroom.
	New York Times - Current Full-text from 1985 to the present date. How to export to RefWorks
	New York Times Historical Offers full-text, full-image articles of The New York Times, going back to 1851. The database can be used to search national and international news, editorials, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, plus historical photos and advertisements. The documents are downloadable in PDF format. How to export to RefWorks
	Nineteenth Century British Pamphlets Online access to the most significant British pamphlets from the 19th century held in UK research libraries. Focus is on the political, economic and social issues of the time.
	Project MUSE Project Muse provides full-text access to the content from over 400 scholarly journals in the humanities and the social sciences. How to export to RefWorks
	Reveal Digital: Independent Voices A growing collection of magazines, journals, and newspapers of the independent alternative press of the 1960s-1980s. Good primary sources for the history of feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Latinos, gays, lesbians and more.
	Statistical Abstract of the United States (Proquest) Note: Historical statistical abstracts available 1878-1969 The Statistical Abstract of the United States Online is the standard summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States – including vital and health statistics. It is also designed to serve as a guide to other statistical publications and sources, both in print and on the Web. Visit the Statistical Abstract Guide for more information on using this resource.
	Women's Magazine Archive An archival research resource comprising the full backfiles of leading women’s interest consumer magazines. Titles are scanned from cover to cover in high-resolution color and feature detailed article-level indexing. Coverage ranges from the late-19th century through to 2005 and these key primary sources permit the examination of the events, trends, and attitudes of this period.
	World Newsreels Online: 1929-1966 Streaming video capturing full runs of many of the key international newsreels produced during the early twentieth century.