United States History
Early American through the 18th Century (xxxx-1799)
Featured Books & eBooks
Scroll through the titles below, or click on a book cover to learn more.
Primary Sources Online
The alphabetical list of links below go to different websites where you can find both secondary and primary sources on a variety of different topics pertaining to people, places, and events important to U.S. History at this time.
*Note: There is another "American Wars" tab in this guide that contains additional resources covering the Revolutionary War.
- AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American HistoryThis database provides links to full-text, primary documents in American history from 1000 AD to the present. United States documents are organized by presidential administration.
- America as Refuge: The Seventeenth CenturyPart of the "Religion and the Founding of the American Republic" from the Library of Congress, this collection looks at the religious persecution in Europe that drove so many to the shores of British North America where these new settlers established colonies often centered on passionate religious convictions
- America in Class - National Humanities CenterCollections of Primary Sources by Era with Discussion Questions
- American Journeys"American Journeys contains more than 18,000 pages of eyewitness accounts of North American exploration, from the sagas of Vikings in Canada in AD1000 to the diaries of mountain men in the Rockies 800 years later."
- American Notes: Travels in America, 1750 to 1920From the Library of Congress, this collection is comprised of "253 published narratives by Americans and foreign visitors recounting their travels in the colonies and the United States and their observations and opinions about American peoples, places, and society from about 1750 to 1920. "
- American Notes: Travels in America, 1750 to 1920From the Library of Congress, this collection is comprised of "253 published narratives by Americans and foreign visitors recounting their travels in the colonies and the United States and their observations and opinions about American peoples, places, and society from about 1750 to 1920. "
- The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual RecordA collection of images related to the experiences of Africans in the Americas, and their descendants, this is a searchable database which is also arranged by eighteen subject categories.
- Colonial WilliamsburgFind articles and online collections about life in Colonial Williamsburg. Topics include food, manners, politics, religion, trades, clothing, and sections of Native Americans, African Americans, and a info on many notable people in the area's history.
- DocsTeachSearch the U.S. National Archives for historical documents, photographs, video, audio, maps and artifacts from 1754 through the presen
- Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774 to 1789Items include excerpts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
- Famous TrialsThis website offers images, documents, and articles on famous trials in history, including the Salem Witch Trials, The John Brown Trial, Susan B. Anthony Trial, and many more.
- Founders OnlineCorrespondence and other writings of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.
- The Founders’ ConstitutionThe documents included range from the early seventeenth century to the 1830s, from the reflections of philosophers to popular pamphlets, from public debates in ratifying conventions to the private correspondence of the leading political actors of the day about the early legal documents of the United States.
- History of Medicine - U.S. National Library of MedicineSearch through films, prints and photographs, rare books and journals, lectures, featured collections and more
- In Motion - African-American Migration ExperienceBrowse maps, images, and articles about the African American Migration Experience. Search by Migrations, Geography, Timelines, or Material type.
- The Jesuit Relations and the History of New FranceFull text translation of The Jesuit Relations, a work completed by Jesuit priests which is considered the authority on New France and native people from the mid to late 17th Century.
- Library of Congress: American Memory - Photos, PrintsInclude photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings documenting the history of the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people.
- Manuscript Collections Relating to Slavery (New York Historical Society)The library of the New-York Historical Society holds among its many resources a substantial collection of manuscript materials documenting American slavery and the slave trade in the Atlantic world. With over 12,000 pages of text dating from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, these collections constitute a rich archive of primary source materials that will be of value to anyone researching the history of slavery, the slave trade, and the abolitionist movement.
- Mapping a Growing Nation: From Independence to StatehoodThis collection "comprises maps of the northeastern and southeastern regions of the United States. Over time, maps of all fifty states will be included in this online exhibition."
- National Museum of the American IndianUse the menu to explore online collections and exhibitions on this website.
- Northwest Ordinance - Primary Documents in American HistoryView primary documents on the Library of Congress website
- The Plymouth Colony Archive ProjectA rich resource full of primary source materials including court records, colony laws, seventeenth century journals and memoirs, probate inventories, wills, town plans, maps, fort plans and more. Also included is a section in Grave Art in New England, which compliments the Farber Gravesite Collection.
- Presidents of the United States - Library of CongressThis website offers a Chronological List of Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents of the United States and links to photograph and image collections.
- The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut 1636 - 1776Although specific to Connecticut these public records are excellent primary source material, and can reveal a great amount about the colonies.
- Religion and Culture in North America, 1600–1700Search through primary and secondary
- Religion and the Founding of the American RepublicFrom the Library of Congress, this online exhibition includes documents, images, and information on the topic of the founding of the nation.
- Smithsonian's History ExplorerThis is a great website that offers information on a variety of history topics, as well as images of primary source materials such as physical artifacts. Enter a simple keyword into the search box at the top right of the website. Search example: Revolutionary War, Vietnam War, or Suffrage.
- Slave VoyagesEmory University, 2019. "This digital memorial raises questions about the largest slave trades in history and offers access to the documentation available to answer them....Analyze these slave trades and view interactive maps, timelines, and animations to see the dispersal in action." Includes Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, Intra-American Slave Trade Database, African Names Database, and Image Galleries. CC BY-NC (Creative Commons - Attribution - NonCommercial) license.
- Virtual Jamestown: Jamestown and the Virginia ExperimentThe Virtual Jamestown Archive is a digital research, teaching and learning project that explores the legacies of the Jamestown settlement and "the Virginia experiment." Although still a work in progress, this resource provides digitized copies of materials such as deeds, contracts and maps.
- Witness to the Early American Experience (New York University Libraries)Digital images of historical documents preserve the words of eyewitnesses to the American Revolution.
- Yale University Avalon Project Documents - 17th Century (1600-1699)Documents in law, history and diplomacy.
- Yale University Avalon Project Documents - 17th Century (1600-1699)Documents in law, history and diplomacy.
- Yale University Avalon Project Documents - 18th Century (1700-1799)Includes primary source documents in law, history, and diplomacy
- Internet Archive: Moving ImagesSearch this Moving Image Archive collection to find primary source films on a topic. Connecting to the larger Archive.org collection is easy as well, and the larger website has collections of books and other documents that might be useful for history topics.
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