United States History
The 19th Century (1800-1899)
Featured Books & eBooks
Scroll through the books or click on covers to learn more and/or get access.
Primary Sources
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 American Civil War
- 19th Century American (Perseus Collection)Memoirs, essays, histories, and biographies, including significant coverage of the Civil War.
- African American History in the American WestFrom BlackPast.org
- 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.
- American Presidents: Life PortraitsThis collection of video and articles is about the past and present American Presidents, the First Ladies, and more. Includes original television footage.
- Democracy in America: Tocqueville's AmericaThe American Studies Programs at The University of Virginia takes up the task of re-contextualizing Alexis de Tocqueville's famous political and cultural analysis of American democracy.
- Documenting the American SouthDigital copies of slave narratives from the Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- 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.
- The Forced Migration of Enslaved People (1810-1860) - Interactive MapThis interactive map provides access to statistics about forced migration for particular counties and states from 1810-1860. From the American Panorama website
- Foreign-Born Population (1850-2010) - Interactive MapUse this map to compare demographic information of foreign born populations in the US from a historical perspective. From the American Panorama website
- Freedom on the Move"Freedom on the Move is a database of fugitives from North American Slavery. With the advent of newspapers in the American colonies, enslavers posted "runaway ads" to try to locate fugitives." Search the collection of historic ads using a variety of filters.
- Hearth: Home Economics Archive"HEARTH is a core electronic collection of books and journals in Home Economics and related disciplines. Titles published between 1850 and 1950 were selected and ranked by teams of scholars for their great historical importance. "
- 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.
- Library of Congress Primary Documents in American History--Civil War and ReconstructionIncludes primary source documents from 1860-1870.
- National JukeboxHistoric musical recordings from the Library of Congress.
- New Perspectives on the West - Biography & EventsThis website presents an interactive biographical dictionary profiling the key figures in American history and provides information on various events that took place in the country from 1500-1917. Use the "People" and "Events" tabs to read more.
- The New York Library's Digital CollectionsSearch through many primary source collections of images, portraits, letters, and various documents from collections covering people, places, and events in American history.
- The Overland Trails 1840-1860 - Interactive map"The map traces the routes of about two dozen migrants over the three trails" including the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, and the Morman Trail. From the American Panorama website
- 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.
- Yale University Avalon Project Documents - 19th Century (1800-1899)Includes primary source documents in law, history, and diplomacy.
- Internet Archive's Moving Image ArchiveSearch 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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