Research Guides: HIST 200: Unsettling Colonial America: Primary Sources

Suggested Resources

Colonial State Papers (1574 - 1757)
Primary source documents covering the earliest English settlements in North America, encounters with Native Americans, piracy in the Atlantic and Caribbean, the trade in slaves, and English conflicts with the Spanish and French
Primary Source collections included:
Privy Council and related bodies: America and West Indies, Colonial Papers (Collection CO 1 from The National Archives) -
Papers presented to the Privy Council and the Board of Trade between 1574-1757, relating to England's governance and activities in the American, Canadian, and West Indian colonies

The Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies 1574-1739 -
bibliographic records on documents relating to the colonial past, some with abstracts and full transcriptions

Detailed Guide to this resource.
Early Encounters in North America
Primary sources documenting the relationships among peoples in North America from 1534 to 1850. Includes published and unpublished accounts, narratives, diaries, journals, and letters on early encounters.
Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries
Search for colonial--lots of early American music examples.
Slavery in America and the World: History Culture & Law
Essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. This includes every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery.
Artstor
High-quality images of artworks and cultural objects from institutions and museums that have been rights-cleared for education and research.
Detailed Guide to this resource.

Accessible Archives
Primary sources from 18th & 19th century American newspapers, magazines, and books. Includes eyewitness accounts of historical events, descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, advertisements, and genealogical records.
American Periodicals (1740-1940)
American magazines, newspapers, and journals in digitized page image format, published between 1740 and 1940.

Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000
Primary sources documenting women's movements and women activists in the US, with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include women and antislavery, women's suffrage, the Feminist movement, Equal Rights movement, and women's role in Civil Rights .
North American Womens Letters and Diaries
Collection of women’s diaries letters, and correspondence spanning more than 300 years, covering the personal experiences of hundreds of North American women.

European Views of the Americas: 1493-1750
Bibliographic records to printed works about the Americas written in Europe before 1750, covering the history of European exploration and portrayals of Native American peoples.
British Periodicals
Hundreds of British periodicals in full text, from the 17th century through the early 21st.

Historic New England: Collections
Search collections of photographs, wallpaper, jewelry, home furnishings, architectural drawings, clothing, and more, from the opulent to the everyday.
The American Yawp Reader
Primary sources related to the American Yawp History textbook.
Digital Public Library of America
Primary source collections can be filtered by Subject & Time Period.
Worlds of Change Digital Collections from Harvard
Digitized documents from archival and manuscript materials in the Harvard Library that relate to 17th- and 18th-century North America. Includes business ledgers, personal correspondence, drawings, maps, illustrations, and government documents.
National Museum of American History
Search and browse primary sources and objects in the Smithsonian's collections relating to U.S. History.
Internet Archive
Open and permanent access to historical collections in digital format for researchers and the public.
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“Books in this collection may be borrowed by logged in patrons for a period of two weeks. You may read the books online in your browser, or download them into Adobe Digital Editions, a free piece of software used for managing loans.”
The Avalon Project
Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy

Professor Suggested Resources

Primary Source Collections

Digital Collections: Library of Congress
American Journeys
Eyewitness accounts of early American exploration and settlement. From the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Many Pasts
Primary texts, images, and audio recordings about the experiences of ordinary Americans throughout U.S. history.
The Avalon Project
Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy
American History: From Revolution to Reconstruction & Beyond
Documents on the history of the United States from the colonial period up to modern times.

Founders

Guide to Thomas Jefferson
Collections of Jefferson's writings, quotations, and other information resources. From the University of Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson Papers, 1606 to 1827
The papers of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), diplomat, architect, scientist, and third president of the United States, held in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division. It is the largest collection of original Jefferson documents in the world.
George Washington Papers
Papers of first U.S. president and army officer George Washington (1732-1799) held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Includes correspondence, diaries, and financial and military records.

Place-based Collections

Colonial Williamsburg
Information about the town's history and the American Revolution.
Virtual Jamestown
Digital research, teaching and learning project that explores the legacies of the Jamestown settlement and "the Virginia experiment."
Documenting the American South
Primary sources covering Southern history, literature, and culture. From the University of North Carolina.
Plimoth Patuxet
Living history museum in Plymouth, MA. Exhibits on Native American and Colonial American life.

Scholarly & Teaching Resources

Connecting Vast Early America
Research institute with digital projects on US History. Partnered with William & Mary University.
Colonial Settlement 1600s-1763
Multimedia resources from the Library of Congress that support instruction about Colonial and Early America. Includes presentations, exhibitions, bibliographies, and other materials.

Library

HIST 200: Unsettling Colonial America

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Suggested Resources

Professor Suggested Resources

Primary Source Collections

Founders

Place-based Collections

Scholarly & Teaching Resources