American Revolution

American Revolution
A Guide to Library Resources

Spring 2008

Encyclopedias and Handbooks | Bridge and World Cat |
Indexes and Databases | Primary Sources | Websites

A. For background information on your topic, to begin a bibliography and to find experts in the field, consult:

Encyclopedias and Handbooks

Historiography
Historicans and Historical Writing. RR D 14 .E53 1999
    See the introduction titled, "Rethinking history?" in volume 1.
Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing. RRD13.G47 1998
    See article, "American Historiography," pp. 17-29 in volume 1.
For a discussion of historiographical writing and sample essays, check the Claremont Graduate University Writing Center web site: http://www.cgu.edu/pages/840.asp

Colonial Period
Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies. RR E45.E53 1993
    Articles on topics from racial interaction to religion to science and technology. Signed with bibliographies.
Colonial America to 1763. RR E 188.P86 1999
    A gold mine of statistics, plus a chronology and short articles on various subjects. Includes a collection of primary documents at the back.
Encyclopedia of Colonial and Revolutionary America. RR E188.E63 1990
Encyclopedia of American Social History. RR HN57.E58 1993
    Within articles, sections focus on this time period (e.g. Sexual Behavior and Morality -- Colonial Period). Use index for access.
American Cultural and Intellectual History RRE169.1.E624 2001
    Arranged chronologically so easy to browse table of contents. Interesting articles on Popular Belief, Law, Conflicting Ideals of Colonial Womanhood, Whig ideology, Agraianism, Rhetoric, Prophetic Native American Movements, etc.

The American Revolution, per se
Dictionary of American History. RR E174.D52 2003
    Includes an extensive article on the Revolution from political, military, diplomatic, financial and privateering perspectives
Companion to the American Revolution RR E208.C67 2000
    Extensive articles with bibliographies; detailed chronology.
Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution RR E209.M36 1999
    Brief entries for ID purposes (events and people)
Oxford Companion to American Military History RR E181.O94 1999
Encyclopedia of Battles in North America, 1517-1916 . RR E46.5.P87 2000

By Group
African American Culture and History RR E185.E54 1996
Encyclopedia of Women's History in America RR HQ1410.C78 2000
Handbook of American Women's History RR HQ1410.H36 2000
Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas , vols. 1&2. RR E77.N62 1996
Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 4 History of Indian White Relations . RR E76.2.H36

Constitution and Bill of Rights
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution RR KF4548.E53 2000
The Complete BIll of Rights: The Drafts, Debates, Sources and Origin s RR KF47441997

From the British Perspective
Britian in the Hanoverian Age, 1714-1837 RR DA480.B75

Chronologies
Wars of the Americas RR E18.75.M374 1998
Great Events from History North American Series RR E 45.G74 1997
Chronology of African-American History RR E185.H64 1991

Biographical Dictionaries
Women Patriots of the American Revolution RR E 276.C5 1991
Pirates and Privateers of the Americas RR E18.M44 1994
American Indian Biographies RR E89.A46 1999
American Military Leaders from Colonial Times to the Present RR E181.F84 1999
Notable U.S. Ambassadors since 1775 RR E176.N895 1997
Lives of the Georgian Age (Britain) RR DA501.A1L3

Bibliographies
Reader's guide to American History RR E178.R43 1997
The Harvard Guide to African American History R.R. E185.H236 2001
    A comprehensive bibliography both in paper and cd-rom. Divided by era and subdivided by topic. Don't miss special sections on women, geographical location and autobiography and biographies.

B. To identify books, videos, journals, etc. owned by St. Olaf and Carleton, consult:

Bridge

Bridge will offer subject access to individual materials on your topic (but not individual journal articles -- see below for that). A stop at the Library of Congress Subject Headings list will save you a great deal of hit or miss time -- you will be able to identify the topic label which is used by most libraries across the United States (and often abroad) to describe your subject. Lovingly referred to as the "big red books," they are found in the reference area of each library on campus. Specific headings include:

United States - History - Revolution, 1775-1783	United States -- Social Life and Customs -- to 1775
United States - History - Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Dictionaries OR -- Encyclopedias OR -- Biography OR -- Naval Operations OR -- Women OR -- African Americans OR -- Social Aspects OR -- Causes, etc. see LCSH for details	Indians of North America -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 Indians of North America -- Government Relations -- to 1789
Great Britain -- Colonies -- America United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775	Slavery -- United States -- History -- 18th century Antislavery movements -- United States --History -- 18th century
Canada -- History -- to 1763	African Americans -- History, to 1863
New England -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783	Indentured servants -- United States -- History
Family -- United States -- History -- 18th century	Women -- United States -- History -- 18th century
Press and propoganda -- United States -- History -- 18th century American newspapers	Privateering -- United States -- History -- 18th Century
Constitutional History -- United States	United States. Declaration of Independence -- Signers
Statesmen -- United States -- Correspondence.	Upper class -- Maryland
[State Name] -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775	Northwest, Old -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
[State Name] -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783	German Mercenaries

Once you have relevant subject headings identified, search Bridge by subject to find the holdings on your topic in Northfield. For a broader perspective, search World Cat , the cataloging database for most libraries in the United States and many abroad.

C. For subject access to journals and newspapers, consult:

Indexes and Abstracts

Indexes to Scholarly Journals in Specific Disciplines
A complete list of indexes and databases is available through the Libraries' Electronic Research Tools Page . This includes online databases and indexes published in paper format. I have included a sampling here so that you can get an idea of the breadth available and because I believe they may be the most useful for your research. Journal titles for which you should be watching: WIlliam and Mary Quarterly, New England Quarterly, Journal of the Early American Republic, American Historical Review, Journal of American History and the Journal of Military History.

America: History and Life The main starting point for historical research for America and Canada. Don't skip this source. [The other option, when you get there, is Historical Abstracts which covers everything beyond the U.S and Canada.] I suggest you click on Advanced Search -- basic is so basic you'll miss things. The thesaurus is only available from the advanced site
Combined Retrospective Index to Journals in History, 1838-1974 RRD1.C71977
MLA International Bibliography The major index to literature journals. Also covers articles in books. Subjects include literature, folklore, languages, and linguistics.
Art Index Indexes English-language art periodicals, plus museum bulletins, bibliographies, film reviews, and conference reports. Covers 1984 to the present.
International Index to Music Periodicals (IIMP) , 1874 - present. Indexes a wide variety of international music periodicals, some back to the late 1800s.
Music Index The major index to periodical literature in the field of music. Does not include abstracts. Online database covers 1979 - present.
EconLit, ATLA (Religion), etc. If you're interested in economic history or religion of this time period.

Multidisciplinary Indexes to Scholarly Publications
Academic Search Premier Indexes articles in both popular magazines and academic journals, although the default is only for scholarly materials. Covers 1500 core titles, many back to the mid to late 1980s. Full text of articles often an option.
Index to Black Periodical Literature R.R. AI3.O4 1960-
Provides a black perspective on all topics.

Electronic Journal Collections
JSTOR is an online, full-text database of scholarly articles and book reviews. It's great if articles appear here, but there is a 3-5 year lag before they do. Rather than searching by keyword in this database, it is better to search a topical subject index (e.g. America: History and Life). Through the SFX software [the FindIt button] you will be linked to JSTOR or any full-text source to which we subscribe if the article is available in full form. Project Muse is similar to JSTOR, although the time lag is not as great.

Book Review Indexes

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, 1886-1974 RR Z1035.A1C6
Book Review Index , 1965- RR Z1035.A2B6
America: History and Life
Academic Search Premier Search a few title key words plus (book* or review*)

D. Primary sources are in print as well available via Websites. A creative imagination is your best resource for finding them -- think about what you 'd like to find and then decide how to go about getting it. Remember to watch prefaces, footnotes, and bibliographies of secondary works and watch for references to primary sources in journal indexes. But you can also find primary sources in collections or published separately. Listed below are several categories of documents, with examples to whet your appetite, and suggested strategies for finding them. Remember to discuss your needs/ desires with a reference librarian.

PRIMARY SOURCES

Sourcebooks/Collected Editions
Microbook Library of American Civilization. Index: R.R. E169.1.L53 1971
(Collection at Carleton; take the LAC number from the index)
The fate of a nation : the American revolution through contemporary eyes E208 .C87 1975
The boisterous sea of liberty : a documentary history of America from discovery through the Civil War E187 .B65 1998
American independence, the war : facsimiles of documents E203 .G69 1976
Political sermons of the American founding era, 1730-1805 BR115.P7 P63 1991

More of these collections may be found by searching Bridge:

By subject: "Subject Heading" SOURCES
By title keyword: DOCUMENT* or READINGS or SOURCE*

Published Memoirs/Journals/Letters/Personal Accounts/Autobiographies/Collected Papers
Journal. The journal and occasional writings of Sarah Wister E263.P4 W79 1987
Basic writings of Thomas Jefferson E302 .J442 1944
Correspondence. Letters of Thomas Attwood Digges (1742-1821) PS737.D35 Z48
Dear Papa, dear Charley : the peregrinations of a revolutionary aristocrat, as told by Charles Carroll of Carrollton and his father, Charles Carroll of Annapolis, with sundry observations on bastardy, child-rearing, romance, matrimony, commerce, tobacco, slavery, and the politics of revolutionary America E302.6.C3 A4 2001
Letters from a distinguished American : twelve essays by John Adams on American foreign policy, 1780 E203 .A57
George Rogers Clark papers. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library E234 .C57
Hessian journals : unpublished documents of the American Revolution E268 .H47
The journal of Gideon Olmsted : adventures of a sea captain during the American Revolution E207.O5 A32

For other sources of this type, search Bridge:

By subject: Subject Heading CORRESPONDENCE
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
REMINISCENCES
INTERVIEWS

By title keyword: MEMOIR*
AUTOBIOGRAPHY*
DIARY or DIARIES
LETTERS or CORRESPONDENCE
SPEECHES

By author (if the name is known)

Government Documents
Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 : index GS 4.2:C76/2/774-89
Proceedings and debates of the British Parliaments respecting North America, 1754-1783 E187 .G79

For other sources of this type, search Bridge using:

Name of body with a keyword search; appropriate subject headings

CONTEMPORARY (i.e. Revolutionary times) PRINT SOURCES
Blacks Who Stole Themselves: Advertisements for Runaways in the Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1790
Times. London. Carleton on microfilm 1788-
"Pretends to be free" : runaway slave advertisements from colonial and revolutionary New York and New Jersey E445.N56 P74 1994
The American revolution : as described by British writers and the Morning chronicle and London advertiser E249.3 .A63 1991
Rebellion and reconciliation: Satirical prints on the Revolution at Williamsburg [catalog] Carleton Library E298.C64 1976

E. There are many ways now to access the web. You have all done Google searches by now but the results are often overwhelming or unsatisfying. There's a better way to start -- by following time honored routes applied to new technologies:

Websites

Librarians' catalogs of websites:
Scout Report Reviews of web sites; searchable by keyword and Library of Congress Subject Headings
Infomine Websites "collected" by academic librarians -- full descriptions and subject headings
Librarians' Index to the Internet Aimed more at public library patrons but still useful for many topics

Collections: Google Books provides free access to full text versions of many books copyrighted before 1923. An excellent source for primary materials for this period. New items are being added everyday. Here is a sample identified by Professor Hahn:

Individual Websites (and one CDRom version) of primary sources recommended by your professor or reference librarian:

Early American Newspapers Digital

Early American Imprints, Series I, Evans (1639-1800). Covers American history and literature.

American Memory Collection http://memory.loc.gov/ from the Library of Congress

American Periodical Series digitized magazines and journals published in the United States between 1740 and 1900

The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1766-1800 On CD Rom in Reference Room (SE corner -- ask reference librarian)

Spy Letters of the American Revolution from the Collections of the Clements Library

"The Decisive Day Is Come": The Battle of Bunker Hill [Massachusetts Historical Society]

Documenting the American South http://docsouth.unc.edu/ from the University of North Carolina

Revolutionary War letters, diaries and orders: South Carolina

Adams Family Papers

Gilder Lehrman Foundation Electronic Archive

The James Madison Papers

The George Washington Papers

Thomas Jefferson Papers

Alexander Hamilton Papers

New Jersey in the American Revolution

American Memory [Library of Congress]

Past Portal: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation http://www.pastportal.com/
(includes the papers of two royal governers and the Virginia Gazette)

Public Records of Colonial Connecticut http://www.colonialct.uconn.edu/
(government related documents for 18 th century)

Library of Congress: “France in America” http://international.loc.gov/intldl/fiahtml/

Leslie Brock Center for the Study of Colonial Currency http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/brock/

Documenting the American South – The North Carolina Experience http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/descr.html#colonial

Library of Congress: American Notes – Travels in the American Colonies http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/lhtnhtml/lhtnhome.html

Gottingen University (Germany) : Early Americana
http://dz-srv1.sub.uni-goettingen.de/cache/browse/AuthorNordamericanaMonograph,WorkContainedA1.html

Sermons of George Whitefield http://www.oakharbor.net/rbrannan/whitefield/

The Colonist's Library: Burlington, WI
http://home.wi.rr.com/rickgardiner/primarysources.htm

Maryland State Records Online http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/megafile/msa/speccol/sc4800/sc4872/html/all.html
(mostly government related, but with links to some early issues of the Maryland Gazette)

Journal of John Wesley (Founder of Methodism) http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/journal.titlepage.html
(covers his brief stay in Georgia)

English-America Homepage BAD LINK http://english-america.com/index.html
(good source on immigration, shipping lists, etc..)

Early America Archives BAD LINK http://www.mith2.umd.edu:8080/eada/index.jsp

The Diary and Papers of Robert “King” Carter of Virginia, 1701-1732 http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/berkeley/

The Trial of John Peter Zenger http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/zenger/zenger.html

Learning from London Town (colonial MD) http://www.keyschool.pvt.k12.md.us/londontown/Pages/Pages/documnts.html
(includes the Maryland Gazette, probate records and more)

The New England Courant (James Franklin's Paper, Boston) http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/courant/index.htm

The American Weekly Mercury (early Philadelphia Newspaper) BAD LINK http://caxton.stockton.edu/AWM/

The Boston Massacre Trial http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/bostonmassacre.html

University of Georgia Hargrett Library http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/maps.html
(world class map collection, with some JAVA scans of early books/broadsides)

Southeastern Native American Documents: Georgia Libraries
http://neptune3.galib.uga.edu/ssp/cgi-bin/ftaccess.cgi?_id=7f000001&dbs=ZLNA
(roughly 1/3 of this collection pertains to the colonial period)

Georgia State Archives
http://www.sos.state.ga.us/archives/Vault/ArcVirtualVault/timeResults.aspx?id=(1732-1763)%20Colonial (limited digital collection of early sources)

Diary of the Viscount Percival, Earl of Egmont (Early Patron of the Georgia Colony) http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DA501xE31m/

John Carter Brown Library: Archive of Early American Images http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/pages/ea_hmpg.html

Websites of secondary sources and/or instructional websites of use:

Best History Websites: http://www.besthistorysites.net/USHistory_Colonial.shtml

Rutgers University Andromeda Project http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/18th/history.html

Classics in Colonial History http://www.dinsdoc.com/colonial-3.htm
(digital versions of hard to find older historical writings from late 19 th -early 20 th centuries)

Common-Place (forum, online professional articles) http://www.common-place.org/

I'd like to know what else you found that was useful. Please send suggestions to Kris MacPherson (macphers@stolaf.edu)

Google and Google Scholar
GoogleScholar [scholar.google.com] works quite well by and large. However, if you end up at pay-for-use journal articles know that we usually have access to the SAME articles through our databases above, that we've already paid for.
Google [www.google.com] takes you to any and all web sites which match your criteria. The advanced search lets you tailor your search a bit but you're likely to end up with many matches. Take care to evaluate very carefully!!

Useful tools

EndNote : a bibliographic management tool. Learn to build libraries for yourself and automatically insert references in your papers.
How to cite in Chicago Manual of Style format: Link to this website , and choose CMS items.
And, just for fun, if you want to see what you should be doing when, try this research due date calculator, http://www.lib.umn.edu/help/calculator/ .

Suggestions for materials to be included on this page should be emailed to: macphers@stolaf.edu . Thank you!

Contact Information:	Page Information:
Kris MacPherson Rolvaag Library 304 507-646-6798 macphers@stolaf.edu	Created by: Kris MacPherson \| 2007 Created for: Steve Hahn and students Updated by: \|