Subject Guides: Civil War: Primary Sources: Databases

Primary Sources: Databases

A large number of primary sources are now available through the following databases listed below.

Accessible Archives This link opens in a new window Accessible Archives is devoted to primary source material in American history. Information archived is from leading historical periodicals and books, and includes eyewitness accounts of historical events, descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements, and genealogical records. Transcribed individual entries are complete with full bibliographic citations and are organized chronologically.
American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection. This link opens in a new window A comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1691 and 1877. Subject coverage includes: advertising, health, women's issues, science, the history of slavery, industry and professions, religious issues, culture and the arts.
American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window Full-text access to letters, diaries, and memoirs of participants in and observers of the Civil War including politicians, generals, slaves, farmers, housewives, and others from both the North and the South as well as a few foreign observers. The database also supplies biographical information about the authors of these documents and can be searched by author, date, battle, personal event, geographical location, and other criteria.
Congressional Record This link opens in a new window A digitized version of the bound edition of the Congressional Record (1873-1997) and its predecessor publications, the Annals of Congress (1789-1824), the Register of Debates of Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873). The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings, debates, and activities of Congress. Although the Record contains a substantially verbatim account of the proceedings and debate, it also contains extensive inserted materials, communications from the president and executive agencies, memorials, and petitions.
ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window Brings together a vast amount of information published by and about the United States Congress. It provides a seamless link to the full range of legislative and public policy resources, including: Congressional documents and related resources as well as a number of publications such as the Congressional Record, United States Code, Statutes at Large, Code of Federal Regulations, and the National Journal. Includes indexing: CIS congressional indexes.
Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice This link opens in a new window This collection documents key aspects of the history of slavery worldwide over six centuries, with 16 areas of focus: slavery in the early Americas; African coast; the Middle Passage; slavery and agriculture; urban and domestic slavery; slave testimony; spiritualism and religion in slave communities; resistance and revolts; the Underground Railroad; the abolition movement and the slavery debate; legislation and politics; freed slaves, freedmen and free black settlements; education; slavery and the Islamic world; varieties of slave experience; slavery today and the legacy of slavery. Also includes case studies from North America, the Caribbean, Brazil, and Cuba.
Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive This link opens in a new window Collections on the transatlantic slave trade, the global movement for the abolition of slavery, the legal, personal, and economic aspects of the slavery system, and the dynamics of emancipation in the U.S. as well as in Latin America, the Caribbean, and other regions.
Slavery in America and the World This link opens in a new window Brings together all known legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. It includes colonial, state, and federal statutes along with pamphlets, magazine articles, and books about slavery.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set This link opens in a new window A major collection of U. S. federal government documents, the U. S. Congressional Serial Set consists of bound volumes of all reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The digitization of the Serial Set is being done in stages by the Readex company and is part of the Archive of Americana series of databases and currently is available for the 15th. - 58th. Congress (1817-1904). Eventually, this database will provide coverage through the 96th. Congress (1980). This database can be searched and browsed. PDF images of all documents are available for downloading and printing.

This collection comprises, in its entirety, the Primary Source Media microfilm collection entitled Travels in the Confederate States. In addition, a small number of selected titles were included from the microfilm collection entitled Travels in the New South I, 1865-1900.

Soldiers and Sailors Database

Contains information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Also includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records.