American Studies
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REFERENCE, BIOGRAPHY, & STATISTICS
- Oxford Reference: collection of dictionaries and encyclopedias across all disciplines (AC only)
- American National Biography: biographies of prominent people of the United States (AC only)
- St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture: encyclopedia focusing mostly on U.S. popular culture (AC only)
- Statistical Abstract of the United States: historical selection of US statistics, 1878 -present
- 2000 Census: statistics and data from the 2000 US Census
- Historical Census Browser: data describe the population and economy of U.S. states and counties from 1790 to 1960, based on the U.S. Census (University of Virginia)
ONLINE INDEXES AND DATABASES
- Five College Library Catalog
- America, History and Life: List of articles about the United States' history and culture (AC only)
- IBSS: International Bibliography of the Social Sciences: Lists social science articles and books (AC only)
- Arts & Humanities Search: Bibliographies of articles and books in the fine arts and humanities (AC only)
- HAPI: Hispanic American Periodical Index: Index to journals on Hispanic topics (AC only)
- Women's Studies International (AC)
A-Z List of Databases
How to Find a Book
How to Find a Journal Article
COURSE-SPECIFIC GUIDES
- Spring 2008 Course Guides
- Previous Semesters' Course Guides for American Studies
FULL TEXT RESOURCES
- Periodicals & Newspapers:
- American Periodicals Series: Full-text of American magazines from 1740-1900 (AC only)
- African American Newspapers: Full-text of African American newspapers from the 19th Century (AC only)
- New York Times Online: Full-text of the New York Times, 1851-present (AC only)
- Lexis-Nexis Universe: Full-text newspapers (AC only)
- Ethnic NewsWatch: Small, ethnic and native US newspapers and periodicals (AC only)
- Alternative Press Watch: Full-text of alternative newspapers and periodicals, 1995-present (AC only)
- GenderWatch Fulltext newspapers and periodicals related to gender (AC only)
- Books & Pamphlets:
- Early American Imprints: Full-image of books, pamphlets and other works published in the Colonies and the U.S., 1639 to 1800. (AC only)
- Making of America: University of Michigan and Cornell University: Full-image books and magazines in American social history from the late 19th century; sites must be searched separately.
- Electronic Texts from UVA: Modern English - Texts by and about African Americans, Native Americans, Women Writers, Texts for Young Readers, etc.
- Government Documents:
- American State Papers: Full image database of legislative and executive documents of Congress from 1789-1838. (AC only)
- US Congressional Serial Set: Full image database of the U.S. Serial Set currently covering from 15th Congress, 1817, through 35th Congress, 1859 (AC only)
- Ancestry Library : Full image of U.S. Census up to the 1930 Census (AC only)
- Congressional Universe: Index and some full-text documents for US legislation (AC only)
- Lexis-Nexis Universe: Law US judicial court documents and some patent information (AC only)
Find more full-text in paper or microform at the Library.
VIDEOS, AUDIO, IMAGES at Amherst
- Videos at Amherst
- Audio:
- Music & speeches in the online catalog.
- DRAM: Database of Recorded American Music: Non-commercial sound recordings.
- Images:
- ARTSTOR: database of art images (AC only);
- AC Study Images (AC only)
WEB RESOURCES
- Archival and Primary Sources
- A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates
- American & British History Resources on the Internet: List of full-text sites by subject or time period, from Rutgers Univ.
- American Memory: Library of Congress project to digitize their collections; includes photos, music files, speeches, etc.
- National Archives & Records Administration: Records of Congress and other US resources.
- Stanford University - Martin Luther King Jr. Papers -- includes lesson plans.
- Slavery and the Making of America (PBS) -- includes lesson plans. One of many topics, others at: PBS for Teachers
- America's History in the Making
- National Center for History in the Schools
OTHER HELP
- Government Documents: How to find them in the Library
- Style Manuals How to cite books and articles for a paper or project
- Evaluating web pages
- American Studies Department
Send comments or questions to Susan Edwards (seedwards), 413-542-2676