American History

Prepared by Karilyn Jaap
April 2006

Materials on this subject are located on the second floor of the library divided by the following broad classifications:

General E171-E178
1865-1900 E660-E738
Colonial Era (1607-1775) E186-E199
Early 20 th Century (1901-1960) E740-E837
Revolutionary War E201-E298
Late 20 th Century (1961-2000) E838-E887
1783-1861 E300-E453
Florida State & Local History F296-F320
Civil War (1861-1865) E456-E655

Further searching may be done in the Libraries of the USF System online catalog, using the subject heading: United States--History.

Atlases

Historical Atlas of the United States. Atlas Case #8. REF G1201 .S1 N3 1993.

Heavily illustrated, this atlas is divided into six major topical areas: land, people, boundaries, economy, networks, and communities. Published by the National Geographic Society to celebrate its centennial in 1988, this revised edition contains well-chosen and clearly presented reproductions, graphs, and maps. A bibliography of sources and an index are at the back.

The Routledge Historical Atlases:

African American History. REF E185 .E125 2000.
American Railroads REF G1201 .P3 S8 1999.
American South. REF G1281 .S5 F7 1999.
Presidential Elections. REF G1201 .S1 M5 2001.
Religion in America REF G1201 .E4 C3 2000.
Women in America. REF HQ1410 .P68 2000.

Each of these titles is heavily illustrated and gives a chronology, a bibliography of further readings, and an index at the back.

Bibliographies

Harvard Guide to American History. 2 v. REF Z1236 .F77 1974.

This is the basic reference bibliography for American history. Entries in volume one are arranged by topic; the arrangement of volume two is chronological, then by topic within historical period. An explanation on how to use the guide is located inside the front cover. Although dated, this title is still considered an indispensable first source for this field.

Biographies

American National Biography. 24 v. REF CT213 .A68 1999.

A successor to the Dictionary of American Biography (below), the ANB is more inclusive and diverse than its predecessor, with entries on blacks, women, and others who influenced “the history, social fabric, and culture of our nation.” Covers Americans deceased prior to 1996. Supplement 1 (2002) covers those persons who died between 1996 and 2001 plus selected earlier figures omitted from the original series. Entries are lengthy, signed, and carry extensive bibliographies.

Dictionary of American Biography. REF E176 .D563.

This is the foremost scholarly collection of biographies available on American lives. It includes “noteworthy persons of all periods who lived in the territory now known as the United States, excluding British officers serving in America after the colonies declared their independence.” Living persons are not included. To date, ten supplements have been published, each with a cumulative index. The dates of each supplement refer to the death dates of its subjects.

Suggested Databases

America: History and Life. ABC-Clio Libraries of the USF System

Indexes over 2,000 journals delivering articles on U.S. and Canadian history. Citation and abstract only.
Note: Because history is inextricably linked with other subject areas, many general databases index historical materials full-text online. A few of the most popularly used are listed below:

Expanded Academic ASAP. 1980 to date.

JSTOR .
Dates vary (indexing starts with volume 1, issue 1, of any journal included in this database and stops five years before the present date).

Project Muse. 1995 to date.

Social Sciences Full Text. 1983 to date (full-text delivery starts in 1995).

Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. 1982 to date (full-text delivery starts in 1994).

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Dictionary of American History. 10 v. REF E174 .D52 2003.

Signed entries, alphabetically arranged, some lengthy. Each carries a bibliography. Unlike its predecessors, this edition is heavily illustrated with photographs and maps. Two-thirds of the entries in this edition are either new or heavily revised. However, no biographical material is included (see Dictionary of American Biography, above). A guide to research and an index comprise volume 10.

Encyclopedia of American Social History. HN57 .E58 1993.

The three volumes in this “history of everyday life” are divided into 14 thematic sections. Each topical essay is signed by the contributor and ends with a lengthy bibliography. A detailed subject index is at the back of the third volume.

Oxford Companion to United States History. REF E174 .O94 2001.

A one-volume compendium, alphabetically arranged. Short, signed entries carry bibliographies and include biographies of major historical figures as well as significant events in American history. Subject index at the back.

Documents

AMDOCS. Libraries of the USF System.

Provides full-text online access to over 400 primary source documents in American history from the fifteenth century onward. Note that a variety of institutions have created some of these as part of separate digitization projects, and the user will find differences in the end product.

Documents of American History. V I: to 1898; V II: since 1898. REF E173 .D59 1988.

Gathers together reprints of significant documents covering the breadth of America’s history from Columbus (1492) to the Iran-Contra Affair (1987). A short introduction gives the historical significance of the document along with references to further studies. Each volume carries its own index.

Landmark Documents in American History. 1995. CD-ROM. Ask at Reference Desk.

This disk carries the full-text of over 1,200 key documents in American history. Each document has an introductory essay placing it in historical context, biographies of the major figures associated with the document, and a bibliography for further study. An extensive photo gallery is an added feature. The keyword search format serves as an excellent index.

Handbooks and Guides

Great American History Fact-Finder. REF E174 .C67 2004.

Short entries of the people, places, and events that shaped U.S. history. A bibliography, maps, demographic tables, historic documents, and an index are at the back.  

New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. REF E174 .N48 1997.

A one-volume compilation of the most important events and people in U.S. history, this source was designed to answer the most frequently asked questions on the subject. Divided into fourteen topical areas, each section begins with a timeline and includes other major events and persons associated with it. A bibliography of additional sources ends each section 

Reader’s Guide to American History. REF E178 .R33 1997

Offers guidance to readers through descriptions and assessments of approximately 600 topics encompassing U.S. political, social, and economic history. Signed entries fall into three main categories, events, individuals, and broader themes and issues, are arranged in alphabetical order. A booklist index and a subject index are at the back.

This Day in American History. REF E174.5 .G76 2001.

“Provides access to the historically significant events of each day in the year from the earliest available date to 1999.” A subject index is at the back.

Selected Periodicals

American Heritage. Print: 1960 to date.
American Historical Review. Print: 1959 to date. Online: 1895-2000 [JSTOR]. Refereed.
American Quarterly. Print: 1980-1997. Online: 1996 to date. Refereed.
Civil War History. Print: 1967 to date. Online: 2000 to date.
Florida Historical Quarterly. 1985 to date.
Journal of American History. Print: 1964 to date. Online: 1964-2000 [JSTOR]. Refereed.
Formerly: Mississippi Valley Historical Review. Print: 1914-1964. Online: 1892-1964 [JSTOR].
Journal of Southern History. Print: 1968 to date. Online: 1935 to 2000 [JSTOR]. Refereed.
Reviews in American History. Print: 1977 to date. Online: 1995 to date.
Tampa Bay History. Print: 1979 to 1998.
William and Mary Quarterly. Print: 1965 to date. Online: 1892-2000 [JSTOR]. Refereed.

Suggested Multicultural Sources

Arab American Encyclopedia. REF E184 .A65 A48 2000.

African American Encyclopedia. 8 v. REF E185 .A253 1993.

American Indian History and Tribes. 4 v. REF E77 .A496 2003.

Asian American Encyclopedia. 6 v. REF E184 .O6A827 1995.

Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. 4 v. REF E76.2 .U85 1999.

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. 2 v. REF E184 .A1G14 1995.

Hispanic-American Almanac. REF E184 .S75H557 2003.

Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia. REF E184.I8 I 673 2000.

Japanese American History: An A-Z Reference from 1868 to the Present. REF E184 .J3J3355 1993.

Mexican American Experience. REF E184 .M5 M4535 2003.

America ’s Two Centuries

American Revolution, 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia. 2 v. REF E208 .A433 1993.

Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century. 4 v. REF E740.7 .E53 1996.

Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History. 5v. REF E468 .H47 2000.