Research by Subject: History
Historical Abstracts 
Indexes journal articles, book reviews, and dissertations pertaining to the history of the world from 1450 to the present (not including America, Canada, or pre-history; for America and Canada, use America: History and Life); 1955 - present.
America: History and Life
Indexes journal articles, book chapters, book reviews and dissertations on American and Canadian history and culture (for world history, use Historical Abstracts); 1964 - present.
JSTOR
Full text backfiles of over 1,200 core scholarly journals in humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Includes over 60 current titles, including all University of Chicago Press journals. For all other titles, JSTOR does not contain the most recent 1-7 years of content. Many of these titles are continued in Project Muse or in the Library's print and/or electronic subscriptions. Use the yellow arrow, then the ArticleLinker button to link to content on an external site or check Journal Finder for complete holdings information.
Project Muse
Full text collection of over 500 scholarly journals from the Johns Hopkins University Press and other university presses. Earlier years may be in JSTOR. Check Journal Finder for complete holdings information.
Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Indexes scholarly journal articles on the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400 - 1700 A.D.).
Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson)
Indexes journals in the disciplines of archaeology and classical studies, art, folklore, history, language and literature, literary criticism, music and performing arts, philosophy, and religion; includes over 310 full text journals; 1984 - present.
Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson)
Indexes articles and book reviews in some of the key international English language journals in the social sciences, for example: anthropology, area studies, economics, political science, psychology, sociology; includes over 320 full text journals; 1984 - present.
19th Century Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, 1890-1899
Call Number: REF INDEXES
Indexes articles in popular magazines and newspapers of the period.
Continues as Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, Supplements.
Continues as International Index to Periodicals.
Check volumes by date.
Gender Studies Database
Indexes gender-engaged scholarship from professional journals, conference papers, books, book chapters, government reports, discussion and working papers, theses & dissertations and other sources. 1972 - present.
HLAS Online (Handbook of Latin American Studies) 
Indexes and annotates scholarship on Latin America, including selected books and book chapters, journal articles, conference papers, and electronic resources. From the Library of Congress; 1935 - present.
Index Islamicus
Indexes journal articles, conference proceedings, monographs, and book reviews on Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world. From the School of Oriental and African Studies in London; 1906 - present.
Dictionary of American History
Call Number: REF E174 .D52 2003
A 10-volume encyclopedia of American history, with excellent entries by scholars. A good place to begin.
Dictionary of the Middle Ages
Call Number: REF D114 .D5 1982
From the preface, "It was decided that the chronological limits ... should be roughly A.D. 500 to 1500, ... the geographical scope ... the Latin West, the Slavic world, Asia Minor, the lands of the caliphate in the East, and the Muslim-Christian areas of North Africa." Thirteen volumes.
Dictionary of American Biography
Call Number: REF E176 .D56
Published in 1928, the first "authoritative dictionary of [American] national biography." Beautifully written, a pleasure to use. Twenty volumes, plus supplements.
American National Biography
Call Number: REF E176 .D6 1999
The successor to the Dictionary of American Biography, this work "illuminates the human dimensions of the past." An indispensible source for historical understanding. Twenty-four volumes, plus supplements.
ENCYCLOPEDIAS, HANDBOOKS, DICTIONARIES - SPECIALIZED
Berg Fashion Library
Provides integrated text and image content on world dress and fashion throughout history. Offers fully cross-searchable access to an expanding range of content collections, including the Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, e-books, e-journals, museum directory, reference works, images, and more. Browsable by time period (1600 to date) and by place.
Oxford Islamic Studies Online
Features reference content and commentary by renowned scholars in areas such as global Islamic history, concepts, people, practices, politics, and culture, and is regularly updated as new content is commissioned and approved. Includes time lines, images, maps and primary source documents.
LIBRARY CATALOG - BOOKS & MORE
HELIN Library Catalog
Find and request material at Wheaton and HELIN:
World Library Catalog
Find and request material at Wheaton, HELIN, Brown, Google Books, and WorldCat (libraries worldwide):
New York Review of Books
Essays and reviews of books and the arts, including music, theater, dance, and film. Browseable by year or author; searchable by year, reviewed work, author or contributor. 1963 - present.
The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) Historical Archive 1902-2006
Includes the original image of more than 300,000 reviews, letters, and poems. Fully searchable, and browseable by date, book title, author, contributor, illustrator, editor or translator.
LexisNexis Academic
Indexes and abstracts U.S. and foreign newspapers, journals, transcripts, federal and state case law, law reviews, state and country profiles, company information and more. Many documents are in full text; dates of coverage vary.
New York Times on the Web - current file
Current (1980+) file includes indexing plus full text articles, with limited images. Access provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Ethnic NewsWatch
Full text database of articles from newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press; 1990 - present.
Alt-Press Watch
Full text database of newspapers, magazines and journals from alternative and independent presses; publication dates vary from the 1980's, 1990's or 2000's - present.
Access to Archival Databases (AAD)
Includes a limited selection of historic databases preserved permanently in the National Archives & Record Administration (NARA). The records cover a wide variety of civilian and military functions and have many genealogical, social, political, and economic research uses.
AdAccess
Includes images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Ad*Access concentrates on five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II, providing a coherent view of a number of major campaigns. From Duke University's Digital Collections.
African American Women
Images and transcripts form three digital collections: Hannah Valentine and Lethe Jackson Slave Letters, 1837-1838; Vilet Lester Slave Letter, 1857; and Elizabeth Johnson Harris: Life Story, 1867-1923. From the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
American Memory Historical Collections from the Library of Congress
American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
The Avalon Project at Yale
"The Avalon Project [includes] digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. [Includes not only] static text but ... add[s] value to the text by linking to supporting documents expressly referred to in the body of the text."
Includes documents from ancient history through the 21st century.
Special sections: Project Diana: An Online Human Rights Archive, and The International Military Tribunal for Germany: A Document Collection.
British History Online
A digital library containing some of the core printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles, such as the journals of the Houses of Parliament. Created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust.
Civil Rights Digital Library
The Civil Rights Digital Library promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement by helping users discover primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and others on a national scale.
Discovering American Women's History Online
This database provides access to digital collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the United States. These diverse collections range from Ancestral Pueblo pottery to Katrina Thomas's photographs of ethnic weddings from the late 20th century.
Documenting the American South
Documenting the American South, sponsored by the University of North Carolina, provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes fourteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs.
Early Americas Digital Archive
EADA is a collection of electronic texts written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820, published by the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities.
Emergence of Advertising in America
A database of over 9,000 advertising items and publications dating from 1850 to 1920, illustrating the rise of consumer culture and the birth of a professionalized advertising industry in the United States. From Duke University's Digital Collections.
EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History
Organized by time period and country.
European Views of the Americas: 1493-1750
A comprehensive guide to printed records about the Americas written in Europe before 1750. Based on the bibliography European Americana: A Chronological Guide to Works Printed in Europe Relating to the Americas, 1493-1750 published in the 1980's by staff of the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University.
German History in Documents and Images (GHDI)
A comprehensive collection of primary source materials documenting Germany's political, social, and cultural history from 1500 to the present. It comprises original German texts, all of which are accompanied by new English translations, and a wide range of visual imagery. GHDI is an initiative of the German Historical Institute, Washington, D.C.
Historic Documents
Includes approximately one hundred primary source documents covering the most significant events of the year. These documents range from presidential speeches, international agreements, and Supreme Court decisions to U.S. governmental reports, scientific findings, and cultural discussions. Click on the CQP Electronic Library link to cross-search all CQ Press subscriptions. 1972 - present.
Holocaust Documents from EuroDocs
Documentation, transcripts, decrees, trials, witnesses, victims' "living words," German orders, etc. Remarkable collection.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook
Sources from the Early Modern World through the 21st century. Besides official documents, this site includes narrative accounts, personal memoirs, songs, newspaper reports, as well as cultural, philosophical, religious, and scientific documents.
National Security Archive
"Online access to critical declassified records on issues including U.S. national security, foreign policy, diplomatic and military history, intelligence policy, and more."
Nuremberg Trials Collection from the Avalon Project at Yale
Includes motions, presentation of cases, testimony by witnesses, key documents related to the proceedings, etc.
Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913
A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court; 1674-1913.
Repositories of Primary Sources
"A listing of over 5000 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar." Compiled by the University of Idaho Library Special Collections & Archives.
The Valley of the Shadow
Details life in two American communities, one Northern (Franklin County, PA), one Southern (Augusta County, VA), from John Brown's raid through Reconstruction. Includes letters, diaries, speeches, newspapers, church and census records. From the University of Virginia Valley Project.
Veterans' History Project
The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.
Women's Travel Diaries
The diaries in this digital collection were written by British and American women who documented their travels to places around the globe, including India, the West Indies, countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, as well as around the United States. There are over 100 diaries of varying length, selected from the following archival collections at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University.
WWW Virtual Library: European History Primary Sources
EHPS is an index of scholarly websites that offer online access to digitized primary sources on the history of Europe. Each website that is listed in EHPS has a short description and is categorized according to country, language, period, subject and type of source.
Historical Census Browser, 1790-1960
Data and terminology drawn directly from historical volumes of the U.S. Census of Population and Housing, 1790 - 1960.
ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research)
ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of datasets in the social sciences and related disciplines, such as sociology, demography, political science, criminal justice, foreign policy, law, economics, history, education, gerontology, and public health. The archive provides raw numerical data that can be used with statistical software, such as SPSS. A Data Use Tutorial will give you a brief overview before you begin using the archive.
All Wheaton faculty, students, and staff have access to the extensive ICPSR data holdings. First time users will be asked to create an ICPSR MyData account; thereafter, you will need to login with your email address and password to download data.
HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS & PERIODICALS
American Periodicals Series Online
APS Online features over 1,500 periodicals ... from colonial times to the advent of American involvement in World War II. Titles range from America's first scientific journal, Medical Repository, to popular magazines like Vanity Fair and Ladies' Home Journal.
Washington Post on the Web - historical file
Historical (1877-1994) file includes indexing and full text articles and full page images.
New York Times on the Web - historical file
Historical (1851-2007) file includes indexing and full text articles and full page images. Full text is not available for any articles affected by the Supreme Court ruling on the Tasini case (freelance writers and copyright).
The Times (London) Digital Archive
Indexing and full-image of every page published by The Times (London) from 1785 - 1985. For current indexing, use Academic OneFile or LexisNexis Academic.
Accessible Archives
A collection of primary source material from 18th and 19th century periodicals, including African American newspapers, Civil War era newspapers, and state histories up to 1900 for Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Oxford Bibliographies Online: Medieval Studies
Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics in a specific subject area. Includes guides to introductory works, textbooks, guidebooks, journals, reference works, etc., and links to useful websites. Contains a "My OBO" function that allows users to create personalized bibliographies of individual citations from different bibliographies.
Oxford Bibliographies Online: Renaissance and Reformation
Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics in a specific subject area. Includes guides to introductory works, textbooks, guidebooks, journals, reference works, etc., and links to useful websites. Contains a "My OBO" function that allows users to create personalized bibliographies of individual citations from different bibliographies.
Oxford Bibliographies Online: Islamic Studies
Offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics in a specific subject area. Includes guides to introductory works, textbooks, guidebooks, journals, reference works, etc., and links to useful websites. Contains a "My OBO" function that allows users to create personalized bibliographies of individual citations from different bibliographies.
