HIS131/132 - American History

On this page, you will find links to primary source collections and resources from Central Piedmont as well as other libraries, archives, museums, and cultural institutions related to your course. To learn more about primary sources and how to use them, visit our Primary Sources guide.

To find secondary and tertiary sources, visit the Start Here tab.

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) makes millions of materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the country available to everyone in one location. They also provide Primary Source Sets that include photographs, audio clips, drawings, letters, and much more.

• Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
• The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
• The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
• The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
• Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)
• Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)

Explore the Digital Public Library of America further to find more primary sources related to your topic.

Library of Congress (LOC)

The Library of Congress (LOC) makes millions of primary sources available online. Here are a few ways to discover LOC's primary sources:

• U.S. History Primary Sources Timeline - Contains collections related to the Rise of Industrial America, Progressive Era to New Era, Great Depression and World War II, and Post War United States.
• LOC's Digital Collections - Contains collections from the Civil War to Civil Rights to the present.
• Primary Source Sets - Contains materials related to the Civil War and Reconstruction, Rise of Industrial America, Progressive Era to New Era, and Great Depression and World War II.
• LOC's Research Guides - Includes over 40 guides dedicated to primary source documents in American History. 
• Free to Use and Reuse - Contains Civil War drawings, World War I posters, and images of African American women changemakers.

North Carolina Digital Collections

The NC Digital Collections brings together content from the State Archives of North Carolina and the State Library of North Carolina. It contains photographs, state government publications, manuscripts, and other resources on topics related to North Carolina. Here are some primary source collections that might be of interest:

• World War I (1914-1918)
• World War II (1939-1945)
• Civil Rights (1950s-1970s)
• Women in North Carolina 20th Century History
• Veterans Oral History Collection

Explore NC Digital Collections further to find more primary sources related to your topic.

Additional Collections and Resources

Colleges & Universities

• Digital Library of Georgia's Civil Rights Digital Library
• Harvard University's CURIOSity Collections
  • Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930
  • Women Working, 1800-1930
  • Catching the Wave: Photographs of the Women's Movement by Bettye Lane and Freda Leinwand
• Middle Tennessee State University's Discovering American Women's History Online
• Sam Houston State University's U.S. History: Primary Source Collections Online Research Guide
• UNC Chapel Hill's Documenting the American South (DocSouth) 
• University of Washington's Primary Source: 19th Century Research Guide
• University of Washington's Primary Source: 20th Century Research Guide

Museums, Historical Societies, and Other Organizations

• American Battlefield Trust's Civil War Collection
• Massachusetts History Society's Digital Collections
• New York Public Library's Digital Collections
  • Africana & Black History
  • Industrial America
  • World War I Photograph Albums and Postcards
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art's 1800-1900 and 1900-Present Collections
• Wilson Center's Cold War Origins Collection