Primary Sources - Library Subscriptions - History Guide - Research Guides at Eastern Michigan University

NEW Primary Source Databases

The EMU Library has expanded our offering of primary source databases.

EMU authentication is necessary to use these sources.

Civil Rights and Social Justice
Publications covering civil rights in the United States including hearings, legislative histories, publications from the Commission on Civil Rights, articles, and more.
NOTE: The EMU Library does NOT subscribe to the HeinOnline collection materials listed under the tab Scholarly Articles & Other Documents.
Disability in the Modern World (via Alexander Street)
Search or browse primary and secondary source material related to disability.
Subjects: Diversity
Info types: Streaming videos, books, documents
History Vault (via ProQuest)
Access digitized letters, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, financial records, diaries, government records and many more primary source materials. Collections include Civil Rights and Black Freedom Struggle; Southern Life, Slavery, and the Civil War; Women's Studies; International Relations; Military Conflicts; Early America.
Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries (via Alexander Street)
Search and browse personal writings of women of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.
Info type: Manuscripts, Documents
Michigan Chronicle (1939-2010)
Search and browse historical news, editorials, ads, and photos from Detroit-based newspaper. Includes first-hand accounts and coverage of politics, society and events.
Michigan Historical Newspapers
Search and browse the backfiles of Battle Creek, Lansing, and Port Huron newspapers in PDF. Includes news, editorials, ads, photos, graphics.
Student Activism
Collection covering student protest, political actions, and equal-rights advocacy in the United States from the 20th and early 21 century.
Subjects: History, Political Science, Activism
Info type: Primary Sources, Articles
Women's Magazine Archive
Archival backfiles of leading women's interest magazines.
Access Tips:Coverage ranges from the late-19th century through 2005.

Primary Source Databases

Historic Documents
Documents on significant events of each year 1972 - current
Subjects: History, Politics, International Affairs
Info type: primary sources, speeches, government reports, treaties, court decisions, presidential statements, studies
New York Times Backfile (1851 - 2019)
Cover to cover in pdf. Includes news, editorials, photos, graphics, ads.
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
All known legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world, as well as materials on free African-Americans in the colonies and the U.S. before 1870. Included are every statute passed by every state and colony, all federal statutes, all reported state and federal cases on slavery, and hundreds of books and pamphlets on the subject.
NOTE: The EMU Library does NOT subscribe to the HeinOnline collection materials listed under the tab Scholarly Articles & Other Documents.

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Library of Michigan Databases

Apply online for a Library of Michigan card and get access to their newspaper, history, and other databases. All Michigan residents and also out-of-state students enrolled in a Michigan college or university are eligible.