For related subject research guides see: African-American History, History (Except American), Latin American History, Political Science, and Sociology.

Dictionary of American History. 3rd ed. Edited by Stanley I. Kutler. New York, Scribner's, 2003.
(REF E 174 D52 2003)
Ten-volume set providing 4,434 articles on the facts, events, policies, and people of American history. Volume 9 contains primary source documents and original period maps.

Encyclopedia of American Cultural & Intellectual History. Ed. by Mary Kupiec Cayton and Peter W. Williams. New York: Scribner's, 2001.
(REF E 169.1 E624 2001)
221 essays on ideas and movements that had an impact on American life. Surveys the major periods in American history; groups with distinctive identities derived from race, ethnicity, gender, etc; cities and regions; and the major political, economic, and social orders.

Encyclopedia of American Studies. Ed. by George T. Kurian, et al. New York: Grolier, 2001.
(REF E 169.1 E625 2001)
More than 660 signed articles covering American history, literature, and many other disciplines in a cultural study of the American Experience from precolonial days to the present. The main themes are: gender, race, and ethnicity; American social, political, and economic history; and arts and design, science and technology, and urbanism.

A Companion to American Thought. Richard Wightman Fox and James T. Kloppenberg. Oxford: Blackwell, 1995.
(REF E 169.1 C685 1995)
Articles on thinkers and theories in politics, education, science, religion, and the arts.

Encyclopedia of War & American Society. Edited by Peter Karsten, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006.
(REF  E181 .E634 2006)
A 3 volume set that examines the numerous ways wars affect societies. Covers a wide range of general thematic categories, issues, and topics that address not only the geopolitical effects of war, but also show how the U.S. engagement in national and international conflicts has affected the social and cultural arena. Provides numerous documents including passages from letters, diaries, autobiographies, official documents, novels, poems, songs, and cartoons, as well as images, graphs, and tables of relevant data, surveys, and public opinion polls.

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures. William Ferris, editor.  Westport, CT: Greenwod Press, 2004.
(REF  E 169.1 G765 2004)
Eight volume set of regional volumes with essays covering art, architecture, ecology & environment, ethnicity, fashion, film & theater, folklore, food, language, literature, music, relgiion, and sports & television. Regional volumes include: The Great Plains, The Mid-Atlantic, The Midwest, New England, The Pacific region, The Rocky Mountain region, The South, and The Southwest.

American National Biography. Ed. by John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
(REF CT 213 A68 1999)
Biographical articles (one to two pages) on significant figures in American history. Updates and expands the Dictionary of American Biography (below).

Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Scribner's, 1957-1990.
(REF E176 .D563)
Biographical articles (one to two pages) on significant figures in American history, with lists of sources. The index volume indicates the volume in which each individual is covered.

Who Was Who in America with World Notables. Chicago: Marquis-Who's Who, 1963-.
(REF E 176 W64)
Brief biographies of numerous figures in American history. Volumes are defined by date of death. The index volume indicates in which volume the individual is covered; volume H is the historical volume (1607-1896), shelved before volume 1.

The American Revolution, 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia. Ed. by Richard L. Blanco. New York: Garland, 1993.
(REF E 208 A433 1993)
Articles on places, individuals, battles, and special topics (e.g., Diplomacy, Journalism).

Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies. Ed. by Jacon Ernest Cooke. New York: Scribner's, 1993.
(REF E 45 E53 1993)
274 topical and thematic essays on significant developments and events in the economy, society, and culture of colonial North America including the British, Dutch, French, and Spanish colonies.

The Encyclopedia of Colonial and Revolutionary America. Ed. by John Mack Faragher. New York: Facts on File, 1990.
(REF E 188 .E63 1990)
Articles on places, individuals, and events in the United States through 1782. Covers English, French, and Spanish colonies.

Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History.
Ed. by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000.
(REF E468 H47 2000)
1,600 Topical articles on the major political, diplomatic, and military events of the war.

Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. Ed. by Paul Finkelman. New York: Scribner's, 2001.
(REF E 169.1 E626 2001)
599 essays on the events. movements, and central issues of the 19th century.

Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Ed. by Spencer C. Tucker. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000.
(REF DS 918 E53 2000)
Articles on countries at war, events, individuals, and topics (e.g. Prisoners of War, Demilitarized Zone).

Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. Ed. by Stanley I. Kutler. New York: Scribner, 1996.
(REF DS557.7 E53 1996)
Articles on individuals, events, places, and topics (e.g. Strategy and Tactics, Vietnamization).

Historical Dictionary of the 1920s: From World War I to the New Deal, 1919-1933.
Ed. by James S. Olson. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
(REF E784 .O44 1988)
Brief articles on events, institutions, and individuals in the United States during this period.

Historical Dictionary of the New Deal: From Inauguration to Preparation for War. Ed. by James Stuart Olson. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1985.
(REF E 806 .H58 1985)
Brief articles on the government programs and leaders of the Roosevelt administration from 1933 to 1941.

The Asian American Encyclopedia. Ed. by Franklin Ng. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1995.
(REF E184.O6 A827 1995)
Articles on ethnic groups, historical events, and individuals.

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Ed. by Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith and Cornel West. New York: Macmillan, 1996.
(REF E 185 E54 1996)
Articles on fields of distinction, issues, events, and outstanding personalities in African American history.

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.
(REF E 184 A1 G14 1995)
Articles on immigrant and Native American groups, covering history, culture, language, religion, economics, politics, contributions, media, and associations. Sources for additional study are listed at the end of each article.

The Oxford encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. Ed. by Suzanne Oboler and Deena J. González.  NY: Oxford University Press, 2005.
(REF  E184 .S75 O97 2005)
A 4-volume scholarly set covering the fastest growing minority population in the U.S. Covers the diverse historical and contemporary experiences in the United States of Latinos and Latinas from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Contains over 900 articles ranging in length from 500 words to 7,500 words written by academics, scholars, writers, artists, and journalists, addressing such broad topics as identity, art, politics, religion, education, health, and history. Each entry has its own bibliography and cross-references and is signed by its author.

Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States. Ed. by Nicolás Kanellos and Claudio Esteva-Fabregat. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1993.
(REF E 184 S75 H365 1993)
Vol. 2 covers history by period and region. Historical information is also found in vols. 1 (Literature and Art), 3 (Sociology), and 4 (Anthropology).

Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Stephan Thernstrom. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1980.
(REF E184.A1 H35)
Articles on the history and culture of immigrant and Native American groups, as well as topics common to all groups, such as education and intermarriage.

American statesmen : secretaries of state from John Jay to Colin Powell. Edited by Edward S. Mihalkanin. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2004.
(REF E176.A596 2004)
Extensive articles on the life, careers, and policies of U.S. secretaries of state. The encyclopedia also features lists of further readings, a subject index and a chronological listing of all the people who have held this office.

Encyclopedia of the U.S. Supreme Court. Ed. by Thomas T. Lewis and Richard L. Wilson. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2001.
(REF KF 8742 A35 E53 2001)
Articles on the history of the Supreme Court with special attention to the Court’s major decisions plus biographies of the justices, failed nominees, Supreme Court reporters, and important attorneys.

Encyclopedia of the American Presidency. Ed. by Leonard W. Levy and Louis Fisher. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
(REF JK 511 E53 1994)
Articles on presidents, candidates, and others close to the presidency, as well as issues with which presidents have dealt throughout history.

Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. 2d ed. Ed. by Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst. New York: Macmillan, 2000.
(REF KF 4548 E53 2000)
Articles on all aspects of the US Constitution, including major cases, individual amendments, and issues. Of special interest are the articles on Constitutional History, divided into 15 historical periods.

The Encyclopedia of the Republican Party; The Encyclopedia of the Democratic Party. Ed. by George Thomas Kurian. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 1997.
(REF JK 2352 K87 1997)
Vols. 1 and 2 cover the Republican Party; vols. 3 and 4 cover the Democrat Party. Vols. 1 and 3 include articles on issues, ideologies, and biographies of party leaders. Vols. 2 and 4 are histories of elections.

The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress. Ed. by Donald C. Bacon, Roger H. Davidson, and Morton Keller. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995.
(REF JK 1067 E63 1995)
Articles on congressional leaders, political events, and issues before the Congress throughout American history.

Encyclopedia of US Foreign Relations. Ed. by Bruce W. Jentleson and Thomas G. Paterson. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
(REF E 183.7 E53 1997)
Articles on major diplomats, treaties, wars, and foreign countries in their relations with the United States.

Handbook of American Womens History. Ed. by Angela M. Howard and Frances M. Kavenik. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2000.
(REF HQ 1410 H36 2000)
Articles on notable women, women’s organizations, and specific issues (e.g. Birth Control, Equal Rights Amendment). Includes bibliographies.

The Encyclopedia of American Religious History. Ed. by Edward L. Queen, Stephen R. Prothero, and Gardiner H. Shattuck, Jr. New York: Facts on File, 1996.
(REF BL 2525 Q44 1996)
Articles on religions and denominations, issues (e.g. Nativism, Pluralism), and famous individuals.

Encyclopedia of American Social History. Ed. by Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliott J. Gorn, and Peter W. Williams. New York: Scribner, 1993.
(REF HN 57 E58 1993)
Long articles in a classified arrangement. Part I includes articles on social change in historical periods. Other articles cover methodology, ethnic groups, regions, rural and urban life, patterns of life, labor, popular culture, family, social problems, science, and education. Long bibliographies.

Encyclopedia of American Immigration. Ed. by James Ciment. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 2001.
(REF JV 6465 E53 2001)
Covers immigration in four parts: Part 1 covers history; Part 2 covers contemporary issues and destinations for immigrants; Part 3 covers immigrant groups in America with an emphasis on their regional origin; Part 4 offers historical and contemporary documents connected to immigration.

Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Times to the Present. Millenial Edition. Edited by Susan B. Carter, et al. New York, Cambridge University Press, 2006.
(REF HA 202 H57 2006)
A five volume set that includes over 37,000 data series and dozens of new topics, among them slavery, American Indians, and poverty. This thoroughly revised edition reflects thirty years of information and new scholarship, providing a comprehensive compendium of statistics from over 1,000 sources, recording every aspect of the history of the USA with data on population, migration, labor, prices, finance, agriculture, industries, and government.

Poverty in the United States: an encyclopedia of history, politics, and policy. Edited by Gwendolyn Mink. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO Inc., 2004
(REF HC110.P6.P598 2004)
A two-volume topical encyclopedia with extensive, signed articles on broad subjects related to poverty and the social and political aspects. Bibliographies are included at the end of each article for further reading.

The Greenwood encyclopedia of world popular culture. Ed. by Gary Hooppenstand. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2007.
  (REF  HM 621  .G74 2007
6-volume set designed to meet the needs of today's multicultural classrooms and libraries. Thematic organization makes studying a broad range of topics- from film and art to foods and fashions-easier for students of world history and culture. The Encyclopedia gives readers quick access to the popular interests in countries around the world, all while offering critical insight into the influence of regional pop culture on contemporary societies over the past century
 
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. by Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast. Boston: St. James Press, 2000.
(REF E169.1 S76 2000)
Provides 2,700 essays on all elements of popular culture in the U.S. in the 20th century.

Violence in America: An Encyclopedia. Ed. by Ronald Gottesman. New York: Scribner, 1999.
(REF HN 90 V5 1999)
Articles on violent crime, wars, violence in media, and the causes and effects of violence.

The Library of American Civilization. Chicago: Library Resources, Inc., 1972.
(Microfiche)
A collection on microfiche of 6.5 million pages of published books and periodicals through 1917. For more information on using this collection, see our Search Guide.

New York Times Index. 1851-1994. see also New York Times Historical Collection (1851-2001).
(Periodical stacks)
An index to all articles and editorials in the library’s complete microfilm set. The New York Times Historical Collection database contains digital reproductions of articles and pages from the newspaper.

Poole’s Index to Periodicals. 1802-1907.
(Periodical stacks)
A subject index to major British and American periodicals, with a separate author index.

Ely Library Catalog.
(Internet Site: http://catalog.lib.wsc.ma.edu/)
For books, audio-visual materials, etc. located in the Ely Library.
To find subject terms, use the Library of Congress Subject Headings, available at the Reference Desk, or browse the online catalog for ideas.
For more information on using the library catalog, see our guide to Searching the Ely Library Catalog.

The subject heading for general histories of the United States is:

United States—History

For most periods of American history, dates (and sometimes phrases) are added to the above:

United States—History—1815-1861

United States—History—Civil War, 1861-1865

Some periods, however, are listed under their customary names:

Mexican War, 1846-1848

New Deal, 1933-1939

Some topics in history follow the name of the country, and some may be subdivided by period:

United States—Economic conditions [by period]	United States—Foreign Relations [by period]
United States—Historical geography	United States—Politics and government [by period]
United States—Religion [by period]	United States—Social conditions [by period]

In other cases, the name of the country follows the topic:

Architecture—United States—History	Constitutional history—United States
Crime—United States—History	Law—United States—History

Events may be listed under the place or their customary names:

Gettysburg (Pa.), Battle of, 1863

Police strike, Boston, Mass., 1919

America:  History & Life    Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#AHL)
Provides citations to dissertations and journals published worldwide including selected historical journals from major countries, state and local history journals, as well as a selection of journals in the social sciences and humanities relating to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. The database provides full-text links to many journal articles in Project Muse, JSTOR, Ebsco, and other full-text databases in our collection.  For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

History Resource Center: U.S.    Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#History Resource)
Provides a complete overview of U.S. history with comprehensive coverage of the most-studied events, issues and current information. Coverage includes content that is 50% or more from primary source documents, including monographs, pamphlets, first-person accounts, etc. Additional content includes documents from digital archives, encyclopedic articles, country and era overview information; full-text periodicals and journals; a historical bibliography; and links to digitized special collections. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

JSTOR  Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#JSTOR)
Contains PDF full text of many scholarly journals, including a collection of 39 History journals. Since coverage is retrospective, the latest 3-5 years of journal issues are not available. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

Project Muse   Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Project Muse)
Contains the full text of journals for many subjects, including History, and American and Native American studies. The latest 5-10 years of journal issues are available. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

New York Times Historical Collection 1851-2001   Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#New York Times Historical)
Provides full-text and full-image articles for newspapers dating back to 1851. The historical collection includes PDF reproductions of every page from every issue. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

In the First Person
(Internet Site: http://www.inthefirstperson.com)
A database indexing primary source documents available in digital repositories. This database indexes letters, diaries, oral histories, and personal narratives relating to all subjects and eras of American History. These documents can be searched by keyword or subject. The online files available include audio, video, and text versions of the accounts.

Academic Search Premier   Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Academic)
General subject coverage. For magazine and journal references as well as full-text articles. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

Expanded Academic ASAP   Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Expanded Academic)
General subject coverage. For magazine and journal references as well as full-text articles. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

Biography Resource Center   Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Biography Resource)
Combines nearly 80 of the most frequently consulted biographical sources with more than 250 full-text periodicals to provide answers to a wide range of questions. Contains more than one million thumbnail biographies from sources such as the Complete Marquis Who’s Who, the Encyclopedia of World Biography, Scribner’s Encyclopedia of American Lives, Who’s Who Among African Americans, and Dictionary of American Biography. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

The American Historical Association’s Guide to Historical Literature. Ed. by Mary Beth Norton. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
(REF D 20 A55 1995).
A bibliograpy of the best historical writing, with brief descriptions. American history is covered in vol. 2, pp. 1239-1503.

Reader's Guide to American History. Peter J. Parish. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997.
(REF E 178 R43 1997)
Bibliographies of the best historical writing on topics in American history, with evaluations.

WWW Resources by Subject: History (Ely Library at Westfield State College)
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/history.htm)
Provides links to web sites in history.

African-American History: Web Sites (Ely Library at Westfield State College)
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/guidafric.htm#web)

Latin American History: Recommended Websites (Ely Library at Westfield State College)
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/guidlatamerhistory.html#websites)

American Memory - Historical Collections for the National Digital Library
(Internet Site: http://rs6.loc.gov/amhome.html)
From the Library of Congress. Digitized collections of primary documents and photographs from American history.

Making of America Project
(Internet Site: http://www.umdl.umich.edu/moa/)
Primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. Contains approximately 1,600 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. Browse by topic or search.