Subject Librarian
Getting Started
Open Textbooks in American History
These textbooks are offered freely and openly for anyone to read and use online. Chapters include additional reading lists and, in the case of The American Yawp, primary source lists.
- The American YawpThis collaborative textbook, written and edited by scholars in the field, is updated annually and includes related primary sources for each chapter.
- Building the American RepublicThis two-volume narrative history of the United States from University of Chicago Press is suitable for advanced high school courses.
Finding Background Information
Use these sources to gain familiarity with your topic, narrow your research question, provide context, and identify experts.
- The South Carolina Encyclopedia Online*Free online*
Comprehensive reference source on the history, culture, and geography of the Palmetto State.
- Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new windowThousands of scholarly encyclopedia articles from titles like the Encyclopedia of African American History, Black Women in America, and the African American National Biography.
- African-American History This link opens in a new window
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Aimed at a K-12 audience, this reference source allows students to explore 500 years of African American history and culture through topical essays, biographies, videos, images, maps, and primary sources. - History Reference Source This link opens in a new window
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Features reference books, history periodicals, and other secondary sources as well as thousands of historical documents. Oriented towards high schools and undergraduate researchers.
Primary and Secondary Sources in History
Primary sources = Evidence
- Created during the time period or event you are studying, or produced by a participant (even if after the fact)
- Primary sources are defined by how they are used (i.e. as evidence for interpretation of the past) rather than by what they are (i.e. format or type of material)
Secondary sources = Analysis and interpretation
- Written by historians, scholars, and other researchers
- Secondary sources are based on the analysis and interpretation of primary evidence and other sources