Historical Documents and Sources

Resources in this category:

The Avalon Project at Yale University Law School
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm

Searchable archival legal documents - electronic texts.

The Avalon Project: World War II Documents
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/wwii/wwii.htm

This site collects electronic, full text versions of important political documents from the World War II era. Included are Germany's declaration of war, papers on the Yalta and Quebec Conferences, the Potsdam Declaration, the Master Lend-Lease Agreement, and many more. Documents are provided in HTML format.

Chicago Women's Liberation Union Herstory Project
http://www.cwluherstory.org/

Website dedicated to archiving and sharing the history of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union (CWLU). Articles, essays, biographies, and memoirs document the "role of the CWLU in the movement for women's liberation and social justice of the late 1960s and 1970s." Includes bibliography of websites and books on feminism.

Comparative Stamp Forgery Identification Site
http://www.geocities.com/claghorn1p/

Shows "philatelic stamp fakes and forgeries", organized by country and by year. Images of genuine stamps are displayed side-by-side with forgeries. Some bibliographic references are included.

Cybrary of the Holocaust
http://remember.org/

Remember victims of the Holocaust with historical perspectives, images and personal accounts. Find books by Holocaust survivors, and information about family and friends who were lost or found.

Democracy at War: Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/explore/military-history-researc...

An online searchable collection of over 144,000 newspaper articles relating to all aspects of the Second World War. Most newspapers are Canadian, and each article can be downloaded using Adobe Acrobat. The site also contains fifty-five short historical articles about key topics.

Documents of Diplomatic History
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/irhistry.htm

Electronic texts connected with history, international relations, and diplomacy. Scope ranges from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia to early twentieth century Mongolia, Austro-Hungary, and Finland. Also has links to World War I resources and international relations theory.

DScriptorium
http://www.byu.edu/~hurlbut/dscriptorium/

"DScriptorium is devoted to collecting, storing and distributing digital images of Medieval manuscripts (D is for Digital)". Browsable site containing links to a number of online exhibits featuring medieval manuscripts. Includes both descriptive text and images.

Encyclopedia of Chicago History
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/

The Encyclopedia of Chicago is a web site run by the Chicago Historical Society, the Newberry Library, and Northwestern University. It is filled with a deep and exhaustive look at the history of Chicago, and includes numerous photos and authentic documents available for perusal by users. There is also a listing of historical sources, maps, and special features – including Galleries and Interpretive Digital Essays. This is a great resource for anyone trying to learn more about the history of the city of Chicago.

EyeWitness to History
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/

"Your ringside seat to history - from the Ancient World to the present. History through the eyes of those who lived it." This website highlights excerpts from primary source material, articles, photographs, audio recordings, and video clips about important people and events throughout history.

Fourth World Documentation Project
http://www.cwis.org/fwdp/fwdp.html

The Center for World Indigenous Studies is an independent, non-profit research and education organization dedicated to wider understanding and appreciation of the ideas and knowledge of indigenous peoples and the social, economic and political realities of indigenous nations.

A Guide to World War I Materials
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/wwi/wwi.html

This site is an excellent resource for students and researchers interested in the history of World War I. The Library of Congress provides a list of links to materials that appear on their website that pertain to this historic event. There are links to photos, recordings, newspaper articles, online exhibitions and a bibliography for further reading.

HistoryWorld
http://www.historyworld.net/

"An ever expanding history resource helping to make history make sense. Everybody's articles and images can be set in a world, national and local context."

Internet African History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/africa/africasbook.html

Covering many aspects of African history from human origins until modern times. It links to both pages within and outside of the site. Sources are organized by various different subject areas, countries, and eras.

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html

Provides a large amount of online texts covering a wide range of ancient civilizations beginning with the origins of man and including Ancient Greece, the Near East, the Roman Empire, and the origns of Christianity. Organized geographically.

Internet East Asian History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/eastasiasbook.html

A hugely comprehensive sourcebook providing full text primary source materials available online for researching the history of China, Japan, and Korea from ancient to modern times.

Internet History of Science Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/science/sciencesbook.html

Covering many aspects of the history of science from ancient India through modern times. Complete online full-text sources are organized by different geographical areas as well as eras in time.

Internet Indian History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/indiasbook.html

Covering many aspects of Indian history from ancient India through modern times. Complete online full-text sources are organized by different eras. Also covers Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, and Sri Lanka.

Internet Islamic History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/islam/islamsbook.html

Covering many aspects of Islamic history from ancient India through modern times. Complete online full-text sources are organized by different eras. Also includes a collection of maps.

Internet Jewish History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html

Covering many aspects of Jewish history from ancient through modern times. Complete online full-text sources are organized by different eras and topics; this site also contains links to many other websites.

Internet Medieval Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html

Directory of primary source material for medieval studies available on the Internet. Many sources are available in full text. Browse by type of source or search. Includes special sections for different countries, economic life, the Medieval Church, Jewish life, maps and images, films about medieval life, and more.

Internet Modern History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html

Covers modern European history and American history, as well as modern Western Civilization and World Cultures, covering the Reformation through present day. Offers links to a large number of online texts covering almost every aspect of modern history. Browsable by topic and searchable.

Internet Women's History Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/women/womensbook.html

Covering many aspects of the history of women from ancient through modern times. Complete online full-text sources are organized by different countries. Each country's section features great women, women's oppression, the structure of women's lives, women's agency, feminism, and gender construction.

Jerusalem in Old Maps and Views
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/history/early+history+-+archaeolog...

"We love history. We love maps. And we think Jerusalem's kinda nifty, too. Imagine how delighted we were to find the Israeli government's Jerusalem in Old Maps and Views page. From the earliest known image of the city - a sixth-century mosaic - to a 1905 mizrach (a wall decoration indicating east), these maps depict Jerusalem with flair and symbolism. Symbolism, in fact, means more to these mapmakers than geography; were we lost in Jerusalem with one of these maps contemporarily in hand, we'd still be lost in Jerusalem. To be fair, we should say that most of the maps depict more the country than the city, but Jerusalem, being what it is, always seems to be a focal point. "

The Learning Page...especially for teachers
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/index.html

Presents lesson plans and other resources for teachers that incorporate the Library of Congress's extensive American Memory collection. Search lesson plans by theme, topic, discipline, or era. "Features and activities" includes interactive activities to engage students' attention.

McKinley Assassination Ink: A Documentary History of William McKinley’s Assassination
http://mckinleydeath.com/

MAI is dedicated to collecting full-text primary resources relating to William McKinley and his assassination. Also included are resources concerning Roosevelt’s succession, materials on the assassin, Leon Czolgosz, and various quotes concerning the time period. Documents are searchable by title, author, type and keyword allowing for better access.

National Constitution Center
http://www.constitutioncenter.org/

The National Constitution Center is a non-profit organization that works to increase understanding of the U.S. Constitution. The site includes the full text of the Constitution, including a variety of interactive tools designed to explain the document. Also includes links to information about other U.S. historical documents, resources for teachers, and a section for kids.

The Negroponte File
http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB151/

This site contains recently de-classified documents from John Negroponte’s tenure as Ambassador to Honduras in the 1980s, an era of Central American civil wars and controversial U.S. foreign policy in the region. Negroponte is currently the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Documents and site are maintained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University.

Polar Bear Expedition Digital Collections
http://polarbears.si.umich.edu/

University of Michigan faculty and students at the School of Information in collaboration with the Bentley Historical Library created this site that provides virtual access to the largest collection of primary source and published materials related to the "Polar Bear Expedition," the U.S.'s military intervention in northern Russia near World War I's conclusion. The site includes digitized images, letters, journal entries, maps, military records, oral histories, and a movie related to these U.S. service men who ended up fighting Bolshevik revolutionaries months after fighting in France ended.

Primary Documents in American History
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/PrimDocsHome.html

This site offers a list of some of the most important documents in American history from 1763 to 1877. Each document has a page with background information, links to digital material associated with the documents, and bibliographies for both adult and young readers.

Realms of the Sacred: Early Written Records of Mesoamerica
http://www.lib.uci.edu/libraries/exhibits/meso/sacred.html

This site contains pictures and descriptive explanations of codices from the major ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. Analysis focuses on texts from the Maya, Aztec, and Mixtec civilizations, with additional information on architecture, culture, landscape, and learning. There is also some treatment of codices from the colonial era. This is an online library exhibit from the University of California-Irvine.

Revelations from the Russian Archives
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/intro.html

An online exhibit of actual documents from the archives of the former Soviet Union, including translations and accompanying text. Offers sections on Soviet internal affairs and US-USSR relations.

Speech & Transcript Center
http://www.freepint.com/gary/speech.htm

Links for Real Audio and text transcripts of speeches and TV and radio programs. Speakers include politicians and world leaders (present and historical), government representatives, business executives, and representatives of professional, trade, and social justice associations.

Turning the Pages on the web
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html

The British Library has digitized important historical works, such as Lindisfarne Gospels, Da Vinci's notebook, Sherborne Missal among others. User can "turn the pages of rare books or manuscripts in a highly realistic way. They can zoom in on the high-quality digitized images and read or listen to notes explaining the significance of each page." Requires Adobe Shockwave.

U.S News Archives on the Web
http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/internet/archives.html

This contains links to United States news archives available on the Web arranged by state and provides the dates of the archives along with the cost to retrieve the item. Over 100 archives of international news sources are also available in this site.

US Historical Documents
http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/

This site includes a chronology of US historical documents from pre-colonial era to the present. There are links to text-only versions of the documents and speeches.

Vindolanda Tablets Online
http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/

Online edition of the Vindolanda writing tablets, excavated from the Roman fort at Vindolanda in northern England. Contains an introduction to the tablets and their context, a guide to aspects of the tablets' content, and a searchable online edition of the tablets (volumes I and II).

The World War I Document Archive
http://www.gwpda.org/

"This archive of primary documents from World War I has been assembled by volunteers of the World War I Military History List (WWI-L). The archive is international in focus and intends to present in one location primary documents concerning the Great War." Documents include conventions, treaties, official papers, memorials, personal reminiscences, and images. There's also a WWI biographical dictionary.

WW II Resources
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/

Searchable collection of government documents relating to World War II. Most are US documents concerned with the attack on Pearl Harbor, but there are European intelligence and diplomatic documents , and material on the conduct of the Pacific, some written by Japanese military sources.

Yale University Map Collection
http://www.library.yale.edu/MapColl/index.html

"The Map Collection has the largest collection of maps in Connecticut and one of the largest university collections in the United States. Its collections are geographically comprehensive and consist of over 200,000 map sheets, 3,000 atlases, and 900 reference books. The Collection also houses approximately 15,000 rare (pre-1850) sheet maps. " Site does not include all of the library's maps but does include a good selection from its Antiquarian and Historical City maps to name a few.