Research Guides: REL 356 / HIS 348 Black Religions in Slavery and Freedom: Finding Primary Sources

Finding Primary Sources

Here are some strategies for finding primary sources:

Check the footnotes, endnotes and bibliography of a good academic book on your topic.
Use the word sources as a keyword when searching the Main Catalog. Example: African American church sources
Consult the subject guides at http://libguides.princeton.edu
Search the finding aids for collections in Special Collections and Mudd Manuscript Library.

Primary Source Databases

African-American Newspapers, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
Full-text collection of African American newspapers printed across the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries.
ProQuest African American Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
African American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Complete text of the major African-American newspapers published in the United States during the 19th century.
African American Periodicals, 1825-1995 This link opens in a new window
Online collection of academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations' bulletins, annual reports and other diverse periodicals.
Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Access to the finest reference resources in African American studies. At its core, AASC includes the new Encyclopedia of African American History 1619-1895; the forthcoming companion set, the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present; the second edition of Black Women in America; and the much-anticipated African American National Biography. Also includes the highly acclaimed Africana, a 5 volume history of the African and African American experience. In addition to these major reference works, AASC offers other key resources from Oxford's reference series, including the Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature.
History Vault This link opens in a new window
Digital archive of U.S. history primary sources. Includes government documents, personal papers and organizational records.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Cross-searching tool for Gale primary source collections (including Eighteenth Century Collections Online, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, Indigenous Peoples: North America, and Brazilian and Portuguese History and Culture). Also allows users to analyze content using frequency and term-relationship tools.
Women and Social Movements in the United States This link opens in a new window
Collection of full-text primary and secondary sources.
Afro-Americana Imprints This link opens in a new window
Full text of more than 12,000 printed works, including lesser known imprints published from the early 16th to the early 20th century.