Allows you to search across more than thirty databases providing access to primary sources from and/or relating to America, Britain, and countries around the globe. The majority of the documents date from a timespan that begins with the fifteenth and extends through the early 21st century. Databases here that are of high relevance to America include: Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926; Indigenous Peoples of North America; American Historical Periodicals from the American Antiquarian Society; Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers; Archives Unbound; and Public Health Archives: Public Health in Modern America, 1890-1970.
Searching across many databases at once, as the master platforms listed in the box above enable you to do, can be useful for many research purposes. On the other hand, each of the databases accessible through the master platforms above also has its own distinctive interface and landing page. The landing page and interface of an individual database will provide you with many orientational cues that you will not be seeing when you search across many databases at once through a single plain master platform.
In the links below I provide access to some standalone databases, but also to some databases that are also accessible through master platforms in the box above. When I have singled out databases below that are also accessible through master platforms, it is because I believe that the database itself is especially important--along with the original interface that was designed specifically for it.
A. Search for Databases that are Collections of Texts Related to American History
Go to CLIO Catalog / Databases:
https://clio.columbia.edu/databases?q=
Enter a search for:
"united states" OR america* in Subject
Then, in the left margin of CLIO search screen, open Resource Type, and select:
Text Collections
That will lead you to this result:
You could also repeat the process, searching for:
canad* OR america* in Subject
B. Search More Generally for Compilations of Primary Sources
Add this tag word to your search: sources
The subject headings used in library catalogs make use of a standard tag word
sources
to indicate compilations of primary sources in various formats (including printed compilations, ebooks, and online databases).
Here are some examples of complete subject headings using the "sources" tag word.