History: Primary Sources

Ancient and Medieval History Online covers prehistory through the 1500s. You will find biographies, events and topics, primary sources, timelines, maps, charts, images, and videos.

ArtStor is a digital library in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences. This database includes over 700,000 images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences with a set of tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes.

Britannica Original Sources proves your access to primary source documents from history, literature, science, law, politics, religion, and more. Original Sources gives you instant access to an extensive, continually increasing collection of thousands of classic, primary reference sources in 12 subject areas.

Historical Abstracts with Full Text covers world history from the 15th century to the present. Covers related disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, and sociology. You will find full-text coverage of more than 540 journals and 140 books, with indexing for 2,300 journals in over 40 languages.

History Vault provides a first-hand look at pivotal moments in history. You will find primary source materials from the University Publications of America (UPA) Collection.

Slavery in America and the World brings together essential legal materials relating to the history of slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. You will find hundreds of pamphlets and books written about slavery, whether defending it, attacking it, or simply analyzing it.

The Digital Library of Tennessee provides access to rare and unique primary sources housed in libraries, archives, and museums in the state of Tennessee.  Explore photographs, letters, diaries, oral histories, maps, original art, music, material culture, and archival material that documents the cultural heritage of the state of Tennessee from the Pre-Columbian era to the present.

 Tennessee Founding and Landmark Documents database contains primary documents of Tennessee history. The series will continue with future installments of Tennessee’s recorded heritage from the 1830s to the Civil War and beyond.

TeVA provides a searchable array of historical records, photographs, documents, maps, postcards, film, audio and other original materials of enduring value. This database provides access to a variety of primary source materials related to Tennessee history.

American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection documents the life of America's people from the Colonial Era through the Civil War and Reconstruction. This database provides digital access to the most comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912.

American History, 1493-1945 is a unique collection of American history documents from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century. This database includes primary source documents, including images, chronologies, and documents, from 1493 to 1945.

Chronicling America is an archive of newspapers from the United States. Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present including 125 newspapers from Tennessee.

Fourteen fully searchable databases covering American History, African American Studies, Women’s History, the Civil War, and Genealogy. History Commons, formerly Accessible Archives, provides vast quantities of primary source materials reflecting broad views across 18th and 19th-century America.

Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries brings together 105,000 pages of the personal writings of women of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, displayed as high-quality images of the original manuscripts. 

Territorial Papers of the United States contains the official history of every American territory before it became an American state, sourced from the National Archives of the United States. Also, this database houses a collection of Native American negotiations and treaties, official correspondence with the federal government, military records, judicial proceedings, population data, financial statistics, land records, and more.