Primary Sources

Archives Unbound
Many unique archival collections cover the U.S. and globally.
Gale Primary Sources
Newspapers, books, manuscripts, maps, and photographs. Simultaneously search: 17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Sunday Times (London), Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), Making of the Modern World, Times Literary Supplement, and Times Digital Archive, Financial Times (London).
History Vault
Digitized letters, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, financial records, diaries, and other primary source materials.

• American Indians and the American West
• American Politics and Society
• Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle
• International Relations and Military Conflicts
• Southern Life, Slavery, and the Civil War
• Women's Studies
• Workers and Labor Unions
Wiley Digital Archive
Unique or rare historical primary sources, digitized from leading societies, libraries, and archives around the world, and made accessible in ways that tie directly to research outcomes and educational goals. Contains tools for searching, browsing, analyzing and visualizing primary source content.
Vendor Tutorial: Wiley Digital Archives Training Hub
HeinOnline
Comprehensive legal research database. Extensive coverage of law reviews and historical access to resources such as the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, and US Supreme Court decisions. Legislative history and select foreign and international materials. Contains specialized libraries: intellectual property, taxation and economic reform, etc.
Proquest Congressional Publications
U.S. Congressional materials (hearings, bills, Congressional Record and compiled legislative histories) and Executive Branch documents.
Indian Claims Insight
Indian claims process in the U.S., including docket history. Histories of Nation/Tribe and State/Territory.
Coverage: 1789 to present.
Sabin Americana
Books, pamphlets, serials and other works about the Americas, through the early 1900s. Original accounts of exploration, trade, colonialism, slavery and abolition, the western movement, Native Americans, military actions, etc.
Coverage: 1500-1926.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800
Complete text of works cited in Charles Evans' American Bibliography, as enhanced by Roger Bristol's Supplement to Evans' American Bibliography. Resource for information about life in 17th- and 18th-century America, from agriculture and auctions through foreign affairs, diplomacy, literature, music, religion, the Revolutionary War, temperance, and witchcraft.
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819
American books, pamphlets and broadsides published in the early part of the 19th century which are many of the rarest materials published in early America. Based on the noted "American Bibliography, 1801-1819" by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker.

More History Primary Source Databases

HathiTrust
Digitized collections of some of the nation’s great research libraries, established in this repository to archive and share their digital content.
Access Note: VU is a partner institution. Login is required for downloading. Tutorial: https://researchguides.library.vanderbilt.edu/HathiTrustAccess

Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest)
Extensive selection of statistics for the United States, with selected data for regions, divisions, states, metropolitan areas, cities, and foreign countries from reports and records of government and private agencies.
Access Note: If prompted to select an account, select Vanderbilt University.
Historical Statistics of the United States: Millennial Edition (HSUS)
Historical statistics on social, political, and economic aspects of the United States. Census and other statistical data. Create custom tables and merge columns from multiple tables to create custom tables, which can also be downloaded, printed, or graphed. Essays by experts place topics such as migration, slavery, health, crime, Native Americans, and the Confederate States of America in historical context.
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International Historical Statistics
Global statistical data on business, economics, environmental studies, geography, history, politics, sociology, and statistical studies.
Coverage: 1750-2010.
ProQuest Statistical Insight
Federal, state, and international statistical, economic, demographic, and geographic information. National income and production statistics, retail and wholesale trade data, interest rates, economic indicators, and social and demographic statistics, plus data on energy, environmental protection, agriculture, fisheries, crime, etc.
Coverage: From the U.S. government, 1973 to present; from international intergovernmental, 1983 to present.
Social Explorer
Current and historical census data and demographic information: US Census, American Community Survey, religious membership, carbon emissions data, etc. Customizable maps, charts, and reports.
Statista
Quantitative data, statistics, infographics, and related information compiled from market research institutes, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases.
Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970 (Tennessee)
Large-scale landbook maps which includes information such as outline of each building, the size and shape and construction materials, heights, and function of structures, location of windows and doors, street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. Textual information includes construction details, ownership and building use. Fire insurance maps of Tennessee.

iPOLL (Roper Center)
Public opinion poll data: poll questions and answers, datasets, and survey questionnaires from academic, commercial, and media polls on opinions and behaviors from major survey research organizations in the United State, including Gallup, Pew, Annenburg Public Policy Center, and news organizations, such as CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, the New York Times.
Coverage: 1935 to present.
Gallup Analytics
US and global polling data, new and historical, at the city, state, and national level. Microdata is available upon request. Please visit this resource guide to learn more about available data and to request access.
Polling the Nations
Poll questions and responses from national, state, local and special public opinion polls and surveys conducted by polling organizations in the United States and other countries.
Coverage: 1986 to present.

Academic Video Online
Documentaries, interviews, performances, news programs and newsreels, field recordings, commercials, raw footage, and thousands of award-winning films.
Kanopy
On-demand streaming video service for documentaries, training films, and theatrical releases. Films under a current license agreement are available for immediate viewing. Other films may require a request through the Kanopy site. Viewing films in a group forum is permitted as long as the viewing is by Vanderbilt authorized viewers only (current faculty, staff, or students) and it is not for commercial benefit (i.e. no admission costs are charged and no profit is made from the screening).
Docuseek
Streaming access to documentary and social issue films from a variety of distributors, including Bullfrog, Collective Eye, and Icarus Films.