College of DuPage Library

History of the United States Since 1945

Welcome to the History of the United States since 1945 Research Guide

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Click on a tab below to find books, articles, primary sources and websites for use in the study of history.

If you need additional help, please contact the History Librarian or stop by the Reference Desk. You can also get help from our online reference service: Ask A Librarian.

 

  1. Books
  2. Databases
  3. Primary Sources / Websites

Finding Books

Use the COD Library's book catalog to find books & videos. Click on the "keyword" tab to search using multiple search terms and limit your results by material type (book, video), date, or language. You'll need a current library card to check out books.

I-Share

I-Share allows COD students to borrow books from over 80 Illinois academic libraries. You must have a current COD library card, and create an account to request books from an I-Share library.

E-book Collections
Most books in these collections can also be located and accessed by searching in the Library's book catalog.

  • ebrary

    • Collection contains many History-related books. Many e-books can be viewed from your computer or downloaded to your e-book reader. You need to create an account to download e-books to your device.

  • EBSCO e-book collection

    • Collection includes some books on History. NOTE: Books can be viewed by single page on a computer, or, can be downloaded to an e-book reader. You'll be prompted to create an EBSCO account. The loan period for e-books is four hours. Books can be renewed after the initial loan period expires.

  • Humanities (ACLS) E-book Collection

    • This resource includes over 1500 full-text, cross-searchable books in the humanities selected by scholars for their continuing importance for research and teaching. Pages from this collection can be printed and emailed.

Reference Works

Reference works, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias are useful for learning about background information on topics in History.

Please note that print reference books may be used while in the library only. Online reference books may be accessed from any on or off-campus computer. You'll need a library card to access online books and articles from off-campus.
Click on the links below to access the online book/website or record/description of the print book.

Encyclopedias
Biographies
Chronologies

Databases

The Library subscribes to many databases that provide access to thousands of popular and credible, scholarly journals. Many databases provide access to full-text articles, while some provide information about the article only (citation). Request (for free!) through Interlibrary Loan copies of articles to which the Library doesn't have full-text access.

What are databases?

Databases are organized collections of information that you can search on a variety of fields, like title and author's name. iTunes is a database and so is Amazon. Even your contacts list in your phone is a type of mini database. The Library has databases of articles from newspapers, magazines and journals. We also have databases of streaming videos, music and e-books. The difference between our databases and iTunes or Amazon is that our stuff is free for you to use. You can browse the library's databases here: http://www.codlrc.org/databases

 

Databases - Best Bets

  • Academic Search Complete

    • Multidisciplinary database covering a wide range of academic areas.

  • Academic OneFile

    • Multidisciplinary database covering a wide range of academic areas.

  • History Study Center
    Primary and secondary history collections providing access to rare British, American and world history sources, full text articles and reference materials. Includes multimedia sources.

  • JSTOR

    • Excellent source for credible scholarly, peer-reviewed articles. Articles in database were published between the early 1700s and between 1-5 years ago.

  • Project MUSE

    • Project MUSE offers full-text current and archival articles from 500+ scholarly journals from major university presses covering literature and criticism, history, performing arts, cultural studies, education, philosophy, political science, gender studies, and more. Updated continually.

Individual Journal Title List

Click here to view a list of History-related journals

Primary Sources

There are several areas where you can find primary source documents. Click on a link below to view lists of resources in each of these areas.


Reference Collection


General Collection
To locate sources in the General Collection:
  • Do an author search
    Anything written by a participant would be a primary source. For example, for a primary source about the war in Roman times, look up "Caesar, Julius" as an author and find his The Gallic War.

  • Do a title search
    Some primary sources have no known authors. For example, a known primary source for Egyptian religious rites is the Book of the Dead also known as the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Doing a title search shows the Library owns several copies.

  • Do a subject search
    Primary sources often contain one of these subheadings: sources, personal narratives, diaries, or correspondence. For example, look up Middle Ages and scan the results for those subheadings. Sometimes primary sources are found in broad collections with or without the subheadings above. Look up a broader heading and limit the search results to "source material" to find some useful collections.


Library Databases
  • Annals of American History : Writings and primary sources documents from more than 1,500 authors who made and analyzed American history through speeches, writings, memoirs, poems, and interviews.
  • Black Thought and Culture
    Black Thought and Culture contains 1,297 sources with 1,098 authors, covering the non-fiction published works of leading African Americans. Particular care has been taken to index this material so that it can be searched more thoroughly than ever before. Where possible the complete published non-fiction works are included, as well as interviews, journal articles, speeches, essays, pamplets, letters and other fugitive material

  • CQ Historic Documents
    Published annually since 1972, the Historic Documents Series now contains 32 volumes of primary sources. Each volume includes approximately one hundred documents covering the most significant events of the year. These documents range from presidential speeches, international agreements, and Supreme Court decisions to U.S. governmental reports, scientific findings, and cultural discussions.

  • Discovering Collection : Includes overview essays, critical analysis, biographies, timelines and multimedia elements. In general these are not considered to be scholarly sources, except for the primary source material.
  • History Study Center : Primary and secondary history collections providing access to British, American and world history sources, full text articles, maps, and reference materials among other types of resources.
  • Military and Government Collection : Although primarily concerned with U.S.history there are references to history and politics of other countries.
  • NBC Learn
    A collection of videos, historic newsreels, primary source documents, photographs from the NBC News archive. Browse by collection on left side of screen, note "African American Studies" collection.


Websites
Who can publish on the Internet? Anyone.

You may find a website by doing a web search or through a recommendation of another student. Before you use a website for your assignment, you should evaluate the webpage for credibility, reliability, authority and purpose. Check out the CRAP Test for more information on evaluating websites.

The following websites have been evaluated for their credibility.

Civil Rights
  • African American Odyssey
    Site includes the Frederick Douglass Papers, the African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1822-1909 and Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project.

  • Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
    This site provides videos, documents, and interactive features pertaining to the US civil rights movement and a searchable database of oral histories, manuscripts, and multimedia.

  • Brown v. Board of Education: Digital Archive
    The site presents documents and images that detail the events of the historical Brown v.s Board of Education case and its impact up to the present day. Four main areas of focus are Supreme Court cases, busing and school integration in northern urban areas, school integration in Ann Arbor public schools, and resegregation trends in United States schools.

  • The Citenzens' Council
    Newspaper published between 1955 and 1961 that expresses antiiintegration sentiments.

  • Civil Rights Digital Library
    This site compiles films, articles, multimedia, primary source documents on the civil rights movement in the United States.

  • Civil Rights Documentation Project
    This site compiles civil rights oral history interviews, largely focusing on events in Mississippi between 1954 and 1972.

  • Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive
    This site presents digitized oral history transcripts, letters, manuscripts, photographs, and diaries of freedom school teachers from the civil rights movement in Mississippi.

  • Civil Rights Oral History Collection - Washington State University
    This site hosts recordings of oral history interviews with five individuals, who recount their experiences in Spokane, Washington during the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

  • Greensboro Sit-Ins: Launch of a Civil Rights Movement
    This site offers photos, audio recordings, and newspaper articles on events, key figures, and impact of the Greensboro sit-ins in 1960.

  • I was a Negro in the South for 30 Days-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    This site provides the full text of a newspaper series in which a white journalist recounts his story of posing as a black man in the south in 1948.

  • Malcolm X, a Research Site
    This biographical site provides comprehensive information on Malcolm X’s life and work. The site additionally includes photographs and audio recordings of his speeches.

  • Malcolm X Project at Columbia University
    This site provides biographical information on Malcolm X, including interviews, digitized FBI files, audio or video recordings of speeches given by Malcolm X.

  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
    Scholarly works on Martin Luther King, Jr and a vast collection of King's correspondence, sermons, publications, speeches and unpublished manuscripts.

  • Mississippi Freedom Summer Project 1964 Digital Collection
    This digital collection by the Miami University Libraries contains various primary sources (letters, bulletins, newspaper articles, etc) and photographs pertaining to Freedom Summer, a black voter registration drive in Mississippi.

  • United States Department of Justice Investigation of Recent Allegations Regarding the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
    In 1998 the US Department of Justice began an investigation into recent allegations regarding the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The US Department of Justice site offers a summary of the investigative procedure, team, and findings and analyses of statements and evidence in the case.

  • Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement
    This site offers photographs and descriptions of the importance of over 40 historic landmarks from the civil rights movement.

  • Rosa Parks Papers
    "The papers of Rosa Parks (1913-2005) span the years 1866-2006, with the bulk of the material dating from 1955 to 2000. The collection, which contains approximately 7,500 items in the Manuscript Division, as well as 2,500 photographs in the Prints and Photographs Division, documents many aspects of Parks's private life and public activism on behalf of civil rights for African Americans. The collection is on loan to the Library for ten years through the generosity of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The Library received the materials in late 2014, formally opened them to researchers in the Library’s reading rooms in February 2015, and now has digitized them for optimal access by the public."

Cold War
  • Atomic Bomb Research Guide
    Find links to background information, primary and secondary sources and pro and con discussions for using atomic bombs.

  • The Alger Hiss Story
    This site provides court and government documents, scholarly articles, archival documents on the trial of Alger Hiss, who was accused of espionage in 1948. The site also provides biographical information on Alger Hiss.

  • The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II A Collection of Primary Sources
    Primary source documents relating to use of the Atomic Bomb, including top secret memos between scientist, military personnel and politicians. personal diaries telegrams and other documents.

  • Cold War International History Project
    This site compiles archival government documents from around the world on Cold War history, inter-Korean relations, modern Korean history, and nuclear history.

  • J. William Fulbright: Papers, 1942-1990
    This site offers a collection of missives, legislation, speeches, and other documents from Fulbright’s time as a Congressman and Senator.

  • Parallel History Project on Cooperative Security (PHP)
    This site provides a collection of formerly-secret government documents, online documentaries, and publications pertaining to contemporary international history, with a focus on current security issues.

  • American Experience: Race for the Super Bomb
    This page provides supporting materials for the PBS film “Race for the Super Bomb.” It host primary and secondary sources documents, including interviews transcripts, biographies, and maps, pertaining to the nuclear arms race during the Cold War (1945-1960).

  • PBS: Red Files
    This page provides supporting materials for a PBS film series which covered Soviet efforts in the space race, Soviet participation in the 1952 Olympics, KGB activities during the Cold War, and Soviet propaganda during the Cold War. The site provides relevant biographies, interview transcripts, maps, archival images, timelines, and further recommended readings.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Fifties and Sixties
  • The Alger Hiss Story
    This site provides court and government documents, scholarly articles, archival documents on the trial of Alger Hiss, who was accused of espionage in 1948. The site also provides biographical information on Alger Hiss.

  • Bay of Pigs: 40 Year After
    This page presents the National Security Archive’s collection of declassified Cuban government documents pertaining to the Bay of Pigs. Documents cover such topics as counterrevolutionary activities, preparations for the invasion, events and results of the battle, and military prisoners.

  • The ULTRASENSITIVE Bay of Pigs
    This National Security Archive page present declassified sections of the Taylor Commission’s report on its investigation of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.

  • Bracero History Archive
    This archival collection provide oral histories and other archival materials relating to the Bracero Program (1942-1964), a U.S. contract labor program in which millions of Mexicans came to the United States as guest agricultural workers.

  • The British Invasion
    This site provides information on the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Who, and the Kinks, four of the bands from the “second British Invasion” of the 1960s. The site includes group biographies, major musical influences, images, and chronologies of music and movies produced for each group.

  • Castro Speech Database
    The Latin American Network Information Center provides this collection of full-text translations of speeches, interviews, and press conferences by Fidel Castro, dating from 1959 to 1996.

  • CIA-EDRC - Popular Documents Collection Bay of Pigs Reports
    This page by the library of the Central Intelligence Agency presents declassified government documents on the Bay of Pigs in 1961. Digitized documents include the CIA Inspector General’s report on the failed invasion of Cuba and the Directorate of Plans’ commentary on that report, a four volume set on the CIA history of the Bay of Pigs operation, National Security Council briefings, and Spanish-language documents.

  • Documents from the Women's Liberation Movement
    This site hosts an archival collection of documents, including theoretical writings, plays, and meeting minutes, pertaining to the Women’s Liberation Movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

  • Free Speech Movement Student Protest - U.C. Berkeley, 1964-65
    This digital archive offers text documents, oral histories, videos, chronologies, and other information on the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley.

  • Psychedelic Sixties
    The web version of the “Psychedelic ‘60s” exhibit at the University of Virginia Library presents photographs, posters, memorabilia, and other archival materials pertaining to the 1960s in the United States. The exhibit includes information on 19th and 20th century influences, key figures, and important events/movements.

  • The Sixties Project
    This site provides online access to issues of the Viet Nam Generation Journal, personal narratives, and an archive of Sixties and Vietnam war poetry.

  • The Rosenberg Trial
    This site presents documents and images from the Rosenberg Trial of 1951, a chronology and summary of key events in the trial, and biographies of the trial participants.

Korean War
  • The Korean War and its Origins 1945-1953
    This site hosts a collection of primary source documents, including written correspondence between government and military officials, reports, photographs, and recordings of addresses by and discussions with Harry S. Truman.

  • Korean War Project
    This site offers documents, message boards, and stories pertaining to the Korean War. Digitized books, military maps, and marine corps and infantry records are located on the “Digital Initiative” and “Map Library” pages.

  • Korean War : People and Events - PBS American Experience
    This page of the supplemental site to the PBS film “Race for the Superbomb” offers a summary of the Korean War as it related to the nuclear arms race.

  • Korean War Records - National Archives
    The US National Archives provides a searchable database of casualties, missing in actions, and prisoners of war from the era of the Korean War.

  • Remembering the Korean War - U.S. Department of Defense
    This site by the US Department of Defense provides oral histories, historic films, photo essays, and links to other useful resources pertaining to the Korean War.

Vietnam War

Watergate
  • The Nixon Tapes and Transcripts
    This Web site presents audio and transcripts of the tapes recorded by President Richard Nixon between 1971 and 1973. These recordings of phone calls and meetings played a key role in the resignation of Nixon in 1974.

  • The Nixon Tapes Secret Recordings from the Nixon White House
    This page of the National Security Archive’s “Electronic Briefing Book” hosts audio and transcripts of the Nixon tapes and an article discussing the declassified tapes.

  • The Pentagon Papers Case
    This National Security Archive “Electronic Briefing Book” provides documentation from the Pentagon Papers Supreme Court case, including commentary for each document and audio and transcripts of relevant excerpts from the Nixon tapes, Supreme Court briefs, and the oral arguments given by the Times and Washington Post attorneys.

  • Watergate at 40 - Washington Post
    This Washington Post page, which marks the 40th anniversary of the Watergate Scandal, presents articles, photograph collections, videos, and a four-part summary of events.

  • Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon
    This Washington Post page, which marks the 40th anniversary of the Watergate Scandal, presents articles, photograph collections, videos, and a four-part summary of events.

  • The Woodward and Bernstein Watergate Papers
    This Washington Post page, which marks the 40th anniversary of the Watergate Scandal, presents articles, photograph collections, videos, and a four-part summary of events.
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