History

"A collection of public domain and open access documents with a focus on American and English literature as well as Western philosophy."

"Researchers searching ArchiveGrid can learn about archival items in thousands of libraries, museums, and archives, contact archives to arrange a visit to examine materials, and order copies." Created by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC).

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) strives to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going online in 1998, the initial archive was targeted at researchers interested in American religion. The targeted audience and the data collection have both greatly expanded since 1998, now including American and international collections and developing features for educators, journalists, religious congregations and researchers.

Digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplmoacy and Government. Examples include the Code of Hammurabi and the Israeli/Palestinian Ceasefire & Security Plan.

One of the largest collections of maps, plans, and topographical views in the world.

Published by The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1995- 2011. "These manuscripts constitute the oldest evidence for the text of the Hebrew Bible."

A digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean, including access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical, and research materials held in archives, libraries, and private collections.

The Library was originally founded in 1451 AD and holds over 80,000 manuscripts, prints, drawings, plates and books printed prior to 1500 AD. The titles are all written throughout history by people who had different faiths or religions, from all over the world.

The manuscript and audiovisual archives at the Library contain many documents and photographs that may be useful to students working on historical papers, exhibit projects, media or dramatic performances. Documents and photographs are included in this section for the military era, pre-presidential era, and presidential era, as well as declassified documents and presidential appointment books.

Digital versions of primary texts from ancient through modern Europe, America, Africa, and Asia.

Digitized print, images, multimedia, and social networking resources produced internationally. Includes Latin America, Middle East, Africa, Armenia, China, Cuba, & Israel.

Offers "permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital format." Also features the Wayback Machine, which provides access to archived web pages as far back as 1986.

Find full text documents from the Ancient to Modern period. Sponsored by the History Department at Fordham University.

Includes over 500 e-books that are available free to the public from academic presses on a range of topics, including art, science, history, music, religion, and fiction.

The archives of the United Nations covers four broad areas: the Secretaries-General, Secretariat Departments, Peacekeeping Missions, and Predecessor Organizations.

Provides access to "more than 100 outstanding digital collections, containing over 6 million pages of unique manuscripts and letters, antique maps, rare children's literature books, newspapers, historic photographs, oral histories, and more." Covers a variety of places and time periods.

"The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world." Created by the U.S. Library of Congress and partner institutuions.

Current and historical maps from throughout the world.

Records of activism in the United States to support the struggles of African peoples against colonialism, apartheid, and social injustice between 1950-1990.

Videos, photos, documents, and audio.

Photographs spanning over 100 years of African history, from the 1860s onwards, taken from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office photographic collection.

Field notebooks, photographs, anthropological records, and more from the Herbert Lang expedition to the Belgian Congo in 1909.

Interviews taken between 1936-1938 from former slaves. Annotated.

Images only. No transcription.

Over 1,280 images from a wide range of sources, most dating to the period of slavery.

A variety of sources having to do with British Imperialism in Nigeria, including correspondence, treaties, journal articles, and more.

Information about human rights abuses in Algeria, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Burundi, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Rwanda, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, as well as links to official documents.

Focuses on the socio-political history of South Africa, particularly between 1950-1994.

Digital collection related to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, pre-genocide history, and post-genocide reconstruction.

Includes maps, images, posters, and depictions of Africa in French Humour Magazines.

One of the largest and most comprehensive independent archives in Southern Africa. Includes records of human rights NGOs, trade unions, political parties, women's organizations, religious institutions, political trials, press clippings, oral interviews, and more.

UCLA Library digital initiative presenting posters, art, and documents about the Sharpeville Massacre and Zanzibar Riots.

Links to a variety of different types of materials.

The Centre focuses on three areas of work: the Life and Time of Nelson Mandela, Dialogue for Social Justice and Nelson Mandela International Day.

Eleanor Vandevort's journal as a missionary in Nasir/South Sudan.

Approximately 5,000 pictures of figurative African art published before 1921. The oldest dates to 1591.

A collection of digitized documents from international and national agencies that relate to the political and social history of Rwanda from 1990-present.

Digital collection of missionary materials.

Documents, posters, photographs, ephemera, and oral histories related to struggles for justice in South Africa.

Documents, hearings, and media articles relating to human rights abuses during apartheid.

Published legal information for free public access which comprises case law from South Africa. Also includes legal material from other countries in the region.

Information about human rights abuses in Ethiopia, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Chad, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Ghana, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Kenya, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Liberia, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Morocco, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Nigeria, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Rwanda, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Sierra Leone, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in South Africa, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Uganda, as well as links to official documents.

Information about human rights abuses in Uganda, as well as links to official documents.

Primary source documents related to the conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in the late 1970s. Translated.

Digital project led by the US Library of Congress and with support of the UNESCO and other international organizations. Includes thousands of digital, primary documents, including maps, books, journals, and photographs. Foreign language material is not translated into English.

Affiliated with George Mason University. Includes photographs, historical documents, slave narratives, and more.

"The study of Graeco-Roman antiquity, from the middle of the 2nd millennium BC to the end of the 6th century AD."

Translations of Ancient Greek & Roman literature, with an emphasis on mythology.

Reference guide to Greek gods, spirits, monsters, and heroes of mythology and religion.

Digital library of law, history, and diplomacy documents. Managed by the Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library.

Online sources for European history. Created by European Studies Librarian of Brigham Young University.

Primary sources provided through Fordham University.

Digital library of history, literature, and culture of the Greco-Roman world. There are some other materials outside the ancient/classical world here, as well.

Digital library of pre-modern Chinese texts. Only some are translated. The site is designed, edited, and maintained by Dr. Donald Sturgeon of Harvard University.

Digital collection of Neo-Sumerian administrative cuneiform tablets. Hosted by the Spanish National Research Council, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

Electronic access to texts and images of ~1,400 papyri from ancient Egypt. Hosted by Duke University, supported by a grant from the NEH, part of the Advanced Papyrological Information System Project.

This site attempts to compile a complete corpus of Akkadian literary texts from the 3rd & 2nd millennia BCE. A joint project of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Altorientalisches Institut of the University of Leipzig. Not everything appears to have full text, transcriptions, or translations, but a lot of it does.

Digital images and transcription of Ebla texts from ancient North-West Syria. Funded by the Italian Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca to Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Università degli Studi di Firenze & Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico. Transcribed but not all translated.

English translations of books and texts from Ancient/Classical times. Crowd sourced translations.

There is a charge to access documents

396 pamphlets published from 1822-1090 by African-American authors and others who wrote about slavery, African colonization, Emancipation, Reconstruction, and more.

Features over 2,300 digitized transcripts of first-person accounts of slavery from former slaves.

Includes primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and more.

Provides 125 oral histories relating to the civil rights movement, drawn from the University of Southern Mississippi Center for Oral History Collection. Features interviews with civil rights leaders and information about prominent figures on both sides of the civil rights movement.

Access to primary texts, images, and audio files related to southern history. Includes books, diaries, posters, artifacts and more.

The NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom exhibition presents a retrospective of the major personalities, events, and achievements that shaped the NAACP’s history during its first 100 years.

Tales of American slaves, written in their own words and spoken with their own voices.

Almost seven hours of recorded interviews about slavery, slaveholders, coercion of slaves, their families, and freedom.

Personal papers and publications by the major founders, through the Library of Congress.

There are some great documents here thanks to the Computing in the Humanities program at the University of Groningen.

Just outside of Colonial dates, but some of the images may still be useful.

Amazing resources left by explorers, Native Americans, missionaries, and traders.

Images and transcriptions of documents, letters, poems, memorandums, and more.

The collection includes maps from all times and all over the world. This link will take you to United States maps. You can limit by year on the left.

Images and transcription. Through the Library of Congress.

Fordham University's Sourcebooks have countless documents covering the entirety of history. This link will take you to their section on Colonial North America.

A digital collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves in 18th-19th century Virginia newspapers.

Includes all eras and areas. This link will take you to 17th Century America. Through Hanover College.

Although it may sound like a throwaway site, this one has some great primary sources and is backed by George Mason University.

Through Library of Congress.

Tons of information, including court records, personal letters, and more. Through University of Virginia.

Through Library of Congress. Includes document images and transcriptions.

Through Library of Congress.

What it says on the tin.

Court records, labor contracts, newspapers, and first hand accounts. Supported by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy.

Through Library of Congress.

The Yale Avalon Project has documents ranging from Ancient to current times. I have linked here the 18th century documents, but it's easy to navigate through the centuries.

Scans of old books. Not all translated, no transcription.

Small set of book and image scans

Small set of images and book scans

Translation

Some dead links, but some great translations of key sources, as well.

Scans not translated or transcribed

Scan and translation

Translation

Translation

Digitized materials from Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland.

Part of Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell's Witchcraft Collection contains over 3,000 titles documenting the history of the Inquisition and the persecution of witchcraft, primarily in Europe.

Links to sites with primary historical documents for European countries and regions. Includes prehistoric and ancient Europe.

An index of scholarly websites that offer online access to digitized primary sources on the history of Europe.

A digital humanities project for unveiling witchcraft narratives.

No longer updated and some links are dead, but still includes useful resources.

Asks how London’s spaces and places were named, traversed, used, repurposed, and contested by various practitioners, writers, and civic officials. Allows us to plot people, historical documents, literary works, and recent critical research onto topography and the built environment.

A fully searchable edition of 240,000 manuscripts from eight archives and fifteen datasets, giving access to 3.35 million names.

"A comprehensive collection of essential documents for students' and laymen interested in the history of the Holocaust." From Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial of the Holocaust.

The Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies is a collection of over 4,400 videotaped interviews with witnesses and survivors of the Holocaust. Part of Yale University's department of Manuscripts and Archives.

An excellent annotated list of websites that include Holocaust primary sources. Provided by the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London.

From A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust, produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology: "Primary source materials related to the Holocaust."

The U.S.'s living memorial to the Holocaust includes special online exhibitions that are rich in primary sources. The Library and Collections & Archives sections contain primary sources as well.

You must register (free) in order to view files.

Archives from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

Executive branch documents issued by Brazil's national government between 1821-1993 and by provincial governments from earliest available to 1930.

Digital manuscripts, photos, letters, and more held in the University of Miami Libraries Cuban Heritage Collection.

Cultural history. Click on "Welcome" in the top-right corner to translate to English. Browse Collections or search.

Digital collection of the Library of Congress includes manuscripts, broadsides, music, and films.

Digitized pamphlets published during 19th & 20th centuries. Not transcribed to English.

Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Joint project from University of Florida and the Panama Canal Museum.

Digitally preserved memorabilia, ads, and pamphlets.

Includes early images of Latin America, Mesoamerican manuscripts, and more.

Includes a variety of manuscripts, newspapers, images, maps, and more.

Includes Mexican-origin music, security, politics, folklore, and more.

Oral histories through Alabama Public Health. Includes transcripts.

Curated by Harvard Library. Includes documents on global diseases and epidemics from the 1400s on. No translations into English for foreign documents.

Select documents and photographs through the National Archives.

Through Naval History and Heritage Command. Although there are no links, sadly, a search for the titles listed under "Online Documents" can get you to the sources.

First-hand testimonies provided via the CDC.

Modern transcription through University of Virginia of Orders thought Meete published under Elizabeth I. To view contents, click red VIEW CONTENTS button on the right side.

Select newspaper articles provided by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Curated by Harvard Library. Links lead to relevant primary documents.

EuroDocs index.

Washington State University Libraries Digital Archives. Full text documents gathered from many different collections.

"Use this website to view digitised copies of manuscripts and archives in the British Library's collections."

Find full text Medieval documents and other resources. Sponsored by the History Department at Fordham University.

"Medieval studies scholarly resources compiled and organized from around the world. Contains texts in all European languages, including Latin and Greek."

A database of manuscripts containing texts relevant for the study of early medieval monasticism.

Digital version of the most comprehensive directory of Latin place names from antiquity to modern times.

Includes Records of Military Personnel Who Died as a Result of Hostilities During the Korean War, Records on Korean War Dead and Wounded Army Casualties, Defense Casualty Analysis System Files, Records of Repatriated Korean War Prisoners of War, and Records of American Prisoners of War During the Korean War. Search all series as a group on the main page or search an individual series by clicking on it and then searching.

The Civil War Sites Advisory Commission data files contain information relating to battlefields of the American Civil War, 1861-1865. Four data files compose this series: Events, Counties, Campaign, and Theater files.

Log of Intelligence Reports about Seized Grenadan Records; Defense Casualty Analysis System Files; Records About Military Goods and Services Provided to Foreign Countries; National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel Files; Records about Defense Spending and Receipts in Foreign Countries; Records of Deceased, Wounded, Ill, or Injured Army Personnel; Central Foreign Policy Files; Records of Prime Contracts Awarded by the Military Services and Agencies.

Central Foreign Policy Files documenting 1973-12/31/1978

20 series with millions of records from the Vietnam War era, including Defense Casualty Analysis System Extract Files, Records with Unit Information on Military Personnel Who Died During the Vietnam War, Cambodian Friendly Units Files, and Viet Cong Initiated Incidents Files.

This series contains records of approximately nine million men and women who enlisted in the United States Army, including the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Although incomplete, the records contain data for a majority of the enlistments in the United States Army during World War II.

While the recordings are mostly available only in house, many of them have transcripts you can read.

This collection covers a wide range of subject areas, including Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, children's games & songs, St Mary-le-Bow public debates, and more.

Photos, biographical information, and audio segments of Collier County WWI veterans.

Transcripts and videos.

Opinions recorded from more than two hundred individuals in the days following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
IMPORTANT ACCESS INFO: To access digital audio: Click on an item (AFS 6357-6359, for example), when you see the option to click on "Additional audio formats," that will take you to the digital recording.

Digital audio interviews from former slaves on their experiences with slavery and life as African Americans after the end of slavery.

These interviews document the everyday life of migrant work camp residents in central California in 1940-1941.

Digital archive of interviews with accompanying translated transcripts documenting the social and political history of modern Tibet.

32,000 pages of full-text, searchable oral history transcripts on topics including military history and social and cultural history.

Tales of American slaves, written in their own words and spoken with their own voices.

Only transcripts are available online.

Includes interview audio, transcripts, and abstracts.

Associated with The University of Michigan.

From the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC). Digital Documents include digitized versions of manuscripts, published materials, photographs, artifacts, authority documents, and finding aids. Includes digitized photographs, manuscripts, military publications, oral histories, and audio/video materials.

BEA strives to provide the most timely, relevant and accurate economic data to help promote a better understanding of the U.S. economy. These reliable and consistent measures of economic activity are essential to the informed decision making of policymakers. Offers data on all areas of the U.S. economic system: from Gross Domestic Product, to International Investments, to State and Local Area Personal Income.

Collects and provides access to statistics on population and housing, American community surveys, demographics, state and local government data, economic indicators, and more.

The FOIA Electronic Reading Room is provided as a public service by the CIA and its Office of Information Management. Here you can view previously released documents, released through the FOIA and other disclosure statutes.

Access full-text PDF documents from a variety of US Military collections, including, American Civil War, 1861 - 1865, Military History 1900 - 1939, World War II operations, obsolete military manuals, and more.

Retrieved from the National Archives.

Search laws and regulations by topic, date and full-text.

Provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.

FindLaw archives its summaries of published opinions issued since September 2000 by the U.S. Supreme Court, all thirteen U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and select state supreme and appellate courts. Federal Register - the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. It is updated daily by 6 a.m. and is published Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. GPO Access contains Federal Register volumes from 59 (1994) to the present.

"The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication." Coverage is from 1861-1958/1960 with some gaps.

Site contains a searchable digital archive with manuscripts, audio files, and some documents regarding WWII, and Pearl Harbor attack can be found.

A growing collection of searchable digitized historical documents, images and materials from President John F. Kennedy and his administration.

Access county ordinances across the United States in full-text.

Provides access to legally and/or historically important documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government.

An independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals.

"In addition to a full text archive of the Foreign Relations series, the website includes valuable encyclopedic content on the history of U.S. relations with states around the world, a database of the Department’s principal officers and chiefs of mission, and special tools and resources for students and teachers."

Accessible online are all newly released conversations from February, 1973 - March 1973; a representative selection of scanned documents from newly declassified materials and the newly opened materials from the collections of Bryce Harlow, Lawrence M. (Larry) Higby, and Sanford Fox;36 video oral histories and a newly released oral history with former Senator, George McGovern.

Here you will find a wide range of tables, articles, and data that describe and measure elements of the U.S. tax system.

"An index of resources available to historians of U.S. foreign policy on the World Wide Web."

Provides access to official statistics produced by countries and compiled by United Nations data system, as well as estimates and projections. The domains covered are agriculture, crime, education, energy, industry, labour, national accounts, population and tourism.

The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States contains material that was compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. It includes volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. As subsequent volumes are published, they will be added online. Each Public Papers volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary during the specified time period.

This website is managed by The National Archives on behalf of HM Government. Publishing all UK legislation is a core part of the remit of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO), part of The National Archives, and the Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland. Use the slider to choose the date. Transcribed.

A digital library of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland, with a primary focus on the period between 1300 and 1800. Transcribed. Filter by period (and other options) on the left.

A tool for searching and reading the medical records of the astrologers Simon Forman and Richard Napier. Not transcribed.

The Record includes collections of photographs, books, personal memories, and transcriptions of documents such as wills, charters, lay subsidies, rent books, census returns, manorial court rolls, etc.

Includes over four hundred early modern English plays that were performed in London's professional theaters between 1576 and 1642. Only featured plays are fully digitized.

A collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts. Transcribed. Some older materials, but some relevant to Tudor/Stuart research.

A collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts. Transcribed.

Digital versions of primary sources. Fully transcribed.

Thousands of pages of manuscripts left to the College by its founder, the eminent actor Edward Alleyn (1566-1626). This archive includes his personal and professional papers and those he inherited from his father-in-law Philip Henslowe (d. 1616). As a group, these manuscripts comprise the largest and most important single extant archive of material on the professional theatre and dramatic performance in early modern England. Transcribed.

Scans of Medieval medical books. Only through the 1500s. No transcriptions.

Beautiful images of national treasures from the time of the Tudors and Stuarts (1485 - 1714).

Digital library of historical materials. Transcribed. Use the search box at the top right or browse.

Digital versions of medical manuscripts. Scans. Not transcribed.

The OTA collects, catalogues, preserves and distributes high-quality digital resources for research. Only free items are accessible to the public. Filter by availability to see only free materials. FYI: the search option does not work well.

A web anthology of 4,800 poems in English and French by over 700 poets spanning 1400 years. Transcribed. Filter by date.

This site features approximately 2,900 life histories, both in transcribed and image form, collected from 1936-1940 as a part of the Federal Writers' Project of the U.S. Works Projects Administration.

Provides access to materials held by the Library of Congress and other institutions that document the American experience: written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, sheet music, and more.

Audio and/or transcripts of important speeches by great orators, primarily Americans and mostly by politicians or statesmen.

"American Women's History provides citations to print and Internet reference sources, as well as to selected large primary source collections. The guide also provides information about the tools researchers can use to find additional books, articles, dissertations, and primary sources."

From the Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Art - provides over 230 transciptions of interviews with various artists.

(Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars) - The Cold War International History Project disseminates new information and perspectives on the history of the Cold War, in particular new findings from previously inaccessible sources on "the other side" -- the former Communist world The Project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War, and seeks to accelerate the process of integrating new sources, materials and perspectives from the former "Communist bloc" with the historiography of the Cold War.

The DPLA allows you to search several U.S. archives and museums through one search interface. Some of the major “content hubs” include The National Archives, The Smithsonian Institution, The New York Public Library, Harvard Library and the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Content is drawn from the Iowa Digital Library and features digitized selections from the University of Iowa Libraries' Special Collections, University Archives, and Iowa Women's Archives. Topics include: Pioneer Lives, WWI and WWII Diaries & Letters, Iowa Women's Lives, Building the Transcontinental Railroad, and Civil War Diaries & Letters.

The HistoryMakers is a national, 501(c)(3) non-profit educational institution committed to preserving, developing and providing easy access to an internationally recognized archival collection of thousands of African American video oral histories. Contains over 14,000 stories gathered in recorded interviews with 310 persons from 1999 – 2005. Individual registration is required for access.

Interviews with "the technologists who transformed the world in the 20th century."

A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction.

This site offers full-text transcripts of more than 55 fully-searchable interviews, with plans to add oral histories on Black Alumni at the University of California.

Features over 160 interviews with men and women (primarily Rutgers College and Douglass College alumni) who searved overseas and on the homefront during World War II.