Online Archives
The pandemic forced many historians to utilize online archives, and I was inspired to collect many of those resources here. This page will remain available but is not regularly updated as of February 2022.
This collection is extensive and compiles electronic resources to aid in the research of U.S. foreign relations but will be of use to scholars in every field of history. Organized by nation and region with eight categories for each region: Government Diplomatic Document Collections; Corporate and Private Records; Foundations; Private Library Archives and Collections; University Collections; Newspapers; Cultural Institutions and Resources; and General or Subject.
The Triangle Legal History Seminar's Primary Source Databases and Web Archives
Legal history archives and resources organized chronologically and by region.
Guide to Online Archival Research from The Graduate Center, CUNY
The Mina Rees Library has assembled an extensive set of databases and collections but also guides and tools. The library describes the research guide as: "Though libraries around the world are shuttered because of the COVID-19 crisis, it is still possible to do some archival research online. Libraries, archives, and museums have been digitizing items in their collections for years and sharing them widely. This page offers tips and suggestions for finding digitized primary sources in subscription databases and on the open web."
South Asian History - Digital Law Reports: Research You Can Do During the Pandemic
Mitra Sharafi (@mjsharafi) of the University of Wisconsin Law School has assembled a rich set of online resources for scholars of South Asian history.
Jonathan White (@CivilWarJon) of Christopher Newport University has assembled this set of digitized resources for those researching issues involving the Civil War.
National Archives, Native American Treaties Collection
Hundreds of Native American treaties available online through the National Archives Catalog. These treaties, with extensive additional historical and contextual information are available through Treaties Explorer (or DigiTreaties).
The WIlliam L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan
The Clements Library has a large collection of digitized archival collections.
An online library of over 60,000 free ebooks, with a focus on older works for which US copyright has expired.
Large collection of genealogical and historical records, supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000
A digitized collection from Alexander Street/ProQuest.
Open Access Digitised Primary Sources - American History
Tim Peacock (@DrTimPeacock) has organized this growing google spreadsheet on digital primary sources.
Open Access Digitised Primary Sources - British History
Tim Peacock (@DrTimPeacock) of the University of Glasgow has organized this growing google spreadsheet on digital primary sources.
Digital Primary Sources: History of Gender & Sexualities
Tanya Cheadle (@TanyaCheadle) of the University of Glasgow has organized this growing google spreadsheet on digital primary sources.
Open Access Primary Sources for research on the Second World War
Daniel Todman (@daniel_todman) of Queen Mary University of London has organized this growing google spreadsheet on digital primary sources.
Online Resources for the Study of Colonial Latin America, Early Modern Spain, & the Iberian World
From Max Deardorff at the University of Florida, this site links to digital history projects and legal sources that would be of interest to scholars of early modern Iberia asking questions of race, empire, identity construction, ethnohistory, and law.
Hathi Trust has enhanced access to its database during the pandemic. More information at this link.
Open and Free Access Materials for Research, Institute of Historical Research
The School of Advanced Study at the University of London has collected links to accessible online materials.
"A Time for Research Distancing"
Alan MacEachern & William Turkel have posted, "A Time for Research Distancing" on ActiveHistory.ca. The post covers some basics on digital research methods and links to digitized sources (especially Canadian sources).
Digital Sources on Modern Colombia
A compilation of digitized sources and resources for the study of modern Colombia gathered by Robert Karl (@RAKarl) on Twitter. This is a link you can follow to two separate threads, one longer one in Spanish and a shorter compilation in English.
Digitized Resources on Early America
A compilation of digitized sources and resources for the study of Early America gathered by Jacob Lee (@jacobflee) on Twitter. This PDF puts the thread in easily accessible form.
American History Digital Resources for Historical Research
A compilation of digitized sources and resources for the study of American history gathered by Rachel Shelden (@rachelshelden) on Twitter. This PDF puts the thread in easily accessible form.
History of Science Collections
A compilation of digitized sources and resources for the study of the history of science gathered by Robin Wolfe Scheffler (@CancerHistorian) on Twitter. This PDF puts the thread in easily accessible form.
The National Security Archive at GWU's Gelman Library
The archive provides digitized declassified U.S. documents.
Over 7,000 advertisements from North American newspapers and magazines between 1911-1955.
Latin American, U.S. Latinx, and Iberian Online Free E-Resources (LACLI)
Crowdsourced effort to collect online free e-resources for researchers. Part of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials.
New England's Hidden Histories: Colonial-Era Church Records
17th and 18th century New England church records from the Congregational Library & Archives.
Collection: Criminal Trial Transcripts of New York County Collection (1883-1927)
1/3 of this collection, held by the Lloyd Sealy Library at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has been digitalized and is available online. Includes a student and researcher guide to the collection.
The Digital Collections of the Library of Congress
All of the digitized collections from the Library of Congress are searchable here.
State & Regional History Collections
New York Heritage Digital Collections
The Digital Collections, "Virginia Memory", from the Library of Virginia
Georgia Historical Newspapers, from the Digital Library of Georgia
California Digital Newspaper Collections from UC Riverside
State Historical Society of Missouri, Digital Collections
Hudson River Valley Heritage
Digital North Carolina
Portal to Texas History
Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections
CALISPHERE, from the University of California
Wisconsin Historical Society (including the 1964 Freedom Summer Project collection)
Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America
Interactive map with redlining maps and area descriptions.
Free online resource with millions of pages of media history sources.
"Teaching American History with NYPL Digital Collections"
On Reconstruction
On Childhood in America
On The American Revolution
Archive contains audio and video recordings from the 1960s-90s about Bay Area and international social movements and "progressive history." Some is digitized and available online.
The nation's largest African American video oral history collection.
Digital edition of Radical America, a campus-based New Left magazine from the late 1960s housed at Brown University.
The Bracero History Archive is a joint project of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University, the Smithsonian National Museum, Brown University, and the Institute of Oral History at UT El Paso.
Farm, Field, and Fireside Collection
US Farm weekly publications published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Radical Online Collections & Archives
A list of free-to-access radical publications and literature. Global in scope.
American Institute of Physics Oral Histories
Over 1000 oral history interview transcriptions and audio excerpts.
Manuscripts of the Muslim World
Digital editions of hundreds of sources; available through OPENN.
Black Digital Humanities Projects & Resources
A list of projects, resources, and events, started by @CCP_org.
Available from George Washington University Library.
A repository of previously released documents and collections.
In Her Own Right: Women asserting their civil rights, 1820-1920
Primary Sources related to women's activism leading to the right to vote.
UCA Department of History, Curated Lists of Primary Source Databases
Primary source database lists on: US History, Latin American History, European History, Asian History, African History, History of the British Isles, and World History.
Select digitized archives from the Hagley Library related to the history of business, technology, and society.
A reference tool with entries on Japanese Americans and Japanese incarceration during WWII.
A database of fugitives from American Slavery, with educator resources for rediscovering the stories of self-liberating people.
Cornell University Library, Digital Rare and Distinctive Collections
Primary source collections with strengths in: Africa, Asia, France, Iceland, Hip Hop, Judaica, Labor, Sexuality & Gender.
Core Historical Literature of Agriculture
Collection of landmark agricultural texts from the early 19th century to the mid 20th century.
The Omohundro Institute has gathered several resources, including primary source collections, for online learning and teaching, as well as research, in the vast early American past.