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Subject Guide for American History
Contents
Most topics in American history can be in the PAC using the subject heading "United States-History" onto which numerous subdividing terms can be attached (e.g., "United States - History - Civil War" or "United States - History - Revolution, 1775-1783"). To find the correct subject heading for books on your topic or a certain type of book (chronology, atlas, bibliographies, etc.) use the 5-volume Library of Congress Subject Headings located near the Reference Services desk on the main (1st) floor.
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These books are similar in arrangement to most encyclopedias and dictionaries
except that, in this case, they only survey topics in American history. Some are
handy single volume works with roughly a paragraph of information, while
others are multi-volume sets with up to several pages for an entry. Use the
subjects headings: "United States - History - Dictionaries."
- The American Heritage Encyclopedia
of American History.
E 174 A535 1998 Ref
- This one-volume encyclopedia contains nearly 3,000 entries and
essays 400 illustrations, and 1,000 biographies.
-
Dictionary of American History.
E 174 D52 1976 Ref
- This 8-volume set has short signed articles on important
persons, events and themes in American history. It is
arranged alphabetically and has a separate index volume.
- Encyclopedia of the American Revolution.
E 208 B68 1974 Ref
- A one-volume encyclopedia with a narrower focus that
has mostly brief descriptions of historical events,
locations, persons, terminology, etc., arranged alphabetically.
- Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations.
E 183.7 E53 1997 Ref
- 1028 articles on American foreign relations by 373
scholars make this 4-volume set an indispensable source
for the large academic library. A "Further Reading" section
at the end of each entry leads the researcher to more
material.
- Great Events
From History: American Series.
E 178 M22 Ref
- One might consider this 3-volume set an encyclopedia of important
events in American history wherein events are usually
summarized in a couple of pages followed by a discussion of two
relevant books and a listing of additional readings.
- Historical Times
Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War.
E 468 H57 1986 Ref
- As the title indicates, numerous photographs, drawings and maps
add a lively dimension to the text entries.
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Reproduced or reprinted important historical documents that can be used as
primary sources are contained in these books. Use the subject heading: "United States History - Sources."
- Documents of American History.
E173 C66 1973 Ref
- This collection of documents relating to American history,
1492-1973, is arranged by topic and personal name.
- Annals of America.
E 173 A793 Ref
- An 18-volume illustrated set that has significant legal
documents and speeches and writings of famous
Americans from 1493-1968. Each volume, suitably
subtitled, covers a chronological era and has its own
index.
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These sources tell what books, articles, and other material address a given
topic. Some are annotated (i.e., there are descriptions of each item listed).
Most indexes only list articles in periodicals while many bibliographies will list
both books and articles. In searching the PAC for bibliographies use a subject
heading like: "United States - History - Colonial Period - Bibliography," or
"United States - History - Civil War - Bibliography."
- United State History:
A Selective Guide to Information Sources.
E 178 B57 1994
- This is a well annotated guidebook discusses various types of reference books relating to
American history (e.g., bibliographies, encyclopedias, archival and government sources) and
books that relate to broad themes (wars, ethnic/racial influences, religion, law, etc).
- Historical
Abstracts. 1955-.
D 299 H5 Ref
- Although presently this source indexes articles only
European, Latin American and Asian history, between
1955 and 1964 it included American history as well.
- America History and Life. 1964-.
E 171 A572 Ref
- A spin-off of Historical Abstracts, it has a similar subject
arrangement and abstracts. In separate parts it also lists
book reviews and has an bibliography of books, articles, and dissertations.
- Writing on American History. 1902-1990.
E 178 W954 Ref
- 4,000 journals are consulted to produce this list of
articles on American history. Prior to 1974 books were
included. Has a broad classified subject arrangement.
- New
York Times Index. 1851-.
AI 21 N44 Ref
- This oldest of American newspaper indexes is consideredsuperior in its class because of its
arrangement, newssynopsis and comprehensiveness. Issues of the Newspaper itself can be found on
microfilm (F-168).
-
Harvard Guide to American History.
E 178 F86 Ref
- This 2-volume work lists books and articles on numerous topics in American history. For years
it has been considered "the basic reference bibliography for American history".
- Bibliographies in
American History.1942-1978.
E 178 B44 1982 Ref
- This 2-volume set contains thousands of bibliographies which can be helpful in indicating what
has been published on your topic.
- Guide to Historical Literature.
D 20 A55 1995 Ref
- The second volume of this annotated 2-volume work contains many of the most important books
concerning U.S. history.
- United
States History: A Selective Guide to Information Sources.
E 178 B57 1994 Ref
- A very well annotated guide to the various kinds of
information sources the researcher must use to perform a thorough job.
- The Mexican-American War:
An Annotated Bibliography. 1981.
E 404 T87 1981 Ref
- Books, these and dissertations, periodical literature, and holdings in institutions are listed
here on the topic of the Mexican-American War. This is an example of one of the many subject
specific bibliographies.
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-
Dictionary of American Biography.
E 176 D563 Ref
- Often referred to as the DAB, this 8-volume work with supplements is the most frequently
consulted source of distinguished Americans of the 1700s and 1800s. Entries average about a
page in length and refers the reader to additional readings.
- American National Biography.
CT 213 A68 1999 Ref
- An admirable successor to the DAB, this 24-volume set is more
more up-to-date and profiles more people in the 20th century.
Helpful references are at the end of each entry.
- The National Cyclopaedia of
American Biography.
E 176 N28 Ref
- This 63-volume illustrated set profiles many more
individuals than the DAB and has more illustrations, but
the entries are shorter and there is no reference to additional readings.
- American Biographical Index.
CT 213 A45 Ref
- This 6-volume index lists more than 280,000 significant
Americans who lived between1702 to 1956. Profiles are on microfiche (C-2382).
-
Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978.
E 176 B573 Ref
- This 4-volume illustrated set is an example of the more
specialized biographical works in the collection. There are
biographical reference books for the U.S. Vice Presidents,
Congressmen, city mayors, etc.
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Among the frequently used reference books are those that have statistical
data pertinent to a topic. Using the subject heading "United States -
Statistics" you can find
The Statistical History of the United States:
From Colonial Times to the Present (HA 202 B87 Ref) which tallies the
population of Kentucky in 1793 or totals the number of murders
committed in the nation in 1901.
Another type of popular reference book is the chronology which
indicates what significant event happened on a particular date. For
example, The Encyclopedia
of American Facts and Dates (E 174.5 C3
1993 Ref) is one of the more detailed chronologies of American history.
Use the subject heading "United States - History - Chronology".
There are occasions when the researcher wishes to examine how
geographical boundaries have shifted over a period of time or to see
where ethnic populations are distributed, etc. General and specialized
books that serve this purpose, like Historical
Atlas of California (G 1526
S1 B4 1974 Ref), can be found using the subject heading subdivisions:
"(state or country) - Historical - Geography - Maps".
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These resources can be found mainly on the PAC under the heading "ResearchÇArticle Databases."
Some of the pertinent databases addressing topics in history are America
History and Life for U.S. and Canadian history; ArticleFirst
(multidisciplinary index to mostly journal articles); Academic Search Premier,
ProQuest Research Library,
LexisNexis Academic, and PAIS International (particularly useful for current
history topics); and Dissertation Abstracts/Digital Dissertations, an
invaluable source that summarizes mostly never published masters'
theses and doctoral dissertations which can usually be obtained via Interlibrary Loan.
This page http://infodome.sdsu.edu/research/guides/amhis.shtml is maintained by Robert Fikes.
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File saved 10/02/07 11:39 PDT
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