Category Archives: Electronic resources

America250: America 250: Finding resources on the American Revolutionary War (Part 1)

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2026 marks the Semiquincentennial or 250 year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. You may have seen an increase in discussions about the American Revolutionary War and its impact (on a national and global level). You may be planning to attend one of the many events which are being held to commemorate America250, such as the RAI America 250 events.  

Over this week, we will be releasing brief blogposts aimed at helping researchers find primary sources on the American Revolutionary War, in a variety of different formats, geographic focus and subject areas. It is intended to help those interested in the War, who may already have some general knowledge on the subject, to dig deeper into the different primary sources available and start their own research journey.

This guide is primarily aimed at Oxford students and researchers, and some resources will require subscription access via SSO, but Open Access resources are also included. This is not meant to be a complete guide nor will it be updated with new resources going forward.

This is Part 1: Useful Starting Points, Founding Documents and Founding Fathers.

Some good starting points

This is our Bodleian online guide to everything related to US History, Politics and Culture at Oxford, with new subscriptions and resources regularly updated. This specific page relates to the Colonial and Revolutionary era, and includes a range of different primary sources.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, and includes a range of resources on US and global history. They also produce useful research guides, like the one linked above, which summarise their collections (both digitised and physical), and recommended external resources.

The Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. Here you can find a snapshot of the material history of the American Revolutionary War, including portraits, pamphlets and objects.

Based in Philadelphia, the online pages of the museum includes a catalogue of the key items, online exhibitions, interactive features and wider bibliographies. 

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Charters of Freedom Hall, National Archives, Washington, D.C. Part of the Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Founding Documents and Official Papers

Hosted by the US National Archives, this webpage includes digitisations, transcripts and historic background of three key documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the US Bill of Rights.

Hosted by the Library of Congress, this collection includes 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

This landmark work in historical and legal scholarship draws upon thousands of sources to trace the Constitution’s progress through each of the thirteen states’ conventions.

Founding Fathers

Detailed Guide from the Library of Congress for each American Founder, including further links and bibliographies. The Library of Congress holds and has digitised the papers of several key political figures and presidents, such as Washington, Hamilton, Franklin and Jefferson

Based on the records of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Includes correspondence and other papers of seven key figures from the American Revolutionary era.

Overview provided by the Smithsonian of each signer of the Declaration of Independence, with portraits and further bibliographic information.

Artwork
Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Turnbull.

Next time…. archival sources, maps and state histories!

For more guidance on finding resources related to American History, contact bethan.davies@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Trial: Sex and Sexuality[ends 28th February 2026]

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I am pleased to report that the Oxford University members now have trial access to the Adam Matthew database Sex and Sexuality (parts I and II). This trial will run until the 28th February 2026.

Researchers may also be interested in our trial access to LGBTQ+ Life in America. Find out more via our previous blogpost.

About Sex and Sexuality

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Please be aware that this resource contains material of a sexually explicit nature. Content includes, but is not limited to, descriptions and imagery of sexual violence; non-consensual sexual activity; sexual activity including minors; surgery and suicide.

From papers of leading sexologists to LGBTQI+ personal histories, Sex & Sexuality allows researchers to explore changing attitudes to human sexuality, gender and sexual behaviour. Geographic coverage is primarily in the United States, but also includes archival material from the UK and Australia.

Module I is sourced solely from the Kinsey Institute Library and Special Collections

Module II is sourced from US, UK and Australian archives, and focus on personal experiences and self-expression.

About the US based collections

Collections sourced from the Kinsey Institute Library and Special Collections include:

  • The personal and professional correspondence of Dr. Alfred C. Kinsey, founder and Director of the Institute (1935-1956)
  • Professional and personal correspondence of the 2nd-3rd Directors of the Institute.
  • Articles and correspondence related to “The Kinsey Report”, a sexual advice column from the 1980s-early 90s.
  • Annual reports from the founding up to the 1980s.
  • Papers of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex (SSSS)
  • Papers of key researchers associated with the Institute or later donated, such as Alice Fields, Harry Benjamin and James W. Edwards.
  • Ephemeral collections of leaflets, pamphlets, newsletters, magazines and “pulp fiction” including discussions of depictions of sexual behaviour, or pornographic material.

Collections sourced from the One Archives at the USC Libraries include:

  • LGBTQ+ activists, such as Adele Starr, founder of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG).
  • LGBTQ+ individuals, providing insights into their personal lives and relationships.
  • Papers of various Community and Activist Groups, many of which are based in Los Angeles but also includes national organisations.
  • Pamphlets such as Little Blue Series, part of the Halderman-Julius Publications.

Oxford University members can access the resource via this link. Note that you will need your Oxford SSO to access.

Please send any feedback about this database to bethan.davies@bodleian.ox.ac.uk and isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Trial: LGBTQ+ Life in America [ends 28th February 2026]

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I am pleased to report that the Vere Harmsworth Library has organised trial access to the Newsbank/Readex database LGBTQ+ Life in America. This trial will run from the 28th January until the 28th February 2026.

Researchers may also be interested in our trial access to Sex and Sexuality. Check our blogpost for more information.

About LGBTQ+ Life in America

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Sourced from more than 16,000 American and global news publications, this resource provides insights into the reporting and voices of LGBTQ+ communities. Coverage begins from the earliest representations in American and global news up to the modern day. This includes historic coverage which may be difficult to identify due to the use of veiled language or media biases. Coverage starts from the 19th Century up to the present period.

Sources are full-text searchable and can be categorised by era, or researchers can use the Suggested Searches to find popular topics. These list some of the key events/themes/figures from each time period, providing a helpful overview for users who may not be familiar with the wider historical context.

Oxford University members can access the resource via this link. Note that you will need your Oxford SSO to access.

Please send any feedback about this database to bethan.davies@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

New! Online Resources: Slavery & Anti-Slavery Part IV, Nineteenth Century Stage and more!

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[Partially taken from the History Faculty Library Blogpost: Ten new eresources for early modern England, slavery and anti-slavery, British Empire, decolonisation, 1970s US and environmental history in the 20th century]

In line with the Bodleian Libraries’ strategy (pdf) to enhance our collections, we have committed funding to a set of selected purchases of electronic research resources.  These acquisitions reflect our ongoing commitment to supporting the University of Oxford’s world-class research community by providing access to high-quality, authoritative digital content across a wide range of disciplines.

These resources, and others in our extensive list of source databases, are all accessible via SOLO or Databases A-Z.  University staff and students can access them anytime, anywhere, using their Single Sign-On (SSO) credentials.

Two resources of particular interest to Americanists are:

Nineteenth Century Stage: The Industry, Performance and Celebrity

This resource brings together primary source material from archival collections in the UK, USA and Australia to reveal the shifting and expanding theatre world of the nineteenth century. Featuring material such as prompt books, programmes, company records, photographs and playbills, users can explore the multi-faceted nature of the nineteenth-century theatre industry, the lives and careers of well-known actors and actresses and the production, performance and reception of popular plays of the time.

Resources can be searched by geographic area, allowing researchers to narrow down to American playhouses and theatres, or focus on American actors and actresses involved in transatlantic touring. Researchers may also be interested in the theatrical depictions of race, including African Americans and Native Americans, which is discussed further in one of the thematic guides hosted on the database.

You can access this database here.

Please note that this database includes racist depictions and reference to terminology that some people may find distressing or offensive.

Slavery & Anti-Slavery: Part IV: The Age of Emancipation

Wood engraving by Thomas Nash, entitled "Emancipation". Decorative.
Emancipation / Th. Nast ; King & Baird, [Philadelphia] : Published by S. Bott, Philadelphia, Penna., c1865. (Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004665360/)

Part IV: The Age of Emancipation compliments and expends the Bodleian’s current access to Slavery & Anti-Slavery Part II (Slave Trade in the Atlantic World) and Part III (The Institution of Slavery). You can find out more about both of these resources via our previous blogposts:

The Age of Emancipation includes numerous rare documents related to emancipation in the United States, focusing on the activities of the federal government and charitable religious organisations post-Civil War. Alongside these are personal records of families and individuals directly involved in debates related to abolition and the treatment of formerly enslaved persons. The records below often provide first-person narratives of life the Reconstruction South, as well as biographical information. Alongside this are resources related the establishment of slavery in the early British colonies in the Americas and Caribbean.

Resources from this database include the following:

Records from the Freedman’s Bureau

Established by the War Department post-Civil War, the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created to support freedmen and refugees, and matters related to lands abandoned of seized during the War. It’s primary focus became supporting formerly enslaved persons to become self-sufficient. Records include:

  1. Field Office reports from Southern states, who were in direct contact with the formerly enslaved. Correspondence records include letters from the formerly enslaved as well as employers and landowners. Other documents include reports, contracts, censuses and first-hand accounts of black life during Reconstruction.
  2. Adjunct General Office Records related to submissions sent by Black soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War. Submissions were made for bounty, pension, pay arrears, rations and prize money. Includes valuable genealogical and military information.
  3. Correspondence and official documentation issued and received by the central headquarters of the Bureau in Washington DC.
  4. Records of the Bureau’s Education Division, related to the creation and oversight of educational establishments for both formerly enslaved children and adults, including correspondence and school reports.

Religious charitable societies

Most educational provision for freedmen was provided by religious groups based in the North. Two such charitable organisations were the Records of the Freeman’s Aid Society Records, a Methodist Episcopal Church; and Annual Reports of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Missions for Freedmen. Both societies were involved in the setting up of educational and religious establishments for freedmen, training of black teachers and preachers. Records also often include reports of daily life for African Americans, and the struggles of black establishments in the Reconstruction South.

Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company

A private savings bank established by Congress in 1865 specifically to collect deposits from formerly enslaved communities, the bank unfortunately failed in 1874, destroying the savings of many African Americans. The documents digitised here provide an index and register of signatures of depositors, which often contain biographical information, such place of birth, former plantation, former enslaver, current employment and relatives.

District of Texas, the 5th Military District

Post Civil-War, the the US Military created separate divisions and later districts across the Southern states to administer military and civilian matters. The correspondence digitised is from the Office of Civil Affairs, based in the District of Texas, the 5th Military District. They demonstrate the turmoil in Reconstruction Texas within the US Military to establish law and order, and expressions of popular feelings about Reconstruction efforts, racial attitudes and problems related to crime and lawlessness, in particular the growth of Klan activity in the area.

Personal papers of key individuals

The records related to the American Civil War and Reconstruction are rounded out by the personal papers of several key figures from the period. The majority of these papers are of abolitionists and anti-slavery campaigners. Providing an alternative viewpoint are the the papers of Alexander Hamilton Stephens, former Congressman and Vice-President of the Confederacy.

  1. Anna E. Dickinson, abolitionist and woman’s rights advocate
  2. Senator James R. Doolittle
  3. Edwin McMasters Stanton, Secretary of War
  4. Charles Follen McKim, famed architect and active abolitionist, whose family were actively involved in the Underground Railroad
  5. Senator Zachariah Chandler, Secretary of the Interior and Underground Railroad supporter
  6. Family papers of the Blackwells, covering 1759 to Reconstruction. Includes abolitionist and women’s rights advocate Lucy Stone, and Elizabeth Blackwell, a doctor who pioneered the role of women in medicine

Colonial Office Records and other resources

The database also includes resources held in the British National Archives related to abolition. Of most interest to Americanists are Colonial Office Records for America and the West Indies, specifically records related to the slave trade. These documents go back to the 17th Century, and provide insight into the establishment of slavery in the British American Colonies and the Caribbean. There are also records related to the West Africa Squadron, a British naval forces created after Britain abolished slavery in 1807, used to intercept slave ships. The Squadron records also include documents related to the establishment of Freetown in Sierra Leone.

You can access this database here.

Due to the nature of the subject and the time period in which the sources were published, Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive, contains racist and outdated discussions of race, racial stereotypes and offensive imagery.

Find out more about the new History Databases available via the History Faculty Library blogpost.

New! Online Resource: Carter Administration and Foreign Affairs

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I am pleased to report that the Vere Harmsworth Library has committed funding to purchase a new database, Carter Administration and Foreign Affairs, which is now available to Bodleian readers.

Black and white photo of President Jimmy Carter stood at Presidential lectern.
[President Jimmy Carter announces new sanctions against Iran in retaliation for taking U.S. hostages], Trikosko, Marion S., 1980 Apr. 7. Print copy held by the Library of Congress.

This online resource includes official documents from the Carter administration related to Foreign Affairs, housed in the Carter Presidential Library. These include presidential correspondence and memorandums with his cabinet, other Executive departments and agencies and other heads of state; telegrams and cables between foreign missions and the State Department; briefing books for international conferences and official reports.

Historical events and topics covered include Middle East Peace and the Camp David Accords; NATO and the Rapid Deployment Force; Human Rights; relations with the People’s Republic of China; Panama Canal Treaty; Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II); covert intervention in Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion and the Iran Hostage Crisis.

This database continues to build our modern American political history collections, as well as our collections focused on international relations and diplomacy.

You can access this collection here.

Trials: Planning for the Post-World War II World & Revolutionary War and Early America (ended 7th June 2025)

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[UPDATE: This trial has now ended]

I am pleased to report that the Vere Harmsworth Library has organised trial access to two ProQuest History Vault databases for Bodleian Readers: Planning for the Post-World War II World, State Department Records of Harley A. Notter and Revolutionary War and Early America: Collections from the Massachusetts Historical Society. The trial for both databases runs from the 8th May-7th June, 2025.

Find out more about both databases below:

Planning for the Post-World War II World

Planning for the Post World War II World: State Department Records of Harley A. Notter, 1939-1945 chronicles U.S. planning for postwar peace and spans nearly 300,000 pages. Declassified in 1974, the Notter File contains virtually all extant records of the State Department’s intensive wartime planning, as well as those of several bodies (notably the Policy Committee and the Committee on Postwar Programs) where actual policies were developed and implemented.

Many scholars regard the State Department files assembled by Dr. Harley A. Notter-a key State Department official during the war years-as one of the most important primary sources on postwar planning. The documents in the Notter records detail the foundations on which much of post-1945 U.S. foreign policy was built. The Notter collection includes research reports, official policy papers, memoranda, meeting minutes, State Department organization charts, and many other internal documents.

You can access Planning for the Post World War II World: State Department Records of Harley A. Notter, 1939-1945 using your Single Sign On here.

Revolutionary War and Early America

This module on one of the most-studied periods in American history consists of 26 collections from the holdings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the first North American historical society and the first library to devote its primary attention to collecting Americana. The collections digitized by ProQuest from the holdings of the Massachusetts Historical Society focus on the Colonial Era, the Revolutionary War and the Early National Period, with some collections extending into the Civil War era.

The collections include:

  • Papers of key individuals such as Benjamin Lincoln, Artemas Ward and Samuel Cabot.
  • Papers of key families spanning generations, such as the Revere and Hancock Family Papers.
  • Military records such as Orderly Books for French & Indian War and Revolutionary War, recording day to day activities of specific units.
  • 275 individual Pre-Revolutionary Era Diaries (1635-1774), written by more than 109 individuals from a range of working backgrounds and professions.
  • Organisation papers of the Massachusetts Charitable Fire Society Papers, one of the earliest American philanthropic organisations of it’s type. This includes petitions from those who had lost property from fire, and sometimes included detailed inventories of property and furniture.

You can access Revolutionary War and Early America: Collections from the Massachusetts Historical Society using your Single Sign On here.

You may also be interested in our currently ongoing trial of American History: 1493-1945. Find out more via our blogpost.

Please send any feedback you have regarding this resource to bethan.davies@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Trial: American History 1493-1945 (ended 25th May 2025)

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[UPDATE: This trial has now ended]

I am pleased to report that the Vere Harmsworth Library has organised trial access to American History 1493-1945 for Bodleian Readers. This trial runs from the 27th April-25th May, 2025.

This unique collection documents American History from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century. It is sourced from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the finest archives available for the study of American History.

Main features include:

  • Over 60,000 primary source documents split across two modules, including correspondence, diaries, government documents, business records, books, pamphlets, newspapers, broadsides, photographs, artwork and maps
  • Majority of the collection is unique manuscript
  • Extensive cataloguing to aid search
  • Translations and transcriptions for many manuscripts
  • Secondary resources include chronology, essays, video lectures and interactive features
  • Features from partner organizations Mount Vernon and the Gettysburg Foundation

You can access the American History, 1493-1945 using your Single Sign On here.

Please send any feedback you have regarding this resource to bethan.davies@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

US Elections Campaign Archive Exhibition

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With the US presidential election fast approaching, we are exhibiting a selection of materials from the Philip and Rosamund Davies US Elections Campaign Archive.

On display are an exciting range of election ephemera from the past two hundred years. Alongside badges produced by the Trump and Harris campaigns, readers can view Rock the Vote’s leaflet encouraging young people to vote in the 1990s, election guides produced by the League of Women Voters in the 1920s and 1960s, the Illustrated London News’ outraged sketch of fraudulent voters in the 1870s, and a book about the importance of voting written for the American Sunday School Union from the 1820s.

A bird's eye view of items in a display cabinet. On the left are two pamphlets and a small open book; the text is too small to read. In the centre is a copy of the Illustrated London News with a large black and white picture. Below it are two badges, one with a picture of Trump in a red cap and one that reads "Harris Walz obviously" on a blue background. On the right are two pamplets entitled I rocked the vote, and Choosing the president. Below them is a colourful cartoon of a woman filling in a ballot from inside a crocodile's mouth in a jungle, with text "Broom-Hilda: you're never too far away to vote absentee!!"

Readers can view the exhibited materials in the display cabinet on the ground floor, next to our current book display on US presidential elections.

The items chosen for the current display constitute a small part of the Philip and Rosamund Davies US Elections Campaign Archive, an actively growing collection of campaign ephemera from American elections at all levels (National, State, Local). The Archive covers the 19th Century up to and including our current period, but the majority dates from the late 20th Century onwards. Materials include buttons, posters, leaflets, stickers, t-shirts & hats, as well as more unique items such as dolls, jewellery, shoes, bars of soap, playing cards, artwork & commemorative plates! Readers wishing to view items from the archive should contact the Vere Harmsworth Library at vhl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Full details of items on display:

Election Day, written for the American Sunday School Union, and Revised by the Committee of Publication (1820s)

Uncatalogued (post-2020 intake)

The American Sunday School Union was an inter-denominational organisation, originally founded in 1817, to establish Sunday schools of any denominational faith. It commissioned authors, often anonymous, to create stories on American subjects and settings, with the stated goal of creating literature of good “moral character” for children, at low cost. This book shows the process of three young men voting in an election, and discusses the civic importance of taking part in the election. The image in the front of the book shows local people waiting to vote. (An ebook version of this book is available online here through HathiTrust).

The Illustrated London News, 9 Dec 1876, sketch depicting fraudulent voters in the Presidential election in custody, New York

MS. 21407/188

This front image is taken of inside the Post Office Building, one of the polling centres in New York for the 1876 election between Tilden and Hayes. The Chief Supervisor of Elections, John Davenport, reportedly held those suspected of fraudulent voting within the above “cage”. Davenport’s methods were criticised and he was accused of committing election fraud for the Republican Party. The London News had a scathing comment on the proceedings: “it will scarcely tempt the subjects of our gracious Queen to envy the political liberties of the American Republic” (p.6). (An online version of this issue is available here, requiring a single sign on login).

Registration Information and a Guide to the Presidential elections, Massachusetts League of Women Voters (1920)

MS. 21407/191

The League of Women Voters was organised in 1920, a few months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The League was originally formed within the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and many local suffrage groups were the basis for local Leagues of Women Voters. This was also the case for the Massachusetts League, which became particularly strong in Boston. The League produced non-partisan guidance for women on the election process, candidates and how to vote, even staging mock voting polls to guide women. (see Woods, “Women Take the Ballot Seriously”: Boston Women in the 1920 Election, National Park Service Blogpost).

Choosing the President, League of Women Voters, 1968

MS. 21407/191

This guide follows a similar template to the 1920 guide, but was produced on a national scale. The League created guides for each election to support its members. Viewing each guide shows how the electoral process has changed (or stayed the same), as well as the concerns of female voters. (An online version of this guide is available here.)

“Broom-Hilda says you’re never too far away to vote absentee” by Russell Myers, printed by the United States Department of Defence (1979)

MSS. Amer. s. 33 / 43 / 3

Broom-Hilda is a popular comic strip witch, created by Russel Myers, and distributed by the Chicago Tribune Syndicate. The character first appeared in April 1970. This poster was printed by the Department of Defence to encourage absentee voting among the military forces. Collecting votes from soldiers on active duty had always been difficult, and legislation to improve this began in the mid-20th Century, partly in reaction to issues encountered in WW2.

“You don’t let other people choose your music. Why let them choose your future?” Rock the Vote leaflet and sticker (1997)

MSS. Amer. s. 33 / 43 / 1

Rock the Vote is a nonpartisan organisation aiming to encourage young people (18-24) to vote and actively participate in the election process. It was founded in 1990 as a joint venture between music artists, executives and political activists, and co-founded by Jeff Ayeroff (former Virgin Records US co-chair). Its first campaign was against censorship, in response to movements to add warning labels to music with explicit content. Rock the Vote continues to be active to this today.

Badges

Donald Trump, Republican Candidate, 2016

MS 21404/5

Kamala Harris, Democrat Candidate, 2024

Uncatalogued (post-2020 intake)

 

New! Online Resources: Gender and Sexuality, Slavery and Antislavery, and Disability Histories!

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Bodleian Readers now have access to three new databases, which build on and expand our collections in three key areas: gender and sexuality, slavery and disability histories.

These three databases are part of a broader purchase of online resources. In line with the Bodleian Libraries’ strategy (pdf) to enhance our collections, the Bodleian Libraries committed substantial funding to a set of purchases of electronic research resources deemed to be important to researchers in the University. The below three have been highlighted as being of interest to Americanists.

You can find out more about all purchases made on the History Faculty Library blog.

Slavery and Antislavery: A Transnational Archive: Part III: The Institution of Slavery

Decorative image of Dred Scott. Caption of image reads: Portrait of Dred Scott (1795-1858) by an unknown artist. Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his and his family's freedom after having lived with their owner in several free states in the 1830s. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Scott, claiming that as a slave, he was not a citizen of the United States and therefore his case could not be heard before a federal court.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Institution of Slavery module explores, in vivid detail, the inner workings of slavery from 1492 to 1888. This compliments our existing collection Part II: Slave Trade in the Atlantic World. Includes:

  • Papers and diaries of slave owners, traders and pro-slavery advocates.
  • Papers of key political figures and families, such as US Attorney General and governor of Kentucky John J. Crittenden, and Massachusetts state senator, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, and U.S. attorney Caleb Cushing.
  • Court records related to the case of Dred Scott, and personal papers of the Blair family, who were involved in Scott’s council during the trial.
  • court cases, petitions and legislation related to slavery from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
  • Records related to East Florida (1737-1858) in English and Spanish, including resources related to slavery.
  • Senate Select Committee papers into John Brown’s raid of Harper’s Ferry (1859).
  • Slave narratives from the Federal Writer’s Project, collected and published in the 1930s.
  • …alongside records related to the institution of slavery in British North America and the Caribbean.

History of Disabilities: Disabilities in Society, Seventeenth to Twentieth Century

Decorative image of books. Caption underneath reads: Books from Special Collection S.32.A. (Feeble-minded, Mental Deficiency, et al) of the New York Academy of Medicine Library. Photo by Philip Virta, 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disabilities in Society, Seventeenth to Twentieth Century presents monographs (books), manuscripts, and ephemera that provide a historical view of disabilities from the seventeenth to twentieth century. All collections in this database are sourced from the New York Academy of Medicine Library.

  • Papers of the general superintendent of the New York City Asylums from the 19th -early 20th Century, including correspondence, diaries, speeches, and involvement in key legal cases.
  • Case records, patient histories and correspondence of a 19th-early 20th Century nurologist.
  • Douglas C. McMurtrie Cripples Collection – 300 bound volumes containing approximately 3,500 separate books, pamphlets, reports, and articles on disability and the disabled (particuarly children) from the early 20th Century. This collection was established by McMurtrie, who was Directory of the Red Cross Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men. 
  • over 3,000 pamphlets from the 19th/20th Century and historical books from the Library covering disabilities, diagnosis, treatment, memoirs, reports, policy documents, advertisements and more.

Archives of Sexuality and Gender: Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century

The Archives of Sexuality and Gender: Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century is a collection like no other. It is made up of more than five thousand rare and unique books covering sex, sexuality, and gender issues across the sciences and humanities and throughout history. This compliments our existing collections: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940, Parts I and II.

Two of the three libraries which make up the collections are US-based. They are:

  • New York Academy of Medicine Library – more than 1,500 books covering topics in sex, sexuality, and gender, some dating from the 16th century. Also includes records related to the court case of Mary Ware Dennett, an early 20th Century birth control and sex education advocate.
  • The Kinsey Institute for Sex Research – a collection of materials from 1700 to 1860. This is a portion of Dr. Kinsey’s original library which he used to study human sexual behavior from a variety of academic and literary viewpoints.

New! Online Resource: Black Nationalism and RAM; and Papers of Amiri Baraka 

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I am pleased to report that the Vere Harmsworth Library has purchased the previously trialled databases Black Nationalism and the Revolutionary Action Movement and Papers of Amiri Baraka for Bodleian Readers.

Black Nationalism and the Revolutionary Action Movement: The Papers of Muhammad Ahmad (Max Stanford)

The Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) came into existence as a result of a year of organizing for student rights and involvement in the civil rights movement among a collective of undergraduate students at Central State College (now University) in late May to early June of 1962.

Originally focused in Philadelphia, RAM, engaged in voter registration/education drives, organized community support for the economic boycotts of the Philadelphia “400” ministers led by Rev. Leon Sullivan and held free African/African-American history classes at its office. RAM participated in support demonstrations of the struggles then being waged in the South to end racial segregation. It was also active in coalitions to eliminate police brutality against the African-American community.

RAM became a national organisation in 1964, organising African American students, raising the demand for Black studies and campaigning for economic, social and political equality. It also sent organisers into Southern states. RAM was the first African-American organization to denounce the US government’s war of aggression against the people of Vietnam and support the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF). RAM was dissolved in 1968, following pressure from US government intelligence agencies (most noticeably the FBI) and local police forces.

This collection of RAM records reproduces the writings and statements of the RAM and its leaders. It also covers organizations that evolved from or were influenced by RAM and persons that had close ties to RAM. The most prominent organization that evolved from RAM was the African People’s Party. Organizations which worked with RAM included the NAACP, SNCC and Deacons of Defense. Organizations influenced by RAM include the Black Panther Party, League of Revolutionary Black Workers, Youth Organization for Black Unity, African Liberation Support Committee, and the Republic of New Africa. Individuals associated with RAM and documented in this collection include Robert F. Williams, Malcolm X, Amiri Baraka, General Gordon Baker Jr., Yuri Kochiyama, Donald Freeman, James and Grace Lee Boggs, Herman Ferguson, Askia Muhammad Toure (Rolland Snellings), and Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael).

You can access Black Nationalism and Revolutionary Action Movement using your Single Sign On here.

Papers of Amiri Baraka, Poet Laureate of the Black Power Movement

The collection consists of materials from the years 1913 through 1998 that document African American author and activist Amiri Baraka and were gathered by Dr. Komozi Woodard in the course of his research. The extensive documentation includes poetry, organizational records, print publications, articles, plays, speeches, personal correspondence, oral histories, as well as some personal records. The materials cover Baraka’s involvement in the politics in Newark, N.J. and in Black Power movement organizations such as the Congress of African People, the National Black Conference movement, the Black Women’s United Front. Later materials document Baraka’s increasing involvement in Marxism.

The collection has been organised into 18 series,

  • Series I: Black Arts Movement, 1961-1998
  • Series II: Black Nationalism,, 1964-1977
  • Series III: Correspondence, 1967-1973
  • Series IV: Newark (New Jersey), 1913-1980
  • Series V: Congress of African People, 1960-1976 – Organisation founded by Baraka in 1970 to advance his own vision of African cultural nationalism.
  • Series VI: National Black Conferences and National Black Assembly, 1968-1975 –Includes the 1972 Convention in Gary, Indiana, where delegates adopted the National Black Political Agenda, also known as the Gary declaration and formed the National Black Assembly (NBA).
  • Series VII: Black Women’s United Front, 1975-1976 -Formed  in 1974 by Amina Baraka (Sylvia Jones), the wife of Amiri Baraka.
  • Series VIII: Student Organization for Black Unity, 1971
  • Series IX: African Liberation Support Committee, 1973-1976
  • Series X: Revolutionary Communist League, 1974-1982 – founded by Bakara when CAP disintegrated in conflict, and reflects Baraka’s move away from nationalism to a Marxist position.
  • Series XI: African Socialism, 1973
  • Series XII: Black Marxists, 1969-1980–  includes materials on black Marxist contemporaries of Baraka, and older black Marxists such as Harry Haywood, C.L.R. James, and Odis Hyde. The series also includes files on the All African Revolutionary Party, the Black Workers Congress, and the Progressive Labor Party.
  • Series XIII: National Black United Front, 1979-1981
  • Series XIV: Miscellaneous Materials, 1978-1988
  • Series XV: Serial Publications, 1968-1984
  • Series XVI: Oral Histories, 1984-1986 –  transcripts from sixteen interviews conducted by Komozi Woodard and his assistants as part of an oral history project entitled, “The Making of Black NewArk: An Oral History of the Impact of the Freedom Movement on Newark Politics.” Most of the people interviewed were primarily local Newark activists, although there are also interviews with Baraka, Maulana Ron Karenga, and scholar John Henrik Clarke. This series of oral histories is one of the most unique and valuable parts of this collection.
  • Series XVII: Komozi Woodard’s Office Files, 1956-1986

You can access the Papers of Amari Baraka using your Single Sign On here.