Home - Oftedal - US History I - LibGuides at Watchung Hills Regional High School

American History Databases

ABC-CLIO American Government This link opens in a new window
It identifies values the government has traditionally upheld and how the government of today continues to reflect those values, while simultaneously examining changes that the government has undergone since the nation’s founding.
ABC-CLIO American History This link opens in a new window
Highlights
Houses more than 16,000 primary and secondary sources, including government and court documents, photos, maps, audio and video recordings, and more
ABC-CLIO: Daily Life Through History This link opens in a new window
Highlights
Houses more than 9,000 primary and secondary sources including newspapers, magazines, narratives, and letters of correspondence and images that actually show students moments and elements of daily life throughout history
Gale: US History in Context This link opens in a new window
FactsOnFile: American History Online This link opens in a new window
Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history to cover the American experience.
ABC-CLIO: Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas This link opens in a new window
all of the things that students find interesting about today’s culture, in the context of America’s past. It is a complement to any social studies course about life in America since the 1900s and an outstanding resource for research and discovery.
Highlights
Houses more than 5,400 primary and secondary sources, including more than 2,800 photos and illustrations and more than 220 audio and video recordings
Gale: Biography in Context This link opens in a new window

Issues and Current Events Databases

Gale: Student Resources in Context This link opens in a new window
ABC-CLIO: Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society This link opens in a new window
Gale: Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
Gale: Global Issues in Context This link opens in a new window
ProQuest: SIRS Knowledge Source This link opens in a new window
EBSCOhost Explora: Secondary Schools This link opens in a new window
EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window
EBSCOhost is a powerful online reference system accessible via the Internet. It offers a variety of proprietary full text databases and popular databases from leading information providers.
EBSCOhost: Points of View Reference Center This link opens in a new window

Miscellaneous Databases

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Gale: Power Search This link opens in a new window
The main search page for the Gale Cengage databases. Contains both cross-searchable and individual databases.
ABC-CLIO Multi-Product Page This link opens in a new window
Main portal page of ABC-CLIO which gives you access to all of their history and issues databases.
History Study Center This link opens in a new window
Gale: Biography in Context This link opens in a new window

World History Databases

ABC-CLIO: World History: The Modern Era This link opens in a new window
FactsOnFile: Ancient and Medieval History Online This link opens in a new window
Presents the full scope of world history from prehistory through the 1500's, with special topic centers on key civilizations and regions.
FactsOnFile: Modern World History Online This link opens in a new window
Covers the broad expanse of world history from the mid-15th century to the present, featuring thousands of documents, articles, timelines, images, videos, and maps.
Gale: World History in Context This link opens in a new window

Database Searching Tips

It is crucial to CHOOSE the right database for your task.
COMBINE keywords and/or subject terms using Boolean logic for fewer, more relevant results.

USE a database's sorting features for better results.
Databases may cover specific topics and/or time periods – PAY ATTENTION!

Use the HELP screens to learn the characteristics of a specific database and improve your searching skills.
Don’t forget to CITE your sources! Most databases will have a “citation tools” feature – use it!

Databases A-Z

A-Z Database List

Full list of Databases the library subscribes to, including trial access.

Go to A-Z List

Find a Book!

Books and eBooks

Manifest Destiny and the New Nation, 1803-1860 by Salem Press Staff
Call Number: R 973.5 MA (eBook)
ISBN: 9781429837422
Publication Date: 2013-10-01
The Mexican War by Jeanne T. Heidler; David S. Heidler
Call Number: 973.62 HE
ISBN: 0313327920
Publication Date: 2005-11-30
Contents: The two republics -- The Texas problem -- War -- The northern war -- Scott's campaign -- Legacies -- Biographies of notable people -- Primary documents of the period.
Manifest Destiny by Jesse Jarnow
Call Number: 979.02 MO
ISBN: 1404201769
Publication Date: 2005-01-01
This book uses primary source documents, narrative, and illustrations to recount the territorial expansion of the U.S. in the nineteenth century.
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville; Harvey C. Mansfield (Translator); Delba Winthrop (Translator)
Call Number: 320.973 TO
ISBN: 0226805328
Publication Date: 2000-11-01
Based partly on the author's observations of the American political and social conditions during a visit in 1831-1832.
American Eras by Gale (Editor)
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9781414498263
Publication Date: 2014-06-10
Includes essays on events, publications, lifestyles and individuals important to the Westward Expansion Era in U.S. history.
Milestone Documents in American History by Paul Finkelman (General Editor); Bruce A. Lesh (General Editor)
Call Number: R 973 MI
ISBN: 9780979775802
Publication Date: 2008-04-01
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences by William A. Darity
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9780028661179
Publication Date: 2007-11-01
Mexican-American War
Jacksonian and Antebellum Age by Mark R. Cheathem (Editor); Peter C. Mancall (Editor)
Call Number: 973.5 JA
ISBN: 9781598840179
Publication Date: 2008-01-24
The Early Republic and Antebellum America by Christopher G. Bates
Call Number: R 973.3 EA (eBook)
ISBN: 9780765681263
Publication Date: 2010-09-15
Calhoun, John C. (1782–1850)

eBooks

ABC-CLIO eBooks Collection This link opens in a new window
Gale: Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window
See what GVRL can make possible for your students and faculty when you deliver more than 12,000 eBooks from over 100 industry-leading publishers for every discipline and a unique research experience with.
Infobase eBooks This link opens in a new window
EBSCOhost: eBooks Collection This link opens in a new window
Salem Press Online Collection This link opens in a new window
eBooks from Salem Press, The Reference Shelf, and Grey House Publishing.
Marshall Cavendish This link opens in a new window

Annotated Bibliographies

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY An annotated bibliography is a listing of the resources consulted for research purposes. An annotated bibliography is listed in alphabetical order according to author and contains the following information in this order.

i. Citation in MLA format

ii. Summary of the sources’ content (See sample below.)

Castelvecchi, D. (2008, August 30). “Carbon Tubes leave nano behind.” Science News, 174(5), Retrieved from http://www.sciencenews.org.

This source, which describes a new, flexible lightweight material 30 times stronger than Keviar and possibly useful for better bulletproof vests, provides evidence of yet another upcoming technology that might be useful to law enforcement. This article focuses on the ways in which lighter, stronger, bulletproof materials might change SWAT tactics, for instance, enabling them to carry more gear, protect police vehicles, or to blend into crowds better.

Purdue Owl: Annotated Bibliographies
This handout provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS.
Cornell University Library: How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography
EasyBib: Annotated Bibliographies

Primary sources are materials that contain firsthand evidence of events, usually recorded by someone who participated in, witnessed, or lived through the event.

The following are commonly considered primary sources:

Diaries, letters, personal papers, autobiographies
Photographs or original video tapes or television advertisements
Interviews and transcripts
Newspaper accounts
Government records
Historical records
Statutes, regulations, by-laws, case law and administrative rulings
Statistical data
Artistic or creative works (poems, paintings, sculpture, etc.)

Secondary sources are works that are not original primary sources, but documents which offer an analysis, interpretation, or evaluation of information gathered from primary sources. For example, books critiquing Shakespeare's plays or a product review are secondary sources.

The following are commonly considered secondary sources:

Biographies
Criticisms
Dissertations
Editorials and reviews
Journal/Magazine articles providing analysis, interpretation, or evaluation
Newspaper accounts that report various sources of information

What is a Primary Source?

Newspaper Databases

Gale: Custom Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Custom Newspapers features 33.5 million full-text articles in 150
newspapers, including The Star Ledger and New York Times.
EBSCOhost Explora: Secondary Schools This link opens in a new window
EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window
EBSCOhost is a powerful online reference system accessible via the Internet. It offers a variety of proprietary full text databases and popular databases from leading information providers.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers Multi-Search This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Baltimore Sun (1837 - 1991)
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune‎ (1849 - 1992)
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Hartford Courant‎ (1764 - 1990)
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Tribune‎ (1841 - 1922)
ProQuest: Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
ProQuest: SIRS Knowledge Source This link opens in a new window
eLibrary This link opens in a new window

Multi-Cultural Databases

ABC-CLIO:The African American Experience: The American Mosaic This link opens in a new window
FactsOnFile: African American History Online This link opens in a new window
Features thousands of cross-referenced entries, covering the entire spectrum of African-American history over the past 500 years.
ABC-CLIO: The American Indian Experience: The American Mosaic This link opens in a new window
Featuring articles and essays from Native American authors and contributors, it gives voice to the American Indian experience with respect to colonial conflict, trade economies, decisive wars, parsing of Native American land enabled by American policy, assimilation, and native claims to land, among other topics.
FactsOnFile: American Indian History Online This link opens in a new window

War & Genocide Databases

ABC-CLIO: World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society This link opens in a new window
ABC-CLIO: Modern Genocide: Understanding Causes and Consequences This link opens in a new window
It enables students to fully grasp the events of the genocides and the factors that led to them, showing them repeating patterns in history and giving them the agency to work to diminish hatred that could lead to future genocides.

Research Tools

NoodleTools This link opens in a new window
EasyBib This link opens in a new window
Sign up using your school email address.
Must use coupon code: watchhsnj