Research Guides: AMST 124B: Sex, Love, & Marriage in America: Primary sources

Tips for Primary Source Searching

Think about what terms that might have been used to in articles about your topic during the time period. For example: the name of a specific person or organization or even a term that wouldn't be used today.

In addition to searching, try browsing these collections to learn about sources that you wouldn't have necessarily thought of searching for.

If you are using a database with an Advanced Search form, try using the Advanced Search features to refine your search.

Since these databases cover many decades, it can be helpful to limit your search to a specific date range.

These databases often sort results in chronological order. In some cases, it might be helpful to sort by relevance/best matches first.

Oral histories

HistoryMakers Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
An African American video oral history archive. Provides access to oral history interviews with historically significant African Americans.

Bracero History Archive
"The Bracero History Archive collects and makes available the oral histories and artifacts pertaining to the Bracero program, a guest worker initiative that spanned the years 1942-1964. Millions of Mexican agricultural workers crossed the border under the program to work in more than half of the states in America."
Luis J. Botifoll Oral History Project
"Videos, outlines, and selected transcripts of oral history interviews conducted principally with members of the first generations of Cubans to leave the island after the Cuban Revolution."
South Asian Oral History Project:
"The SAOHP represents one of the first attempts in the U.S. to record pan-South Asian immigrant experiences in the Pacific Northwest using the medium of oral history. " From the University of Washington Library
Immigrant Archive Project
An independent organization is funding this project to preserve immigrant voices.
New Roots: Oral Histories:
"Oral histories of Latin American migrants in North Carolina and the experiences of North Carolinians that have worked for the integration of new settlers into this southern state."
Tejano Voices
"focuses on one hundred seventy-six oral history interviews with Tejano and Tejana leaders from across the state conducted by Dr. José Angel Gutiérrez, associate professor of political science at the University of Texas at Arlington. These interviews were conducted in 1992-2006 and emphasize the personal stories and struggles of the interviewees, many of whom are the first individuals of Mexican descent in their communities elected or appointed to government office."
Mexican Migration Project
StoryCorps Historias
"An initiative to record the diverse stories and life experiences of Latinos in the United States."

North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories This link opens in a new window
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories includes thousands of authors, providing a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada between 1800 and 1950.

Historical Newspapers & Magazines

Collections of Newspapers:

Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
Provides access to primary sources for studying the history of the film and entertainment industries, from the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to the 21st century. Includes US and UK trade magazines covering film, music, broadcasting and theater, along with film fan magazines and music press titles. Coverage varies, with a focus on 20th Century material.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Includes the American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger (1857-1922), American Israelite (1854-2000), Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945), Atlanta Daily World‎ (1931-2010), Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988), Baltimore Sun‎ (1837-1996), Boston Globe (1872-1990), Chicago Tribune (1849-1998), Chinese Newspapers Collection (1832-1953), Cleveland Call and Post‎ (1934-2010), Communist Historical Newspaper Collection‎ (1919-2013), Jerusalem Post (1932-2008), Jewish Advocate (1905-1990), Jewish Exponent (1887-1990), Korea Times‎ (1956-2016), Leftist Newspapers and Periodicals (1845-2015), Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005), Los Angeles Times (1881-1997), Michigan Chronicle‎ (1939-2010), Minneapolis Star Tribune‎ (1867-2001), New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), New York Times (1851-2018), Norfolk Journal and Guide (1916-2010), Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2010), Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2010), St. Petersburg Times/Tampa Bay Times (1901-2009), Times of India (1838-2010), Wall Street Journal (1889-2010), and Washington Post (1877-2006)
Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Newspapers, magazines, and journals from American ethnic and native communities, covering 1960 to the present.
ProQuest Historical Black Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Search across the New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), the Norfolk Journal and Guide (1921-2003), Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005), Cleveland Call and Post (1934-1991), Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003), Michigan Chronicle‎ (1936 - 2010), and the Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988). Please note that Brandeis Library also has access to the Chicago Defender newspaper which can be searched separately
Women's Magazine Archive‎ (1846 - 2005) This link opens in a new window
Includes the backfiles of leading women's interest consumer magazines, covering the late 19th century through to 2005.

Individual Titles of Interest:

Jewish Advocate (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
News and information as well as a forum for discussion and debate for Jewish religious and cultural life. Includes full-text and full-image issues of Boston Advocate (1905-1909) and Jewish Advocate (1909-1990).
American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
A weekly Jewish newspaper published in New York City. This resource covers 1857 - 1922.
New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993) (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
A prominent black newspaper and an excellent resource for the study of the Harlem Renaissance.
Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988) (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Most widely circulated black newspaper on the Atlantic coast.
Chicago Defender (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
A leading newspaper of the African American community, with more than two-thirds of its readership was from outside of Chicago. Covers 1909-2010.

More Resources for Primary Sources

North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Includes the correspondence and diaries of women, covering colonial times to 1950.
Jewish Life in America (1654-1954) This link opens in a new window
Collection of manuscripts from the American Jewish Historical Society, including major organisational collections and collections of personal papers.
Women's Studies Archive This link opens in a new window
Provides a history of the social, political, and professional aspects of women's lives and offers a look at the roles, experiences, and achievements of women in society. Includes documents such as diaries, letters, photographs, news clippings, organizational records, and journals, covering the nineteeth and twentieth centuries.

Digital Public Library of America
Digitized materials from libraries, archives and museums around the country. Includes historical advertisements.

North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories This link opens in a new window
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories includes thousands of authors, providing a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada between 1800 and 1950.
Women and Social Movements in the United States (1600-2000) This link opens in a new window
A collection of document projects--comprised of essays with supporting documents, images, and web links--focused on the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000
Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960-1974 This link opens in a new window
Includes diaries, letters, autobiographies and other memoirs, written and oral histories, manifestos, government documents, memorabilia, newspapers, press, underground press, alternative publications, and scholarly commentary. This collection includes materials digitized from collections in Brandeis University Archives & Special Collections, including materials on student activism and radical politics.
Immigration: Records of the INS, 1880-1930 This link opens in a new window
Covers the investigations made during the massive immigration wave at the turn of the 20th century, including Asian immigration, especially Japanese and Chinese migration, to California, Hawaii, and other states; Mexican immigration to the U.S. from 1906-1930; and European immigration. There are also extensive files on the INS's regulation of prostitution and white slavery, and on suppression of radical aliens.