American History

To find books on American history in our collection, search by Subject in our catalog in combination with other keywords or subject words of interest. The following subject headings are particularly useful as places to start:

United States—History

Great Britain—Colonies—America (adapt this formulation for other colonial powers such as Spain or France)

Indians of North America—History

African Americans (adapt this formulation for other racial and ethnic groups, e.g. Mexican Americans, Irish Americans, Chinese Americans)

Garraty, John A., and Mark C. Carnes, eds. American National Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Location: 3rd floor Reference. Call number: Ref CT213 .A68 1999

Dictionary of American History. New York: Scribner, 1976-1978. Location: 3rd floor Reference. Call number: Ref E174 .D52 1976

Carter, Susan B., et al. Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Times to the Present. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Location: 3rd floor Reference and online (subscription database, available only in Newberry building). Call number: Ref HA202 .H57 2006

Boyer, Paul S., ed. The Oxford Companion to United States History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Location: 3rd floor Reference. Call number: Ref E174 .O94 2001

Howes, Wright. U.S. IANA, 1650-1950: A Selective Bibliography in which are Described 11,620 Uncommon and Significant Books Relating to the Continental Portion of the United States. New York: R. R. Bowker Co. for the Newberry Library, 1962. Location: 3rd floor Reference. Call number: Ref Z1215 .H75 1962

Edward E. Ayer Collection:

As a collection of general Americana, the Edward E. Ayer Collection is one of the best in the country and one of the strongest collections on American Indians and on the exploration of the Americas by Europeans in the world. Founded in 1911 with a donation of 17,000 items from Newberry Trustee Edward E. Ayer (1841-1927), the collection now includes approximately 150,000 volumes, over 1 million manuscript pages, 2,000 maps, 500 atlases, 11,000 photographs, and 3,500 drawings and paintings.

Everett D. Graff Collection:

Newberry Trustee Everett D. Graff (1885-1964) donated his library of Western Americana to the Newberry in 1964. The collection includes approximately 10,000 books and manuscripts, many of them extremely rare, most dealing with the exploration and settlement of the trans-Mississippi West in the nineteenth century.

Rudy L. Ruggles Collection:

In 1985, Chicago lawyer and Newberry Trustee Rudy Lamont Ruggles gave his personal library to the Newberry Library. The Ruggles collection, numbering over 500 volumes, contains a diverse array of print rarities and historical gems in superb physical condition. Though a major aspect of the Ruggles collection is early American law, particularly constitutional law, the collection’s scope also includes the American Revolution, Constitutional period, American Indian history, early American maps, American and English literature, and general Americana.

Modern and Midwestern Manuscripts Collections:

The Newberry has over 800 Modern Manuscript Collections dating from the mid-18th through the 20th centuries. Holdings are strongest for Chicago and the Midwest. Searching across collections and browsing within topical areas is available on the Modern Manuscripts and Ephemera search page.

The following research guides are available as PDFs:

• Civil War and Reconstruction
• History of the Colonial Period, Revolutionary Era, and Early Republic
• Westward Expansion of the United States and Western Americana

Databases

Most of the databases at the Newberry are subscription databases; therefore, access is available to registered readers only within the library building. Those listed below are subscription databases.

American Indian Histories and Cultures: A deep and wide ranging selection of visual and textual resources related to Native American culture and history drawn from the Newberry’s rich collections.

The American West: Mixture of original manuscripts, maps, ephemeral material, and rare printed sources from the Newberry’s Everett D. Graff Collection of Western Americana. 

Websites

Frontier to Heartland: This digital exhibit based on the Newberry’s collections explores how central North America first became known as the “Frontier” and eventually as the “Heartland.”

Mapping Movement in American History and Culture: This online archive features more than 500 images of maps and accompanying interpretive text drawn from the Newberry’s extensive map collections, from the European explorers’ maps to modern aviation cartography.

Out of Many: Religious Pluralism in America: Including digitized primary sources from the Newberry’s collection, contextual information, and discussion questions, this site features curricular resources to integrate the study of America’s religious diversity into introductory courses across the humanities.