Research Guides: HIST 204: Women, Gender and American Society to 1870 (HC): Primary Sources

Primary Sources Recommended by Professor Saler - Online Copies [Except for the Bondwoman's Narrative]

The Bondwoman’s Narrative. By Hannah Crafts. First published circa 1858.
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Possibly the first novel written by a formerly enslaved woman. It recounts a fictionalized autobiography that focuses on a mystery and combines a mixture of gothic, sentimental and slave narrative genres. The TriColleges have print copies edited by Henry Louis Gates.
Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House. By Elizabeth Keckley. First published in 1868.
In this memoir, Keckley descibes her life as an enslaved child and mother. After obtaining her freedom she gained a reputation as a skilled seamstress and worked as a dressmaker and personal servant for Mary Todd Lincoln.
Narrative of the Life and Travels of Mrs. Nancy Prince. By Nancy Price. First published in 1850.
Autobiography of a free black woman born in Newburyport, MA who writes about her travels to Russia and Jamaica.
Productions of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart Presented to the First Africa Baptist Church & Society, of the City of Boston. By Mrs. Maria W. Stewart. First published in 1835.
Essays and speeches written by an evangelical, free black woman, a public lecturer, abolitionist and women’s rights activist.
The Narrative of Bethany Veney, A Slave Woman. By Bethany Veney . First published in 1889.
The life story of a black woman ranging from her enslaved childhood in Virginia to marriage, children and eventual freedom. The narrative was taken down in the post-bellum period.
Memoir of Old Elizabeth, A Coloured Woman. By Anonymous . First published in 1863.
An evangelical black woman, born into slavery in the mid-18th century. She experienced a religious conversion and was freed by her second master, a Presbyterian minister. After that she travelled and held prayer meetings in various American states and Canada.
“The Memoir of Catharine Brown.” By Rufus Anderson. First published in 1825.
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An account of an evangelical Christian Cherokee woman's life commissioned by the Brainerd Missionary School following her early death.
Appears in Cherokee Sister The Collected Writings of Catharine Brown, 1818-1823. Edited by Theresa Strouth Gaul. University of Nebraska Press, 2014.
Conversations Principally on the Aborigines of North America. By Elizabeth Elkins Sanders. First published in 1828.
The author was a white woman born into a well-to-do colonial family who married a successful merchant in Salem, MA. At the age of 66, she wrote this pamphlet, advocating for compassion and the rights of Native peoples. In 1829, Sanders wrote this three-page broadside as a call for action:
Circular addressed to benevolent ladies of the United States. : The present crisis in the affairs of the Indian nations in the United States, demands the immediate and interested attention of all who make any claims to benevolence or humanity. .. BMC HC SC
A Treatise on Domestic Economy for the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School. By Catherine Beecher. First published in 1842.
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Beecher was an advocate for women’s education, the dignity of housework and the superior characteristics of women that make them the natural cultivators of domesticity and the home. She thus took a markedly different route for promoting women’s authority and importance than Woman’s Suffrage proponents.
The Reminiscences of Mrs. Dilue Harris. By Dilue Rose Harris. First published 1900-1904.
Harris was an early settler in Texas. Her memoir is based on a journal kept by her father to which she added her own recollections.
The Reminiscences of Mrs. Dilue Harris. Part I
The Reminiscences of Mrs. Dilue Harris. Part II
The Reminiscences of Mrs. Dilue Harris. Part III
Hesperos, Or, Travels in the West. By Matilde Charlotte Houstoun. First published in 1850.
British woman who travelled and commented on various parts of the American West.
Wau-bun, the "Early Day" in the North-west. By Juliette Kinzie. First published in 1856.
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The wife of an Indian agent, Kinzie relates her travels and experiences as an educated, Eastern woman in Chicago, Michigan and Wisconsin Territories as well as daily life at Fort Winnebago and her perspective on the Black Hawk War. She describes encounters with a diverse frontier society and her efforts to instill her own standards of behavior and Christian observance.
Domestic Manners of the Americans. By Frances Milton Trollope. First published by 1832.
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This is a highly controversial, amusing and popular account of Trollope's travels and observations of the United States primarily in the antebellum Midwest. She did go briefly to the South as well.

Online Primary Sources

American Broadsides & Ephemera: Series I
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Offers fully searchable facsimile images of approximately 15,000 broadsides (1820-1900) and 15,000 pieces of ephemera (1760 -1900) from the American Antiquarian Society collection. Subjects range from contemporary accounts of the Civil War, unusual occurrences and natural disasters to official government proclamations, tax bills and town meeting reports. Material types include clipper ship sailing cards, early trade cards, bill heads, theater and music programs, stock certificates, menus and invitations documenting civic, political and private celebrations.
American Memory This link opens in a new window
Provides information on, and access to, digitized versions of primary-source collections on American history and culture, including photographs, documents, sound recordings, and motion pictures.
American Periodicals Series Online
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Search through 1,800 magazines and journals published in the United States between 1740-1940. Includes early scientific publications, trade journals, popular magazines such as Ladies' Home Journal, and journals such as Puck, The Dial, and McClure's.

Documenting the American South
A digital publishing initiative that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs.

Early American Imprints: Series I, Evans (1639-1800)
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Covers American history and literature from the colonial period to the eighteenth century. Provides full-text digitization of the Early American Imprints microform set, Series I (1639-1800).
Early American Imprints: Series II, Shaw-Shoemaker (1801-1819)
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Covers American history and literature from the colonial period to the eighteenth century. Provides full-text digitization of the Early American Imprints microform set, Series II (1801-1819). Covering every aspect of American life during the early decades of the United States.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online
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Offers full-text access to English-language titles and editions published between 1701 and 1800 including books, pamphlets, almanacs, Bibles and treatises. Subjects covered include history, geography, fine arts, medicine, science, literature, language, religion, philosophy and law. Significant collections of women writers, collections on the French Revolution, and numerous eighteenth-century editions of the works of Shakespeare are also included.

Electronic Enlightenment
An online collection of edited correspondence of the early modern period, linking people across Europe, the Americas and Asia from the early 17th to the mid-19th century.
Foundations of US History: American Revolution and Early Republic (George Mason University)
A collection of digital resources related to the American Revolution and Early Republic periods from the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.
Founders Online (National Archives)
Selected digital versions of the papers of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington. Over 120,000 searchable documents.

Making of America (Cornell University) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to approximately 10,000 books and over 50,000 journal articles in the University of Michigan and Cornell University Libraries from the antebellum through reconstruction periods. Covers American social history focusing especially on education, psychology, religion, science, and technology.
Making of America (University of Michigan) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to approximately 10,000 books and over 50,000 journal articles in the University of Michigan and Cornell University Libraries from the antebellum through reconstruction periods. Covers American social history focusing especially on education, psychology, religion, science, and technology.

Papers of the War Department
Digitized and searchable documents from the War Department between 1784 and 1800. The documents include material related to the history of the Early Republic, the handling of Indian affairs, pensions and procurement, and the nature of the first American citizens’ relationship with their new Federal government.
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, (University of Virginia)
A fully searchable digital collection of the papers of Thomas Jefferson.

Adam Matthew Explorer
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Search across Adam Matthew's primary source collections in the social sciences and humanities. Though based in Britain, the database includes many collections relevant to American history, including:
"Everyday Life & Women in America c.1800-1920"
"Defining Gender"
"American Indian Histories and Cultures"
"American Indian Newspapers"
"American History, 1493-1945"
"American West"
"Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1961" " These range from single-page letters or telegrams to comprehensive dispatches, investigative reports and texts of treaties. All items marked ‘Confidential Print’ were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the Cabinet and to heads of British missions abroad."
"Popular Medicine in America, 1800-1900"

Newspaper Sets

Accessible Archives
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Contains full-text primary resource materials in American history including newspapers, magazines, and genealogical records originally only offered on microfilm. Covers 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
America's Historical Newspapers
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Search through 2,000+ historical newspapers published in the United States between 1690-1922. Includes publications from all 50 states, large cities and small towns, and a mix of major newspapers and titles with smaller circulations.