Collection Development and Strategies Department

Civil War reenactors in Union uniforms fire rifles in open field, with smoke and flags in background. Text reads "History Commons Featured Database."

Featured Database: History Commons North America

You can use databases to easily find organized collections of articles, journals, news, streaming videos, primary sources, data, and more!  

  • This month, we highlight an abolition, suffrage, and wartime historical database: History Commons North America.

What’s in it? 

  • This database contains an exciting collection of pamphlets, speeches, magazines, newspapers, journal articles, and books on U.S History. This database contains nearly 400 topics, but of note are the abolition, suffrage, Revolutionary War, and Civil War collections. 

Why should you use it? 

  • History Common North America collects materials from over 1,200 institutions across the U.S. and includes 148,000 documents. Large collections of primary sources are a trove of information for anyone doing historical research. 

Who should use it?  

  • Anybody interested in U.S. History!

Why use a database? 

When you use a specific database, rather than a search engine or discovery tool, you often can find more relevant sources. For example, subject databases include sources about that subject only, rather than a general search engine or discovery tool that includes information about everything. This way you don’t have to wade through thousands of irrelevant results! 

Want more databases? 

Browse or search our Databases List

If you have questions about this database or others, Ask Us

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