Historical E-Resources

The full list of databases the Library subscribes to and those free resources recommended by subject experts is available from A-Z Databases list that can be searched by subject and type.

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Historical News
Historical Business and Economics Research

19th Century U.S. Newspapers External This link opens in a new window
Contains primary source newspaper content from nearly 250 American newspapers published during the 19th century. The database features full-text content and images from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the United States. The collection encompasses the entire 19th century, with an emphasis on such topics as the American Civil War, African-American culture and history, Western migration and Antebellum-era life among other subjects.
Accessible Archives External This link opens in a new window
Note: Accessible Archives migrated to the History Commons platform in 2024
Developed by dedicated instructors and students of American history, Accessible Archives provides access to diverse primary source materials reflecting broad views across American history and culture. Eyewitness accounts of historical events, vivid descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements, and genealogical records have been assembled into comprehensive collections from leading books, newspapers and periodicals. Collections include:
- African American Newspapers
- America and World War I: American Military Camp Newspapers, Parts I and II
- American County Histories
- Anatomy of Protest in America
- The Canadian Observer, 1914-1919
- The Civil War Collection
- Frank Leslie's Weekly
- Godey's Lady's Book Complete Collection (Parts I-IX)
- History of Woman Suffrage
- The Lily
- The Pennsylvania Gazette
- The Pennsylvania Genealogical Catalogue
- Quarantine and Disease Control in America
- Reconstruction of Southern States: Pamphlets
- Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman
- South Carolina Newspapers
- Twelve Years a Slave
- The Virginia Gazette
- The Woman's Tribune
- Women's Suffrage Collection
America's Historical Newspapers External This link opens in a new window
America's Historical Newspapers features full text cover-to-cover reproductions of historic newspapers published in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The coverage provides insight into the early years of the United States: the daily life of hundreds of diverse American communities; the later westward expansion and the rise of the penny press with its increasing emphasis on society, industry, and scientific advances; the Civil War era, Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, the Progressive era, and beyond. Please note that the full text may not be available for all issues of a particular newspaper (the database continues to grow). Collections include:
- African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 (Series 1 and Series 2)
- American Business: Agricultural Newspapers
- American Business: Mercantile Newspapers
- American Gazettes: Newspapers of Record
- American Politics: Campaign Newspapers
- American Religion: Denominational Newspapers
- Early American Newspapers, Series 1, 1690-1876: From Colonies to Nation
- Early American Newspapers, Series 2, 1758-1900: The New Republic
- Early American Newspapers, Series 3, 1783-1922: From Farm to City
- Early American Newspapers, Series 4, 1756-1922: The Rise of Industry
- Early American Newspapers, Series 5, 1777-1922: An Emerging World Power
- Early American Newspapers, Series 6, 1741-1922: Compromise and Disunion
- Early American Newspapers, Series 7: 1773-1922: Reform and Retrenchment
- Early American Newspapers, Series 8, 1844-1922: A Nation in Transition
- Early American Newspapers, Series 9, 1832-1922: Protest and Prosperity
- Early American Newspapers, Series 10, 1730-1900: Regional Pioneers
- Early American Newspapers, Series 11, 1803-1899: From Agrarian Republic to World Power
- Early American Newspapers, Series 12, 1821-1900: The Specialized Press
- Early American Newspapers, Series 13, 1803-1916: The American West
- Early American Newspapers, Series 14, 1807-1880: The Expansion of Urban America
- Early American Newspapers, Series 15, 1822-1879: Immigrant Communities
- Early American Newspapers, Series 16, 1800-1877: Industry and the Environment
- Early American Newspapers Series 17, 1844-1922: American Heartland
- Early American Newspapers, Series 18, 1825-1879: Racial Awakening in the Northeast
American Business: Agricultural Newspapers External This link opens in a new window
Agricultural newspapers explore the business of agriculture in pre-1920 America: Historical newspapers covering agriculture, agricultural technology, and the economics of farming Supports research of early American history, environmental studies, labor history, ethnic history, and economics More than 200 newspapers from every region of the U.S. published between 1788 and 1894.
American Business: Mercantile Newspapers External This link opens in a new window
Mercantile Newspapers explore the growth of American business and industry:Historical newspapers covering business, industry, and international trade Supports research of early American history, environmental studies, quantitative historical analysis, labor history, ethnic studies, and economics Includes newspapers from more than 40 states published between 1783 and 1900.
American Periodicals External This link opens in a new window
American Periodicals Series Online (APS Online) includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century. Titles range from Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine and America's first scientific journal, Medical Repository popular magazines such as Vanity Fair and Ladie's Home Journal regional and niche publications and groundbreaking journals like The Dial, Puck, and McClure's. APS Online chronicles the development of America across 150 years. The journals in this collection cover three broad periods: 89 journals published between 1740 and 1800 offer insights into America's transition from colonial times to independence. The journals support research for a range of academic fields. Titles include Massachusetts Magazine, which published America's first short stories, and Thomas Paine's Pennsylvania Magazine, which reported on inventions. One of the first mass printings of the Declaration of Independence, a letter by George Washington on the crucial Battle of Trenton, and the thoughts of Benjamin Franklin are among the highlights of content from this period. The first 60 years of the 19th century became the golden age of American periodicals, with general interest magazines, children's publications, and more than 20 journals for women. Many of the publications reflect on the growing debate over slavery, including the serialization of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in National Era that preceded the novel. Also available are hard-to-find materials, such as Edgar Allan Poe's contributions to the Southern Literary Messenger, as well as the first appearances of Nathaniel Hawthorne's stories in New England Magazine, and Margaret Fuller's contributions to the Dial. 118 periodicals published during the Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction (1865-1877) eras reflect the nation in turmoil and growth, and titles from the 1880s through 1900 capture the settling of the West and the emergence of modern Amer
Applied Science and Business Retrospective External This link opens in a new window
Provides a single resource for seven decades of articles on the most important events, issues and trends in the history of business and industry (including the complete file of Industrial Arts Index (1913-1957), plus the most important historical sources in the applied science and technology field for the 20th century. It provides cover-to-cover indexing for more than 2,000 periodicals that include more than 4.5 million articles. It is an excellent resource for tracking down important studies, exploring historical controversies, finding papers by innovators, researching the development of a particular technology, and more.
Associated Press Collections Online External This link opens in a new window
The Associated Press Online Archive is a vast archive of primarily 20th-century news materials that provide original perspectives on historical events around the world from a distinguished news reporting organization. The AP Press Collections feature six AP archives:
- European Bureaus Collection, 1937-2003 From Vienna, its chief listening post, and also from Prague and Warsaw, the AP covered Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Reporters rotated in and out of the Eastern bloc, writing about the declining influence of the Soviet Union, the last days of the Iron Curtain, and the political and economic re-structuring of the former Soviet satellites.
- Middle East Bureaus Collection, 1967-2008 Spanning the decades between 1967 and 2005 (dates vary by bureau) the Middle East Bureaus Collection contains wire copy (original news reports) in both English and Arabic and includes information on conflicts in the area.
- News Features & Internal Communications highlights the interpretive and analytic side of journalism and tells the story of The Associated Press itself.
- U.S. City Bureaus Collection, 1931-2004 Primarily a post-World War II collection, these bureau records cover a broad segment of American political and social history.
- The Washington D.C. Bureau Collection 1938-2009 documents the administrations of seven U.S. presidents.
- The Washington D.C. Bureau Collection 1915-1930 comprises the AP's Washington Bureau donation to the Library of Congress in 1944. This material contains the only significant news reporting on World War I.
C19: The Nineteenth Century Index External This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive and dynamic source for discovering nineteenth-century books, periodicals, official documents, newspapers and archives.
C19 Index draws on the strength of established indexes such as the Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue (NSTC), The Wellesley Index, Poole's Index, Periodicals Index Online and the Cumulative Index to Niles' Register 18111849 to create integrated bibliographic coverage of over 1.7 million books and official publications, 70,000 archival collections and 20.9 million articles published in over 2,500 journals, magazines and newspapers. C19 Index now provides integrated access to 13 bibliographic indexes, including more than three million records from British Periodicals Collections I and II, together with the expanded online edition of the Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism (DNCJ).
Chronicling America This link opens in a new window

Chronicling America provides free access to millions of pages of historic American public domain newspapers. More than 3000 titles, published in 48 states and territories and the District of Columbia are available (eventual coverage will be all states and territories, 1690-1963). The headlines, articles and advertisements capture the life and times of the American people, shining new light on historic events as they unfolded. Also provides a link to find information about newspapers published in the United States from 1690. Produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress.
Economist Historical Archive 1843-2014 External This link opens in a new window
The fully searchable complete facsimile edition of The Economist, the weekly paper which is essential reading for anyone engaged in politics, current affairs and all aspects of business and trade worldwide. Containing every issue since its launch in 1843 and more than 600,000 pages, EHA offers full-colour images, multiple search indexes, topic and area supplements and surveys. Altogether this is an unrivalled multidisciplinary primary source for researching and teaching the 19th and 20th centuries.
Eight Centuries External This link opens in a new window
19th Century Masterfile contains more than 60 core subject indexes to periodicals, books, newspapers, patents, and US and UK government documents covering the early 1700's to 1906. The database also allows users to include America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts in searches. Users can also now view nearly 1 million images from ARTstor Digital Library and American Memory historical collections.
Financial Times. Historical Archive 1888-2016 External This link opens in a new window
Provides the full text for this authoritative British daily business newspaper. Founded to serve the immediate needs of the City of London, the Financial Times quickly broadened its coverage, recognising that global financial and economic issues were to become the predominant forces of the twentieth century. Incorporating its rival the Financial News in 1945, the Financial Times expanded in the post-war years, reporting on topics such as industry, energy and international politics in full for the first time. In the final decades of the twentieth century, coverage of management, personal finance and the arts was added, to make the paper what it is nowa complete general newspaper for the business community.
Humanities and Social Sciences Index Retrospective External This link opens in a new window
Indexes all aspects of the humanities and social sciences from over 1,200 North American and European periodicals. Over 1 million articles over and 240,000 book reviews are represented, primarily from scholarly journals, including some from scientific journals published in the 1950s. For citations from 1984 to the present, see Humanities Full Text and Social Sciences Full Text.
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.
International Herald Tribune Historical Archive 1887-2013 External This link opens in a new window
This archive includes The New York Herald, European Edition followed by the New York Herald Tribune and finally the International Herald Tribune, retracing the history of the 20th century from luxury travel and opulent entertainment, to international conflicts, the spread of American culture abroad and globalization. This American newspaper published in Paris had an independent editorial spirit throughout and offers a strong focus on objective reporting of international news.
NewspaperARCHIVE External This link opens in a new window
NewspaperARCHIVE.com is the world's largest online newspaper archive. Featuring billions of articles from historical newspapers around the U.S. and the world, NewspaperARCHIVE makes exploring history and genealogy easy and fun. Discover fascinating news in archived newspapers hundreds of years old - including obituaries, birth announcements, sports articles, comics, and more to fill in the life stories you are interested in. All of our historical newspapers are full-page and fully searchable.
PAIS International External This link opens in a new window
PAIS International now includes PAIS Archive. Chronicling global public policy and social issues, the Public Affairs Information Service provides citations to over 3,600 journal articles, books, hearings, reports, gray literature, government publications, Internet resources, and other publications from over 120 countries. Retrospective material dates from the early twentieth century through the mid-1970s. Worldwide in geographic scope, PAIS includes coverage of publications in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish with English language abstracts and subject headings that deal with public affairs. Links to web resources and publisher websites. Newspapers and newsletters are not indexed.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers & Periodicals External This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Historical Newspapers is the definitive newspaper digital archive offering full-text and full-image articles for significant newspapers dating back to the 18th Century. From leading issues and events, like the U.S. Civil War, immigration, westward expansion, industrial developments, race relations, and World War I and II to local and regional politics, society, arts, culture, business, and sports, ProQuest Historical Newspapers reveals the day-to-day news coverage to researchers and historical explorers, providing invaluable insights and information to users from a wide range of subjects.

Newspapers include: The American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger; The American Israelite; The Arizona Republican, The Atlanta Constitution; Atlanta Daily World; The Baltimore Afro-American; The Baltimore Sun; The Boston Globe; Chicago Defender; Chicago Tribune; The Christian Science Monitor; The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cleveland Call and Post; Detroit Free Press; The Guardian and The Observer; Hartford Courant; The Jewish Advocate; The Jewish Exponent; Los Angeles Sentinel; Los Angeles Times; Newsday; New York Amsterdam News; The New York Times; New York Tribune/Herald Tribune; Norfolk Journal and Guide; The Philadelphia Enquirer; Philadelphia Tribune; Pittsburgh Courier; San Francisco Chronicle; San Francisco Examiner, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; The Times of India; The Wall Street Journal; The Washington Post
Readers' Guide Retrospective External This link opens in a new window
Provides access to nearly 100 years of citations from more than 500 leading popular periodicals and magazines. Search the equivalent of 44 printed Readers' Guide cumulations for articles that chronicle the daily lives and the momentous events of America in the 20th century. Subjects covered: Aeronautics, African-Americans, Aging, Archeology, Astronomy, Automobiles, Biographies, Business, Children, Education, Environment, Fashion, Film, Fine Arts, Food, Foreign Affairs, Gardening, Health, History, Hobbies, Home, Journalism, Leisure Activities, Literature, Medicine, Music, News, Nutrition, Photography, Politics, Popular Culture, Radio, Religion, Science, Sports, Technology, Television, Travel.
Times Digital Archive, 1785-2011 External This link opens in a new window
Contains facsimile images of every issue of the worlds newspaper of record, The Times of London, from 1785 through 2011. Covers every major historical event over 200 years, from the French Revolution to the Vietnam War, as well as chronicling all significant social, economic and cultural trends.

Archives Unbound External This link opens in a new window
Archives Unbound presents topically-focused digital collections of historical documents that support the research and study needs of scholars and students at the college and university level. Includes U.S. City Business Directories (1752-1929) for select states and Black Economic Empowerment: The National Negro Business League files.
Associated Press Collections Online External This link opens in a new window
The Associated Press Online Archive is a vast archive of primarily 20th-century news materials that provide original perspectives on historical events around the world from a distinguished news reporting organization. The AP Press Collections feature six AP archives:
- European Bureaus Collection, 1937-2003 From Vienna, its chief listening post, and also from Prague and Warsaw, the AP covered Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Reporters rotated in and out of the Eastern bloc, writing about the declining influence of the Soviet Union, the last days of the Iron Curtain, and the political and economic re-structuring of the former Soviet satellites.
- Middle East Bureaus Collection, 1967-2008 Spanning the decades between 1967 and 2005 (dates vary by bureau) the Middle East Bureaus Collection contains wire copy (original news reports) in both English and Arabic and includes information on conflicts in the area.
- News Features & Internal Communications highlights the interpretive and analytic side of journalism and tells the story of The Associated Press itself.
- U.S. City Bureaus Collection, 1931-2004 Primarily a post-World War II collection, these bureau records cover a broad segment of American political and social history.
- The Washington D.C. Bureau Collection 1938-2009 documents the administrations of seven U.S. presidents.
- The Washington D.C. Bureau Collection 1915-1930 comprises the AP's Washington Bureau donation to the Library of Congress in 1944. This material contains the only significant news reporting on World War I.
Data Axle Reference Solutions External This link opens in a new window
The Reference Solutions database contains, in module format, detailed information on more than 66 million U.S. businesses, 297 million U.S. residents, 855,000 U.S. health care providers, 2.2 million Canadian businesses, and 397 million historical business records.
Information is compiled from more than 5,200 Yellow Page and Business White Page telephone directories; annual reports, 10-Ks and other SEC information; Continuing Medical Education (CME) directories; federal, state, provincial and municipal government data; Chamber of Commerce information; leading business magazines, trade publications, newsletters, major newspapers, industry and specialty directories; and postal service information, including both U.S. and Canadian National Change of Address updates.
Gale eBooks External This link opens in a new window
Provides full text access to over a dozen reference titles in business, politics, religion and science. Titles include:
- Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America, 6v, 2001
- Business Plans Handbook, vol.1 (1993)-current
- Cold War Reference Library, 6v, 2004
- Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., 22v, 2007
- Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, 3v, 2009
- Endangered Species, 2nd ed., 3v, 2004
- Environmental Encyclopedia, 3rd ed., 2v, 2003
- The Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 4th ed., 6v, 2008
- International Directory of Company Histories, vol. 1 (1988)-current
- Macmillan Encyclopedia of Energy, 3v, 2001
- New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., 15v, 2003
- New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplements 2009-2011
- New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement, Jubilee Volume: The Wojtyla Years, 2001
- Newsmakers Series, 2004 through 2020 Cumulations
- Pollution A to Z, 2v, 2004
- Science of Everyday Things, 4v, 2002
- UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography, 10v, 2003
- Weather Almanac, 11th ed., 2003
Gale Primary Sources External This link opens in a new window
Gale Primary Sources combines Gale's acclaimed digital archives in a single cross-search interface. This platform broadens discovery of primary source documents through the use of multiple search options and research tools, providing access to millions of pages of content spanning many centuries and geographic regions.
Gilded Age and Progressive Era External This link opens in a new window
Explore America’s transformative age of industrialization, expanding wealth, inequality and social change. Material has been sourced from institutions across the United States. The bulk of the material ranges from 1870-1920, which most historians agree as the time span of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, with some personal collections continuing later into the twentieth century. Collections range from papers of key industrial corporations, charities, influential families and cultural institutions, to rich visual content in the form of political cartoons, photographs and ephemera.
Finaeon External This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive economic and financial time-series database covering 150 countries and 6,500 different data series. Includes data on bonds, commodities, interest rates, stock markets and indices, futures, exchange rates, GDP, prices, and unemployment. World exchange rates back to 1624, inflation rates back to 1748, and wholesale prices back to 1720. Major commodities going back to 1784. Some annual series go back to the 1200s. Methodology and sources are documented. The stock market indices go back to 1693. Also included are data on stock market capitalization, dividend yields, price/earnings ratios, total return performance indices, and Finaeon's World Stock Market Indices.
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.
Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 External This link opens in a new window

A compendium of statistics from over 1000 sources last updated in 1975 and has been expanded to include over 37,000 data series. Subjects covered are population, vital statistics, migration, labor, prices and price indexes, national income and wealth, consumer income and expenditures, social statistics, land, water, climate, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, minerals, construction and housing, manufacturing, transportation, communications, energy, trade, productivity, financial markets and institutions, government, colonial and pre-federal statistics. The Fraser publication is in PDF. The fully searchable and downloadable edition will permit users to graph individual tables and create customized tables and spreadsheets. It is also available from the Census Bureau Statistical Abstracts page
Historical Statistics of the United States Millennial Edition External This link opens in a new window
A compendium of statistics from over 1,000 sources containing over 37,000 data series and covering the social, economic, and political life of the United States. Topics range from American Indians, slavery, outlying areas, poverty, non-profit organizations, race and ethnicity to migration, health, crime and the Confederate States of America. Chapters are preceded by essays that introduce the quantitative history of their subject, provide a guide to the sources, and offer expert advice on the reliability of the data and the limits that might be placed on their interpretation.
Making of the Modern World, Part I External This link opens in a new window
The Making of the Modern World provides digital facsimile images of unique primary sources that track the development of the modern, western world through the lens of trade and wealth. Full-text searching across millions of pages of works from the period 1450-1850 provides researchers unparalleled access to this vast collection of material for research in the areas of history, political science, social conditions, technology and industry, economics, area studies and more. Part II from the period 1851-1914 is also available at this site.
Making of the Modern World, Part II External This link opens in a new window
The Making of the Modern World provides digital facsimile images of unique primary sources that track the development of the modern, western world through the lens of trade and wealth. Full-text searching across millions of pages of works from the period 1851-1914 provides researchers unparalleled access to this vast collection of material for research in the areas of history, political science, social conditions, technology and industry, economics, area studies and more. Part I from the period 1450-1850 is also available at this site.
Mergent Archives External This link opens in a new window
Mergent Archives is an online database featuring a vast, indexed collection of corporate and industry related documents. The database contains hundreds of thousands of reports covering over 100 countries and industries. Mergent Archives uses a reliable and easy to navigate system designed to meet your historical research needs. Included in this archive collection are:
- Mergent's Full Collection of Digitized Manuals: Beginning with the very first Moody's Manual published in 1909, Mergent offers you more than a century's worth of global corporate data fully digitized into high quality, PDF formatted documents. Mergent Archives further simplifies your research through extensive screening options and linked tables of contents for every manual, allowing you to go right to the information that matters to you.
- Ford Equity Research Reports (aka: Mergent Equity Investment Research Reports): Mergent Archives offers up to 3 years of multi-page equity research reports released weekly for over 5500 U.S. and Canadian companies. Clear and factual in its design the Ford Equity Research Report provides ratings, recommendations, sector analysis and company financial information.
- Annual Reports: Access more than 85 years of Annual Reports for companies across the globe through Mergent Archives' historical annual report collection dating back to as early as 1925.
- Industry Report Collection: Since 2003, Mergent, Inc. has been providing you with detailed analysis and forecasts on two dozen major global industry sectors from Textiles to Aviation for the North American, European, Asia Pacific, and Latin American regions. Mergent Archives offers you our entire collection of these semi-annually released Industry Reports.
- Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory (MDDI) (1959-Present): Dating back to 1959, the Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory (MDDI) provides a valuable source of information and privately held and public companies and their executives. MDDI features easy-to-use cross references, primary and secondary lines of business and the names and titles of company officers and directors. These easy-to-use directories provide in-depth information on 160,000 leading public and privately held U.S. companies. Covers all U.S. companies with:
  -$9 Million or more in sales or
  -180 or more employees or
  -Branches with 900 or more employees
- First Research® Archives (2003-Present): Unlimited direct access to extensive market analysis on more than 1000 top industry segments. Each report consists of key statistics and analysis on market and competitive landscape characteristics, operating conditions, business challenges, industry trends, current and historical industry growth, and more. These features, plus our sales call preparation questions and industry forecasts, help you make more informed business decisions in less time.
- Mergent Historical SEC Collection: Includes all of the filings from EDGAR (1993-present) and is growing collection of historical SEC filings back to the late 1960’s. Historical filings are being added over time, starting with 10K reports, each filing report will be added to the collection incrementally.
- FTSE Russell Collection Monthly Index Reviews, Valuations Monthly and Monthly Market Valuations: PDF monthly reports (start dates vary from 2010-2016). Content is regularly updated with no more than a one to two month delay in access.
- Listing Statements & Applications: includes New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Listing Applications (1823-2000) and Listing Statements (1884-1945), and American Stock Exchange (AMSE) Listing Applications (1883-2000). In addition, there are New York Curb Market (NYCM) Listing Bulletins (1928-1929), and New York Curb Exchange (NYCE) Listing Bulletins (1929-1933) and Listing Applications (1933-1953).
ProQuest Historical Annual Reports External This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Historical Annual Reports covers over 800 companies and contains digital reproductions for more than 43,000 reports. The database is an excellent source for research on companies, industries, American history, graphic design, advertising, and corporate architecture. Key data include: financial information; Fortune 500 ranking; industry classification; key people; geographic location; auditor; and related companies. Reports can be browsed by company name, industry or date.
Sabin Americana, 1500-1926External This link opens in a new window
Sabin Americana contains books, pamphlets and other documents about society, politics, culture, religious beliefs, and contemporary opinions for North, Central and South America, the Arctic and Antarctica and the West Indies. This resource offers original accounts of exploration, pioneering, settlement, the western movement, military actions, Native Americans, slavery and abolition.
State Papers Online: Early Modern Government in Britain and Europe, Pts I, II, III, & IV External This link opens in a new window
State Papers Online, 1509 -1782, published in four seamless Parts, offers researchers a ground-breaking online resource for understanding two hundred years of British and European history, from the reign of Henry VIII to the end of the reign of George III. The largest digital manuscript archive of its kind, State Papers Online, 1509-1782 gathers together 16th- to 18th- century British State Papers and links these rare historical manuscripts to their fully text-searchable Calendars. As such, it radically transforms and simplifies the process of research, offering Early Modern scholars unprecedented access to the behind the scenes workings of the Tudor and Stuart governments.
Trade Catalogues and the American Home External This link opens in a new window
Trade Catalogues and the American Home explores domestic consumerism, life and leisure in America between 1850-1950. This resource presents a wealth of highly illustrated primary source documents that highlight commercial tastes and consumer trends, and provide a valuable visual record for a breadth of interdisciplinary study. This collection provides evidence of the evolution of distribution and communication systems linking manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers across the emerging United States and beyond. It documents the changing commercial tastes and fashions of the consumer over a period of rapid growth, expansion and crisis (both at home and overseas), revealing contemporary prices and economic expenditure for households and individuals on a range of products.
Interrogation of trade catalogues, trade cards and marketing ephemera provides opportunities for interdisciplinary research across the social sciences including:
- Material culture
- Social history
- History of business and marketing
- The rise of mail order and department stores
- The role of women, both within the home and without
- The changing nature of consumerism
- The idea of the ??American Dream??
- Mass production
- The effects of conflict on business and consumerism
- Consumer habits and purchasing power within this timeframe.

Related Research Guides

We recommend exploring our business research guides that list subscription databases other e-resources relevant to the research topic. See the full list of business research guides to find other topics of interest.

Business Booms, Busts, & Bubbles: A Resource Guide on Economic Manias & Crashes
This research guide brings together background and resources on a few economic bubbles with a lasting impact like the South Sea Bubble, Tulip Mania, dot-com bubbles, and stock market crashes, as well as historical business cycles in general.
Business History: A Resource Guide
The resources included here will help those researching the history of American business, including industries, companies, and business leaders.
Colonies in America: Commerce, Business, and the Economy
A guide for researchers interested in studying commerce and business during the Colonial period in the British, French, and Spanish colonies.
Consumer Advertising During the Great Depression: A Resource Guide
This guide explores primary and secondary sources that examine the advertising industry from 1929 to 1933, including advertising agencies, consumer protection groups, and topical sources on gender, race, and radio in advertising.
Directories By Address: Inventories of Library Collections
There are directories that organize alphabetically and there are directories that organize by street address. The Library has both types, but this guide is primarily an inventory of directory collections where the directories are organized by address.
Doing Historical Company Research: A Resource Guide
This research guide provides links to selected print and electronic resources, as well as tips and tricks for those trying to find information on older or out of business companies.
Dun and Bradstreet Publications at the Library of Congress
This resource guide provides an overview of major publications from Dun & Bradstreet available in the Library's collections, including directories and reference books, as well as links to databases and external websites.
Early Business Periodicals at the Library of Congress
This research guide lists selected 19th and early 20th century serials covering domestic and international commerce, business, mining, manufacture, finance, and general economic conditions.
History of Accounting: A Resource Guide
This guide provides access to materials for researching the history and development of the accounting profession and practice. It highlights print materials in the Library of Congress collections, subscription databases, and other online resources.
History of the Office and Office Equipment: A Resource Guide
This guide offers resources for researching the history of office furniture and equipment like typewriters, computers, telephones, copiers, and other inventions that contributed to the development of the modern office and how we work.
Money: Researching the History of U.S. and International Currencies
This guide was created for those interested in money from the economic and policy perspective. While the primary focus is United States currency, there are also resources about international currencies.
National Recovery Administration (NRA) and the New Deal: A Resource Guide
Beginning in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated a series of “New Deal” programs with the goal of getting the U.S. out of the Depression. This guide provides print and electronic resources for researching the NRA and other related recovery efforts.
Organized Labor Since the 19th Century: A Research Guide
This guide offers resources on the history of organized labor and labor unions in the United States.
Railroads: Sources for Historical Research
Railroads have played an important role in both the geographic and economic development of America. This guide provides selected print and electronic resources for those doing historical research on the railroad industry.
Sugar and Sugarcane: Historical Resources for a Sweet Industry
This guide is intended as a starting point for those doing historical research on sugar and sugarcane as an industry. The primary focus of this guide is on the industry in the United States as well as international trade.
United States Banking Periodicals at the Library of Congress
American banking periodicals are excellent sources of information on the history of banking in this country and the individual states. This research guide provides links to serial titles that document the development of the banking industry since 1840.
Wall Street and the Stock Exchanges: Historical Resources
The selection of resources included in this guide are intended for those researching the history of Wall Street and includes resources for those interested in researching the history of the various American stock exchanges.
Women in Business and the Workforce
A guide to primary and secondary sources that reveal women's involvement in business, industry, commerce, and entrepreneurship throughout American history.

Business and Economics E-Resources

Historical E-Resources

Related Research Guides