Criminal Law in Early America,
Capital punishment, Labor Houses, British vs. Colonial system, lex talionis
("Early america" OR "colonial america") AND ("criminal law" OR "Capital punishment" OR "labor houses" OR "Work houses" OR "lex talionis")
Look at legal records in British History Online and the Virginia Company Records
Look at colonial newspapers for trail reports
use the catalog to find primary sources by using keywords and limiting to pre 1776 publications
use the subject sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" to see if there are compiled books of papers/letters by individuals who worked in labor houses.
New England Whaling Native American experience, roles, and identity
"New England" AND (whaling OR whalemen) AND ("native american" OR "first nations" OR "indians of North America" OR "native americans")
Look at legal records in British History Online and the Virginia Company Records for accounts of whaling
look at state and federal govdocs to see if they discuss indigenous whaling rights
sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" to find whaling records
I bet there are logs at Mystic Seaport -- look at their catalog online
look at newspapers to see how indigenous whaling is described
Slavery at the Time of the Founding Founding Fathers's Justifications for Slavery
identify specific individuals you want to example, then look at their writings
their writings are all scanned so you can keyword search through them quickly
look at our slavery and antislavery database
use secondary lit to identify pro slavery publications from the period
look at newspaper discussions
Non-English Settler Mindset , German Settlers in Pennsylvania around Revolutionary War
((Pennsylvania* AND german*) OR ("german americans" AND Pennsylvania*)) AND (18th OR "revolutionary war")
use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" as subjects in worldcat to find reprinted letters and records from this community
use chronicling america and the LoC to find German American newspapers from PA
Identify leading figure in the community using secondary lit and find their publications
Western Rendezvous or Ben Franklin The fur trade and westward expansion/ the Founding Fathers
fur AND ("westward expansion" OR "western expansion" OR "Western rendezvous")
look at newspapers for discussion of fur trade
look at federal legislation in proquest congressional about fur trade in this period
use worldcat and the subjects sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" to find accounts about and by individuals in the fur trade
look at historical statistic reports by the dept of state/interiror
Poverty and Mental Illness in the American South The interactions between poverty and mental illness, along with race and slavery.
identify specific institutions, then search those as author in worldcat --- you can find their annual reports
look at newspaper coverage of the institutions and illnesses
use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" in worldcat to find first-hand accounts
use secondary reports to identify specific individuals who can be used as case studies
look at state records related to the establishment of these institutions (Ex the institution here in Williamsburg is extremely well documented)
Women and Religion in Early America Gender roles, First Great Awakening, women's rights, religious roles
(women AND religion AND "Early america") OR (women AND "great awakening")
look at descriptions of women in sermons, which can be found in the main catalog.
use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" in worldcat to find first hand accounts from women during this period.
look at our database of women's letters
look at newspaper coverage of religious women during this period
look at writings by leading theologians at this period and see how they depict women.
Examples (Continued)
Slavery and Indeginous Americans Native American involvement in the American slavery, indeginous and slave interactions, cutlural impact.
look at our specialized databases of Native American historical documents
use secondary lit to identify tribes that were engaged in the slave trade
look at slave trade records, which we may be able to find in Worldcat if we narrow the search to a specific time period or region or tribes.
Scottish Influence on Appalachia Scotland, Immigration, Appalachia, Appalachian culture, political influence of Appalachia
Use chronicling american and LoC to identify Scot-American newspapers in this area
Use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" in worldcat to find first hand accounts
look at oral histories from the CCC, if. you are interested in the late 19th century.
limit publication date to your period of interest and see what books in google book, hathi, and the catalog say about the scots in Appalachia
Religion (and maybe Race) in Early America Jewish disapora in early America; maybe relationship between Jews and black people (maybe something to do with gender if I change my mind)
(jew*) AND ("early america" OR "colonial america")
Use chronicling american and LoC to identify Jewish-American newspapers from that period
Use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" in worldcat to find first hand accounts
look at newspaper coverage of the Jewish communities
look at our African American historic newspaper database
Industrialization in the American North Socioeconomic effects of Industrialization (primarily in New York and Pennsylvania)
industrialization AND (northern OR north OR "new york" OR "pennsylvania") AND history
Narrow to a specific city and time period
look at newspaper coverage of industrialization
in worldcat Use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" to find first hand accounts
look at state and federal legislation addressing indusrialization
use historical statistics in Historical Statistics, Census, and the University of Missouri Libraries, Prices and Wages by Decade database
Developments in Convict Labor in America Convict Labor and Convict Leasing throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries.
("prison labor" OR "convict labor") AND "united states" AND (18th OR 19th OR history)
in worldcat Use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" to find first hand accounts
look at contemporary publications that argue for/against this practice
can be found in hathi, google book, worldcat, and the catalog
look at newspaper coverage of the practice
look at state and federal legislation that enacts theres practices (for your period, it'll be state level)
Difficulties of National Unity Attempts to foster nationalistic sentiment directly following the War of 1812
"War of 1812" AND ("national unity" OR nationalism OR nationality)
look at political speeches
Newspapers
discussion in congress (use heinonline and proquest congressional)
use our American imprint database to see print matter and popular culture (Ex broadsides)
Epidemics (smallpox, yellow fever) Immigration, Trade, Socioeconomic factors/relations, Slavery, Port Cities (New Orleans, Charleston, Boston, etc.)
newspaper coverage
speeches in congress (via proquest congressional)
old medical records and publciaitons
shipping records
wil need to narrow focus a bit
Mental health, illness, and the asylum system Development of the Asylum system, treatments and viewpoints on mental illness, mid-atlantic or sea ports
newspaper coverage
legislation
records from the asylums themselves are an excellent resource. if you identify which you're interested in, we can usually get the annual reports.
Use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" in worldcat to find first hand accounts
medical reports and broadsides (See broadsides and imprint database)
Examples
D.C. Home Rule Structures of government, positions of political parties, opinions on self governance across racial divides among residents
newspapers
federal reports
speeches
media coverage
Sexual relations between races in Early America Jefferson and Sally Hemmings, the frequency of relations, the societal connotation of these relations, possible impact of the Revolution
primary sources will really depend on how narrow you focus
legal records punishing people for their relationships
laws at the state and federal level passed to outlaw these relationships
newspaper coverage
Use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" in worldcat to find first hand accounts
Sexual Cultures/Politics in Early America Prostitution/sexual labor, sexual surveillance, nonmarital sex and sexual relationships, sex and the American Revolution/forming an American identity
primary sources will really depend on how narrow you focus
legal records punishing people for their relationships
laws at the state and federal level passed to outlaw these relationships
newspaper coverage
Use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" in worldcat to find first hand accounts
Early America-China contact and racial politics How cross-Atlantic transportations of Chinese goods and culture shaped American view on the "Orientals"
newspaper reports
federal reports
shippingrecords
contact me out of class, I have a compiled list from a related project you may find useful.
Barbary piracy affecting USA Perceptions of race, religion, and slavery in U.S., nationalism and nationbuilding, public opinion
See foreign relations of the United States series online, it has diplomatic dispatches
see proquest congressional for federal actions/discussion
see newspaper coverage
see popular depictions of barbary pirates using the catalog, googlebook, and hathi limited to your time period
"barbary pirates" should be a useful search phrase if limited to a small time period.
Use sourcebook* or corr* or "personal narratives" in worldcat to possibly find first hand accounts
Africa & Religion exchange of religion & language from Africa to U.S., the interactions between religion and institution of slavery
look at newspaper and contemporary discussions of religion. The writers will probably use a phrase like "slave religion" or something like that
will probably need to narrow a bit to language or religion
if language, see how contemporaries describe it by limiting publication date in Hathi, googlebook, or the catalog and keyword searching "African language" or "slave language"
Again, it will depend on how you narrow the focus.
