Portals to Primary Sources
Don't know where to start? Try one of the following database portals. They allow researchers to search across multiple databases produced by the same publisher or archives.
- Archive ExplorerPublisher: Adam Matthew
- ArtemisPublisher: Gale
- Archive ExplorerPublisher: Readex
- DP.LAPublisher: Archives and Libraries across the US
Open Source Databases
Multi-Subject Databases
Collections Specifically Related to Slavery
- North American Slave NarrativesPublished slave narratives.
- Born into SlaveryWorks Progress Administration (WPA) Slave Narratives.
- Voices Remembering SlaveryTwenty-three interviews of former slaves from 9 states. Recorded between the 1930s and 1970s.
- Freedom on the MoveDatabase of Runaway Slave Advertisements.
- Slavery ImagesA Visual Record of the African Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Early African Diaspora
Primary Source Databases at Emory
The Library has a number of databases that contain primary source documenting the history of slavery in America. Here's a list to get you started. It is strongly recommended, however, that you set up an appointment with your subject librarian, Erica Bruchko, for help navigating these databases and to identify additional collections.
Manuscript Materials (Plantation Records, Personal Papers, etc.)
- History Vault This link opens in a new windowAccess historical documents and digitized microfilm collections.
- Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007 This link opens in a new windowContains documents and collections covering the period 1490-2007 on the topics of slavery, the legacy of slavery, the social justice perspective, and the continued existence of slavery today.
- Slavery and Anti-slavery: A Transnational Archive This link opens in a new windowContains archival documents related to slavery in the Atlantic World.
- British Online Archives This link opens in a new windowContains documents related to British and world history across a wide variety of themes and periods.
- Black Abolitionist Papers This link opens in a new windowCollection of documents written by black men and women involved in the movement to end slavery in the United States between 1830-1865.
Printed Materials (Books, Newspapers, and Magazines)
- Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new windowContains facsimile images of 19th century newspapers from a broad range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S.
- ProQuest News & Newspapers This link opens in a new windowAn extensive collection of historic and present-day news sources from around the world. You can focus your search to a region, current newspapers, or historical newspapers.
- America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowAccess various historical newspapers that span from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.
- American Periodicals Series Online This link opens in a new windowAccess American periodicals from the colonial period through the beginning of the 20th century.
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 1-5 (1691-1865) This link opens in a new windowInstructions for access: Access American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 1-5 through the EBSCOhost databases list.
Contains American magazines and journals from the AAS, documenting the life of America’s people from the Colonial Era through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Slave Narratives
- North American Slave NarrativesDigital, searchable versions of major slave narratives published in the US.
Municipal, State & Federal Government Records (Selected)
Slave Trade Records