Digital Archives - AAS 384 | HIST 384 Slavery in US History and Culture - Research Guides at Emory University Libraries

Primary Source Databases

The Library has a number of databases that contain primary source documenting the history of slavery in the United States. The first several databases listed are large portals to multiple primary source databases. We'll be using those for your class exercise. Following the "Portals" box, you'll also find additional databases organized by document type. If you have any questions don't hesitate to set up an appointment with your subject librarian, Erica Bruchko.

Databases for Class Exercise

History Vault This link opens in a new window
Access historical documents and digitized microfilm collections. Before you search select "Southern Life, Slavery and the Civil War."
Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007 This link opens in a new window
Contains 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 window
Contains archival documents related to slavery in the Atlantic World.
Readex AllSearch This link opens in a new window
Enables searching across all available Readex collections, including historic newspapers, books, pamphlets, and government publications from the Americas and Africa.

Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers Project
Life histories of former American slaves and transcripts of actual slave interviews conducted from 1936 to 1938.
North American Slave Narratives
Digital, searchable versions of major slave narratives published in the US.

Manuscript Materials (Plantation Records, Personal Papers, etc.)

Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007 This link opens in a new window
Contains 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 window
Contains archival documents related to slavery in the Atlantic World.
British Online Archives This link opens in a new window
Contains documents related to British and world history across a wide variety of themes and periods.
Black Abolitionist Papers This link opens in a new window
Collection 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 window
Contains facsimile images of 19th century newspapers from a broad range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S.
Chronicling America This link opens in a new window
Contains a variety of historical newspapers dating from 1900 to 1963.
ProQuest News & Newspapers This link opens in a new window
An 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 window
Access various historical newspapers that span from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.
Formerly Early American Newspapers Digital.
American Periodicals Series Online This link opens in a new window
Access 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 window
Instructions 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.

Open Source Databases

Multi-Subject Databases

Collections Specifically Related to Slavery

North American Slave Narratives
Published slave narratives.
Born into Slavery
Works Progress Administration (WPA) Slave Narratives.
Voices Remembering Slavery
Twenty-three interviews of former slaves from 9 states. Recorded between the 1930s and 1970s.
Freedom on the Move
Database of Runaway Slave Advertisements.
Slavery Images
A Visual Record of the African Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Early African Diaspora