Research Guides: AF_AM_ST 380-0-21: Topics in African-American Studies: Soul Beauty: Religion and Black Expressive Culture : Historical newspapers and periodicals

Historical Newspapers

The Northwestern University Libraries have large collections of historical newspaper content available online. Below are some of these collections:

General collections

America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
For searching and browsing American newspapers published in three centuries, America's Historical Newspapers is the most comprehensive online resource available. Continually expanding, it offers searchable digital facsimiles of thousands of titles from all 50 states. With eyewitness reporting, editorials, letters, advertisements, obituaries and much more, this acclaimed collection uniquely chronicles the evolution of American culture and daily life from 1690 to the recent past.
ACCESS RESTRICTED to Northwestern University faculty, staff, and students of the Evanston and Chicago campuses except for use by a category of staff who have been advised of the unavailability of the resources to them. No interlibrary loan allowed. Visiting scholars are permitted use under the following terms: The definition of an Authorized User under this Agreement can be expanded to include visiting scholars while at the Licensed Site for business purposes with the Licensee, provided that in no case use by visiting scholars is done in a manner or magnitude as to act as a replacement for the visiting scholar's or visiting scholar's institution's own subscription to either the Products or the purchase of other NewsBank products. lf NewsBank reasonably determines that use by visiting scholars hereunder may be impairing NewsBank's ability to make sales of the Product or other NewsBank products to other customers, NewsBank may require such use by visiting scholars to be modified or terminated, either entirely or with respect to the visiting scholar(s) whose activity is impairing NewsBank's business.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
This database includes a lot of 19th and 20th century content for major US dailies (e.g. New York Times, Washington Post etc.) as well as African American newspapers, the Times of India, and two US Jewish newspapers from the 20th century.

Collections focusing on African American publications

ProQuest Black Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full text and full-image articles from African American newspapers: Atlanta daily world (1931-2010), Baltimore Afro-American (1893-2010), Chicago defender (1909-2010), Cleveland call & post (1934-2010), Kansas City Call (1919-2010), Los Angeles sentinel (1934-2010), Michigan Chronicle (1939-2010), New York Amsterdam news (1922-2010), Norfolk journal & guide (1916-2010), Philadelphia tribune (1912-2010), Louisville Defender (1951-2010) and the Pittsburgh courier (1911-2010), St. Louis American (1949-2010). For most titles, the collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue, cover to cover, in downloadable PDF files.
Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Black Studies Center is a fully cross-searchable gateway to Black Studies including scholarly essays, recent periodicals, historical newspaper articles, reference books, and much more. It combines essential resources for research and teaching in Black Studies, including The Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, Index to Black Periodicals Full Text, Black Literature Index, and the Chicago Defender historical newspaper.
African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
African American Newspapers, 1827-1998, provides online access to approximately 270 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience. This unique collection, which includes papers from more than 35 states, features many rare and historically significant 19th-century titles.
African American Periodicals, 1825-1995 This link opens in a new window
Features more than 170 wide-ranging periodicals by and about African Americans andcan be cross-searched with African American Newspapers, Afro-Americana Imprints and other Archive of Americana collections. Publications include academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations bulletins, annual reports and other genres.
African American Newspapers (Legacy / The 19th Century) This link opens in a new window
This enormous collection of African American newspapers contains a wealth of information about cultural life and history during the 1800s and is rich with first-hand reports of the major events and issues of the day, including the Mexican War, Presidential and Congressional addresses, Congressional abstracts, business and commodity markets, the humanities, world travel and religion.

The collection also provides a great number of early biographies, vital statistics, essays and editorials, poetry and prose, and advertisements all of which embody the African-American experience.

Titles include: Freedom's journal (New York, N.Y. : 1827); Colored American (New York, N.Y.); Weekly advocate (New York, N.Y.); North star (Rochester, N.Y.); National era (Washington, D.C.); Frederick Douglass' paper; Provincial freeman; Christian recorder (Philadelphia, Pa. : 1861); Freedmen's record; Negro business league herald; Canadian Observer; Douglass' Monthly.

Librarian

Kathleen Bethel

Email Me

Contact:

Northwestern University Libraries
1970 Campus Drive, Room 2622
Evanston, IL 60208

847-491-2173

Subjects: Black Studies, Caribbean Studies