Decades Research Guide

Reference Resources
The following titles can be found in the Reference area of the library. If you have any questions, please ask a librarian.


Bigelow, Barbara C. World War II: Primary Sources. Detroit: UXL, 1999.
A variety of World War II documents are included in this text along with introductory material, and a description of the impact each document or event had on this time period. (REF 940.54 BIG)

Ciment, James, ed. Postwar America: an Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 2007.
Alphabetical entries in this four volume set cover all aspects of Postwar America. Each entry provides the reader with an overview of the subject, a bibliography of additional resources and a “see also” for links to other subjects within the set. (REF 973.92 POS)

Derks, Scott. Working Americans: 1880-2005 Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2005.
The library owns three in this series; Women at Work, Americans at War, and Social Movements. Each decade is broken into the profile, historical snapshots, timelines, news features and selected prices to provide comparison of prices between the decades. (REF 973.9 WOR)

Frankel, Benjamin, ed. The Cold War: 1945-1991, Leaders and Other Important Figures in the United States and Western Europe. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1992.
A comprehensive resource on the events and leaders during the Cold War. This three volume set provides extensive articles followed by a bibliography of resources and listing of other related articles within this set. (REF 973.918 FRA)

Fremon, David K.. The Watergate Scandal in American History. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishers, 1998.
Explores the people and events surrounding the political scandal that began with a June 1972 burglary and resulted in the resignation of President Nixon, discussing the scandal's effects on American politics and history. (973.92 FRE)

Gregory, Ross. Cold War America: 1946-1990. New York: Facts on File, 2003.
Tables of statistics on all aspects of U.S. history and culture during the second half of the twentieth century make up a large percentage of each chapter. Overview information on the time period is also included. A bibliography is included for further reading.(REF 973.92 GRE)

Hamilton, Neil. The 1970s. New York: Facts on File, 2006.
Primary Source materials included. Eyewitness testimony follows each article. The articles are quite extensive covering each year of the 1970s and the highlighting the key events of the year. There is an Appendix of the documents included in the text, a biography of the major personalities included and a lengthy bibliography. (REF 973.9 HAM)

Hanes, Sharon M. and Richard C. Hanes. Cold War: Primary Sources. Detroit: UXL, 2004.
The contents section of the book outlines the events during the Cold War, and the documents, speeches, radio and television broadcasts and other primary source documents available for each subject listed. (REF 973.918 HAN)

Hillstrom, Kevin and Laurie Collier Hillstrom. Vietnam War: Primary Sources. Detroit, UXL, 2001.
A timeline of the war serves as an introduction to this volume which contains primary source excerpts throughout the book. (REF 959.7 HIL)

History of World War II. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2005.
From the origins and outbreak, to the aftermath, this three volume set provides extensive articles on many aspects of World War II. (REF 940.54 HIS)

Maga, Timothy. The 1960s: An Eyewitness History. New York: Facts on File, 2003.
Primary Source materials included. Provides background information on events during the 1960s along with personal, first hand accounts of events from leaders and those who lived through them. A chronicle of events from each year is included along with a listing of resources for further reading. (REF 973.92 MAG)

Parker, Thomas and Douglas Nelson. Day by Day: The Sixties. New York: Facts on File, 1983.
This two volume set is a timeline of the 3,653 days of the sixties breaking down topics into ten different categories including world affairs, U.S. Politics and Social Issues, U.S. foreign policy, the economy, environment, science and technology. The Index is an invaluable way to locate the subjects within the timeline. (REF 973.92 DAY)

Riley, Edward J. The 1960s. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003.
This volume describes changes in American society during the 1960s, from feminism and civil rights to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Aspects of American popular culture are explored, a timeline, and bibliography are included. (REF 973.9 AME)

Schneider, Carl J. and Dorothy Schneider. World War II. New York: Facts on File, 2003.
Primary Source materials included. Each chapter contains an overview of historical content, a chronicle of events, and eyewitness testimony. Maps and a bibliography for further reading are included. (REF 940.53 SCH)

Singleton, Carl, ed. The Sixties in America. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 1999.
Articles on a range of topics on American history in the 1960s. Articles include the origin, impact and subsequent events in history. A listing of additional resources can also be found at the end of each article. (REF 973.92 SIX)

Sitkoff, Harvard. Postwar America: a student companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Provides brief articles for an overview reading on topics and names from Postwar America. An Appendix with a timeline highlighting important events is included as well as a bibliography for further reading. (REF 973.918 SIT)

Sickels, Robert. The 1940s. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003.
Daily life and American popular culture are explored in this volume, focusing on the 1940s. A timeline and bibliography are included. (REF 973.9 AME)

Twentieth Century America: A Primary Source Collection from The Associated Press. New York: Grolier Educational Corp., 1995.
Articles and photographs from the Associated Press dating back to 1901 make up this ten volume set. (REF 973.9 TWE)

U.S.A. Sixties Danbury, CT: Grolier, 2001.
This six volume set provides an alphabetical listing of events, personalities, and popular culture from the 1960s. Each volume has its own time line and includes a set index. (REF 973.92 SIX)

Winkler, Allan M. The Cold War: a history in documents. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Primary Source materials included. Includes background information and documents on the Cold War era, from the origin of the atomic bomb to the end of the Cold War. Descriptions on primary source documents and how to read and interpret a document are included. Provides an extensive bibliography for further reading. (REF 973.918 WIN)

Young, Marilyn B. The Vietnam War: A History of Documents. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Primary Source materials included. Includes background information and documents on the Vietnam War, with background information on the country of Vietnam, specific battles, conflicts, and the aftermath. Descriptions on primary source documents and how to read and interpret a document are included. Provides an extensive bibliography for further reading. (REF 959.7 YOU)


Search the Pescosolido OPAC from the CAP OPAC link for additional materials. Use keywords and subject heading from any overview reading you have done to search for additional resources from the circulating collection of the library.


Databases

History Resource Center: US
Offers an extensive collection of primary source documents, reference resources, and full text documents from pre-colonial times to the present.

CQ Researcher Plus Archive
Provides original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news from 1923 to the present.


Issues & Controversies in American History
In-depth explorations on issues, includes primary source documents, timelines, biographies, images, historical texts, interviews, and more.


Searching the Internet
Web Pages:
Take a look at the following web pages for authoritative information and in some cases, primary source documents.

Library of Congress: American Memory - Browse the collection by topic or search all of the collections. The Library of Congress holds primary source documents such as photographs, manuscripts, maps, and journals. Browsing by topic will help you narrow your topic and timeline.

The National Archives – The National Archives website provides access to Federal documents. Begin with a search of your subject and you will find links to other resources within each article or connected to specific documents. Presidential Libraries are linked from the National Archives and offers the ability to search Presidential documents.

The Avalon Project at Yale Law School - Digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government are included in the Yale Law School site. Search by browsing the documents of each century of enter specific search terms.

Begin your internet searching with a Subject Directory:
Librarians Index to the Internet
Internet Public Library
Links in these directories have been selected, evaluated, and annotated by librarians. Begin with a simple search or browse the topics to find the timeline or specific topic you are looking for.

Search engines such as Google and Ask have special features to make your search much more efficient.
Try using Google Advanced Search or Ask Advanced Search and limit the domain by .org, .gov, or .edu. This is a good way to locate authoritative URL's and primary source documents. Another feature of Ask.com is the ability to narrow or broaden a search from the results list.


Citation
The OWL at Purdue University has a tutorial on citing the MLA way. Scroll to the bottom of the page for links to specific resource types.

MLA citation recourses can be found at the library, ask at the Circulation Desk for:
A Guide to MLA Documentation. Trimmer, Joseph F. A Guide to MLA Documentation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.