American Studies Research Guide: Primary Sources: Narratives
Oral Histories
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Chicago Architects Oral History ProjectFor more than twenty years, the Chicago Architects Oral History Project documented the contributions of architects to Chicago during the 20th century
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North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories This link opens in a new windowCollection of primary source documents focusing on immigrants to America and Canada between 1800 and 1950.
Dates Covered: 1800-1950.
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Southern Oral History Programa fascinating and respected collection -- documenting a range of experiences from coal mining to civil rights, and much more
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U.S. Veterans Oral HistoriesFrom the Library of Congress, offers links to oral history collections focusing on war veterans.
American Fiction and Memoirs
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Early American Fiction 1789 -1875 This link opens in a new window700+ first editions of American novels and short stories by such authors as Louisa May Alcott, Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain, as well as a host of minor writers of the period.
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North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new windowCollection of letters and diaries that present the personal experiences of hundreds of women from Colonial times to 1950. Also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography of the sources in the database.
Dates Covered: 1675-1950.
African American Literature
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American Slave Narratives: an Online AnthologyA sampling of the interviews with over 2,300 former slaves from across the American South by writers and journalists under the aegis of the Works Progress Administration.
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Making of America at Cornell UniversityDigital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. The project represents a major collaborative endeavor in preservation and electronic access to historical texts.
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Slavery & Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive This link opens in a new windowCollection of primary source documents focusing on the abolitionist movement and the conflicts within it, the anti- and pro-slavery arguments of the period, and the debates on the subject of colonization. Explores the various components of the debate with a focus on economic, gender, legal, religious, and government issues. Also includes bibliographies, biographies, chronologies and scholarly essays.
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Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new windowIncludes the Black Panther. Database focusing on the study of the historical development of black culture. Includes monographs, essays, articles, speeches, and interviews written by leaders within the black community.
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African American Newspapers This link opens in a new windowProvides indexing and full-text coverage of newspapers from the 1800s and early 1900s. Includes information on black history and culture, including first-hand reports of the major events and issues of the day.
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Chicago Defender - Current IssuesHistorically important African American newspaper. Back issues available on microfilm.
How-To Guides
Annotations from: Linda Shopes, “Making Sense of Oral History”
Southern Oral History Program (SOHP)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Southern Historical Collection "How To: Resources for Planning and Conducting Oral History Interviews" includes The SOHP Guidebook, SOHP Interview forms, and a bibliography of more than 50 oral history resources. The interview forms include a cover sheet, interview agreement, interview agreement with restrictions, life history form, and proper word form. The SOHP Guidebook includes guidelines on designing an oral history project; advice on conducting, cataloguing, and transcribing interviews; notes on budgets and equipment needs; and ten interviewing tips.
Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History by Judith Moyer
Developed by historian and educator Judith Moyer, this thorough guide to oral history offers suggestions and strategies for collecting and preserving oral history. Topics range from an explanation of how and why to collect oral history to guidelines for planning and conducting interviews, including initial research, locating individuals, choosing equipment, and asking productive questions. Moyer also addresses a number of important conceptual and ethical issues related to conducting and using oral histories, including questions of accuracy, the limits of oral history, strategies for overcoming specific interview problems, and twenty questions to help interviewers learn from their experience.
