A Guide to Political Science: Primary Sources

These FBI files provide detailed information on the evolution of AIM as an organization of social protest and the development of Native American radicalism. Covers 1968-1979.

A curated selection of primary sources on African American history and movements against racial injustice. Sources include legislation, legal cases, and documents about leaders and organizations. The collection is organized into six areas: Slavery and the Abolitionist Movement (1790-1860); The Civil War and the Reconstruction Era (1861-1877); Jim Crow Era from 1878 to the Great Depression (1878-1932); The New Deal and World War II (1933-1945); The Civil Rights and Black Power Movements (1946-1975); The Contemporary Era (1976-2000)

This primary source collection covers African American history and experience as recorded by the news media. Sources include a variety of American and global news sources, including current and historical Black publications. NOTE: The library subscribes to Series 3 (1976-current).

An archive of periodicals that document the history of African American religious life and culture between 1829 and 1922. It includes newspapers and magazines, plus reports and annuals from African American religious organizations, including churches and social service agencies.

This collection of FBI files provides source materials for major social movements and key figures in early twentieth century black history and it provides a window into the development of America’s first systematic domestic surveillance programs.

Includes collections from the United States and Europe on the worldwide movement for the abolition of slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Contains 1.5 million cross-searchable pages, including over 7,000 books, 79 serials, 16 manuscript collections and 377 Supreme Court records and briefs.

The collection covers state and federal statutes, judicial cases, and pamphlets and books about slavery.

This collection, from the library of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society in San Francisco, documents the work of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, founders in 1955 of the first lesbian rights organization in U.S. history, the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB). They also were instrumental in the formation and growth of other related social movements, including the contemporary women’s rights movement. Covers 1955-1984.

This collection, from the library of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society in San Francisco, documents decades of Phyllis Lyon & Del Martin’s work for the LGBT movement and the women’s rights movement in both in San Francisco and nationally. Included are minutes, correspondence, and notes related to their work with the ACLU, the San Francisco Coalition for Human Rights, the Commission on Crime Control and Violence Protection, the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, and the National Organization for Women. Covers 1966-1984.

Primary source documents related to the history of women and social movements in the United States between 1600 and 2000.

Index to congressional publications from 1970 to the present, legislative histories for public laws, testimony at congressional hearings, and biographical and committee information. Also allows searching of the Congressional Record and Federal Register.

This collection consists of FBI reports dealing with various aspects of antiwar work carried out by the VVAW. The collection also includes surveillance on a variety of other antiwar groups and individuals, with an emphasis on student groups and Communist organizations. Covers 1967-1975.

This collection brings together hundreds of newspapers published within prisons over the past 200 years. When complete, the collection will contain newspapers from prisons in every state, representing a variety of penal institutions, including women-only institutions.

An online collection of publications on civil rights in the United States. This collection includes publications from the Commission on Civil Rights, legislative histories on landmark legislation, briefs from relevant U.S. Supreme Court cases, and more. The Civil Rights & Social Justice database is provided to libraries at no cost by HeinOnline.

This collection brings together journals, compiled legislative histories, congressional hearings and reports, Supreme Court briefs, and more related to gun regulation.

Student Activism is a primary source collection of material related to student activism in the 20th and early 21st century. It includes fliers, newsletters, event documentation, and more. When complete, the collection will contain over 75,000 pages of documents.