Henry Buhl Library: U.S. Military History: War of 1812

Encyclopedias & Books

The Encyclopedia of the War of 1812
Call Number: Ref E 354 .E53 2012 v. 1-3
Entries spotlight the key battles, standout individuals, essential weapons, and social, political, and economic developments, and examine the wider, concurrent European developments which directly affected this conflict in North America. Primary documents are included.
The Early Republic and Antebellum America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History
Call Number: Ref E 301 .E146 2010 v.1-4
Includes entries covering a wide variety of topics, as well as primary documents (v.4), chronologies (v.4), and a few essays (v.1). Featured entries: education & schools; Lewis & Clark Expedition; secession; slavery, life & culture; westward expansion; women
Encyclopedia of the United States in the 19th Century
Call Number: Ref E 169.1 .E626 2001 v.1-3
An A to Z reference of articles covering topics such as education, slavery, women, cities, the Civil War, naval technology, politics, and the South.

Salem History Online This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to the Great Lives & Great Events encyclopedias as well as the Decades in America series (1920's through the 2000's), and the Defining Documents series.
World at War: Conflict and Society This link opens in a new window
Provides information and insights into military conflicts, covering all time periods and regions. Includes essays, timelines, images, and primary sources.

American National Biography This link opens in a new window
Contains over 19,000 biographies of significant, influential, or notorious figures from American history written by prominent scholars. The American National Biography (ANB) is the successor to The Dictionary of American Biography (DAB).
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
Contains 60,000+ biographies of important British historical figures from the Roman era to the present day, with 11,000+ portraits
Salem History Online This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to the Great Lives & Great Events encyclopedias as well as the Decades in America series (1920's through the 2000's), and the Defining Documents series.

Suggested search terms

United States -- Foreign relations -- 1783-1815
United States -- History -- War of 1812
United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Naval operations
United States -- Politics and government, 1783-1865
United States -- Social Conditions -- To 1865

Journal Article Databases

America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
Covers the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present with indexing for 1,700 journals from as far back as 1910
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Contains citations and abstracts for articles from 2,300+ academic journals back to 1955 for world history (excluding US and Canada) from 1450 to present
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Archival Database of full text scholarly journal articles
Military & Government Collection This link opens in a new window
Offers full text of 300+ journals providing current news and information pertaining to all branches of the military and government.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Large collection of full-text scholarly articles and books supporting research in the humanities and social sciences.
Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Covers a wide range of subject matter in both popular and scholarly periodicals.
Academic Search Complete is a comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 4,600 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,500 journals and nearly 10,000 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. This scholarly collection offers unmatched full text coverage of information in many areas of academic study including: animal science, anthropology, area studies, astronomy, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, ethnic & multicultural studies, food science & technology, general science, geography, geology, law, materials science, mathematics, mechanical engineering, music, pharmaceutical sciences, physics, psychology, religion & theology, veterinary science, women's studies, zoology, and many other fields. Academic Search Complete offers critical information from many sources unique to this massive collection. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for 1,000 journals.

Journal articles are very specific.

Finding articles is easier after you have read up on your topic.

Use more than one article database.

No database searches everything.
For thorough research, use more than one database and try different search terms.

A to Z List of Journals
Always check the A to Z list to see if we have access to the journal title and date of publication you need!

Need an article that isn't full text? Access the request form below.

Document Delivery Forms

Remember, scholarship is international.

You may come across some great articles in which the titles (and thus the articles) are not in English.

So, when you can, it is a good idea to limit your searches to articles in English.

Primary Sources

The Greenwood Library of American War Reporting. Volume 2, The War of 1812 & the Mexican-American War
This title consists chiefly of contemporary first-person and news accounts.

War of 1812 in the Collections of the Lilly Library
This site includes a variety of materials, such as books, maps, correspondence, log books, legal documents, diaries, and speeches.

The American Republic
Call Number: Oversz E 173 .A7535 2002
A collection of primary sources related to American history from 1610-1858. Documents include letters, speeches, selected Federalist Papers, and more.
The Early Republic
Call Number: E 301 .E15 2004
Some of the issues discussed include: the nation's first regime change (as the Federalists lost control of the White House to the Republicans); the Louisiana Purchase; the War of 1812; slave revolts; the fear of immigrants; disunion; and the wars against the Native Americans.
The Papers of James Madison
Call Number: E 302 .M19 1984 v.1-7
Volumes include letters to and from James Madison, as well as his speeches.
Defining Documents in World History: The 19th century (1801-1900)
Call Number: D 351 .A19 2018 v. 1-2
These volumes highlight important historical documents from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including speeches, letters, manifestos and more -from influential figures during this century.

Proquest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Provides users with the ability to search and access the full-text of the Congressional Record (1873 to date), as well as its forerunners, the Annals of Congress (1789-1824), the Register of Debates (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873). It is an indispensable resource for political science, American history, and legal studies. Coverage: 1789 -- Present
Military & Government Collection This link opens in a new window
Access to journal and magazine articles, books, government documents, speech transcripts, etc. relating to the military and government. Both primary and secondary sources are available here.

American Presidency Project
Call Number: Search HENRY by President as AUTHOR for call numbers
Search the papers of the presidents from George Washington through Joe Biden. Users can search by president, date, keyword, document type, and more.
Milestone Documents in American History
Includes important primary sources related to American history from 1763 to 2003.
Milestone Documents in American History, 2nd ed.
Call Number: Oversz E 173 .M62 2020 v. 1-4
Includes documents from African American history, women's history, immigration history, as well as 21st-century issues ranging from terrorism to campaign finance to LGBTQ rights. Vol. 1 1619-1831. -- v.2 1832-1898. -- v.3 1901-1956. -- v.4 1957-2019.
Milestone Documents of American Leaders
Call Number: Oversz E 173 .M62 2009 v.1-4
Milestone Documents of American Leaders features important full-text sources written by presidents, jurists, legislators and other influential people who helped shape the nation.
Documents of American History
Call Number: Ref E 173 .C66 1963 and Ref E 173 .C66 1973b v.1-2
Includes a selection of primary documents related to American history. Coverage begins in 1492 and continues into the twentieth century. Highlighted documents include: documents from the First Continental Congress, accounts of the Battle of Lexington, and the Articles of Confederation.
Understanding U. S. Military Conflicts Through Primary Sources
Call Number: Ref E 181 .U53 2016 v. 1-4
* Covers benchmark documents in U.S. diplomatic and military history from 14 conflicts.

Accessible Archives This link opens in a new window
Collection of primary and early sources for American history, including historical newspapers and county and regimental histories.
American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 1-5 This link opens in a new window
Collection of over 7,500 early American periodical titles published from the seventeenth through the late nineteenth century.

Suggested search terms

United States -- History -- 1783-1815
United States -- History -- War of 1812
United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865

Simply, add "primary source" to your search using the Note field.

Visit the locate primary sources page for a refresher.

HENRY
The Library Catalog