Henry Buhl Library: U.S. History 2: 1870 to Present: 1970 and Beyond

Encyclopedias & Books

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.

Postwar America
Call Number: Ref E 169.12 .P654 2007 v. 1-4
Provides detailed coverage of all the remarkable developments within the United States during this period, as well as their dramatic impact on the rest of the world. Covers specific persons, groups, concepts, events, geographical locations, organizations, and cultural and technological phenomena.
The Seventies in America
Call Number: Ref E 169.1 .S3 1970 v. 1-3
Watergate, the Vietnam War, the environmental movement, the energy crisis, the women's movement, disco. The Seventies in America brings this decade to life by examining these topics and many more.
The Eighties in America
Call Number: Ref E 169.1 .S3 1980 v. 1-3
'The Eighties in America' offers comprehensive coverage of the impact of the 1980s on the United States and Canada. The book covers events, movements, people, and trends in popular culture, literature, art, sports, science, technology, economics, and politics in both the United States and Canada.
The Nineties in America
Call Number: Ref E169.1 .S3 1990 v.1-3
This title features a sweeping view of the 1990s impact on the United States and Canada. The Gulf War, dot-coms, impeachment, grunge, Y2K, this book examines the iconic personalities and moments of this important decade.
The 2000s in America
Call Number: Ref E169.1 .S3 2000 v. 1-3
This title features a sweeping view of the people and events of the 2000s in the United States.

Encyclopedia of War and American Society
Call Number: Ref E 181 .E634 2006 v.1-3
Covers topics surrounding wartime ranging from art, culture, and memory to education and religion, as well as coverage of key people and the wars themselves. Primary sources are available for each military conflict in Volume 3.
Middle East Conflicts from Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century
Call Number: Ref DS 63.15 .M53 2019 v. 1-4
This authoritative and comprehensive encyclopedia covers all the key wars, insurgencies, and battles that have occurred in the Middle East roughly between 3100 BCE and the early decades of the twenty-first century. Volume 4 consists of primary documents.
Weapons of Mass Destruction: the Essential Reference Guide
Call Number: Ref U 793 .W4328 2018
Whether one is interested in learning about anthrax, sarin, the neutron bomb--or any other weapon of mass destruction--this thorough and detailed reference is the place to find answers.

Biography Reference Bank This link opens in a new window
Combines the in-depth, original profiles of Wilson Biographies Plus Illustrated, and the Biography Index which includes full-text articles, page images, and abstracts.
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

Nineteen seventies
Popular culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century
United States -- Civilization -- 1970-
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989
United States -- Politics and government -- 1989-
United States -- Social life and customs -- 1971-
Watergate Affair, 1972-1974

Find War Documentaries

Search for War (Nonfiction)

Find Documentaries on Politics

Search for Public affairs

HENRY
The Library Catalog

Highlighted Documentary Film Titles

Clinton Years

Follows Bill Clinton's campaign for the presidency and his 8 years in office. Includes interviews with George Stephanopolous, Dee Dee Myers, and other key administration officials.

21 Days to Baghdad

Examines U.S. strategy in "Operation Iraqi Freedom."

Baghdad ER

Documents daily events over a two month period in the 86th Combat Support Hospital, the U.S. Army's premier medical facility in Iraq.

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

Defining Documents in American History: The 1970s (1970-1979)
Call Number: E 855 .A14 2016
This important resource provides students and researchers new insights into the 1970s in the U.S., through an in-depth analysis of forty important primary source documents and their lasting effect on American history.
Voices of the African American Experience
Call Number: Ref E 184.6 .V65 2009 v. 1-3
This collection of primary sources includes excerpts from slave narratives; letters, diaries, and other correspondence; government documents, press coverage, and more.
The Conviction of Richard Nixon
Call Number: E 856 .R47 2007
In 1977, three years after his resignation, Nixon agreed to a series of interviews with television personality David Frost. Conducted over twelve days, they resulted in twenty-eight hours of taped material.
Frost Nixon: the Complete Interviews
Call Number: DVD 2743
This program includes chapters on Watergate, Nixon and the world (Soviet Union and China), War at home and abroad (Vietnam, Nixon's war at home), The final days (resignation of Spiro Agnew, personal taxes, Nixon's pardon), The last round-up (18 1/2 min. gap, Supreme Court, Kissinger, John Mitchell).
For the Record: Selected Statements, 1977-1980 by Henry Kissinger
Call Number: E 872 .K57 1981

Defining Documents in American History: The Cold War
Call Number: E 813 .C65 2016 v. 1-2
Offers in-depth analysis of a broad range of historical documents and historic events that shaped the Cold War conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Greatest Presidential Speeches of the 20th Century
Call Number: AudioBk J 81 v.1-8
Listen to the speeches of American presidents from Theodore Roosevelt through William Clinton.
Voices of the Iraq War
Call Number: Oversz DS 79.766 .A1 V68 2016
Uses first-person accounts of the war and primary source documents to provide readers with an understanding of the causes of successes and failures in Iraq and how these events contributed to the volatility of the Middle East in the early 21st century.

National Security Archive
Some highlighted document collections are: CIA's Vietnam histories; JFK and the Diem Coup; Fighting the War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973; Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 40 Years Later; & Intelligence and Vietnam: the top secret 1969 State Department study.
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"An independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The Archive also serves as a repository of government records on a wide range of topics pertaining to the national security, foreign, intelligence, and economic policies of the United States."

Congressional Record 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

Contemporary Middle East
Contains primary source documents from 1917 to the present day.
Veterans History Project
(Library of Congress) -- First hand accounts from U.S. Veterans representing World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War and the Afghanistan & Iraq conflicts.
September 11 Digital Archive
"The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath. The Archive contains more than 150,000 digital items, a tally that includes more than 40,000 emails and other electronic communications, more than 40,000 first-hand stories, and more than 15,000 digital images."

US Newsstream This link opens in a new window
US Newsstream offers exclusive access to The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune as well as many other key national and regional news sources from the United States. Coverage: 1980 - current.

Vital Speeches of the Day
Coverage: 1934 - Present
Congressional Digest
Coverage: 1921 - Present
The Nation
Coverage: 1865 -- Present (1 month embargo)
The New Republic
Coverage: 1914 -- Present
National Review
Coverage: 1955 -- Present
Harper's
Access the Harper's Archive, 1850 - present. Full text availability.
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Harper’s is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S., beginning in June 1850 when it was launched as Harper's New Monthly Magazine
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Coverage: 1890-Present via JSTOR (2008 - Present is available via Sage)
Atlantic (sometimes called Atlantic Monthly)
Coverage: 1857 - Present Full-text beginning in 1993 (earlier years available on microfilm).
Newsweek
Coverage 1975 - 2013.
Time
Coverage: 1923 - Present.
US News and World Report
Coverage: 1933 - Present. Full-text beginning in 1990 (earlier years available on microfilm).

Suggested search terms

Cold War -- Sources
Presidents -- United States -- Diaries
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989 -- Sources

Simply, add "primary sources" to your search.

Visit the locate primary sources page for a refresher.

HENRY
The Library Catalog