Library Guides: SOWK 4118 History of Social Welfare and Social Work: Government Documents and Primary Source Material

Government Documents

This section presents suggested sources for finding government documents from the late eighteenth century through the present. Remember that many government documents can also be found by searching the library catalog, where you can further limit by format or date.

govinfo
"The govinfo database provides free online access to official Federal Government publications" from the U.S. Government Publishing Office. You can search government publications by date, collection, or other specific fields, or browse by collection, Congressional committee, or date. Includes the Budget of the United States Government from FY 1996-present.
Government Accountabilty Office (GAO) Reports
The Government Accountability Office (formerly the General Accounting Office) provides digital access to GAO reports from as far back as the 1960s to recent. These publications are evaluations of federal programs and audits of federal expenditures for Congress.
Recent GAO reports can also be searched at the Government Printing Office website
more...less...
The Government Accountability Office (formerly the General Accounting Office) provides digital access to GAO reports from as far back as the 1960s to recent. These publications are evaluations of federal programs and audits of federal expenditures for Congress.
Recent GAO reports can also be searched at the Government Printing Office website

ProQuest Congressional
Provides full coverage of U.S. federal legislative activity from 1789 to present.
ProQuest CRS Reports
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) was established within the Library of Congress to provide members, committees, and congressional staff with nonpartisan and objective research and analysis on all public policy issues.
ProQuest Legislative Insight
Features thoroughly researched compilations of digital full text publications created by Congress during the process leading up to the enactment of U.S. Public Laws.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994
Contains all the reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Printing and downloading are limited to insubstantial portions of the data, for temporary storage. If you have any questions, contact Electronic Resources.

Historical Newspapers and Periodicals

This section presents suggested sources for finding historical newspaper articles and period journal articles. Other historical newspapers can be found in the Databases and Articles subject category, "Newspapers, Historical." Those of you concentrating on later decades will want to use the "Newspapers, Current" category. Remember when searching primary source material with keywords in the full text to use the language of the time period.

America's Historical Newspapers
Thousands of titles chronicle centuries of American history, culture and daily life. Includes titles from all 50 present states. This database provides access to digitized versions of primary source material.
Printing and downloading are limited to insubstantial portions of the data, for temporary storage. If you have any questions, contact Electronic Resources.
American Periodicals
Includes digitized images of the pages of American magazines and journals published from colonial days to the dawn of the 20th century.
Atlanta Constitution (1868-1984) (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
Gives today's researchers a vivid, first-hand account of one of the most turbulent periods in American history: post-Civil War reconstruction.
Black Newspapers (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
Provides continuous newspaper runs of vital primary source materials essential for the study of U.S. history, African-American history, culture, politics, genealogy, the arts, media, and communications.
Chicago Tribune (1849-1993) (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
When first incorporated, Chicago was a swampy little town populated only by a few hundred people. Soon after, the historical Chicago Tribune (1849-1989) began chronicling the city's challenges, achievements, and evolution into one of America's finest cities.
Google Scholar
Enables users to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research.
Hispanic American Newspapers 1808-1980
Offers a diversity of unabridged voices, ranging from intellectuals and literary notables to politicians, union organizers and grassroots figures.
Printing and downloading are limited to insubstantial portions of the data, for temporary storage. If you have any questions, contact Electronic Resources.
Los Angeles Times (1881-1993) (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
Delivers unique coverage of the development of Southern California and the American West.
New York Times with Index (1851-2013) (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
Through the digitized pages of The New York Times with Index, readers witness the arrival of immigrants to America's shores and follow the establishment of neighborhoods and businesses. They experience the rise and fall of financial markets and mark the introduction of the mass-produced automobile, television, space travel, and medical innovations. They gain insight into the causes and effects of the Civil War in the 1800s, the "war to end all wars" in the 1900s, and the war on terrorism in this century.
19th Century U.S. Newspapers
A full-text searchable, facsimile-image database that provides an as-it-happened window on events, culture and daily life in 19th-century America of interest to both professional and general researchers.
Periodicals Archive Online
A major archive that makes the backfiles of scholarly periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Washington Post (1877-2000) (Proquest Historical Newspapers)
Known for its comprehensive political reporting, first-rate photo essays, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writing, and unmatched investigative reporting, the historical Washington Post (1877-1993) is an unparalleled resource for today's budding journalists, political historians, and students of government.

Other Historical Material

This section presents suggested sources for finding historical statistics, public opinion polls, oral histories, and additional primary source material. Remember when searching primary source material with keywords in the full text to use the language of the time period.

American History in Video
Allows students and researchers to analyze historical events, and their presentation over time, through commercial and governmental newsreels, archival footage, public affairs footage, and important documentaries.
Limited to 3 concurrent users.

American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project,1936-1940
"These life histories were compiled and transcribed by the staff of the Folklore Project of the Federal Writers' Project for the U.S. Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration (WPA) from 1936-1940. The Library of Congress collection includes 2,900 documents representing the work of over 300 writers from 24 states. Typically 2,000-15,000 words in length, the documents consist of drafts and revisions, varying in form from narrative to dialogue to report to case history...
more...less...
The histories describe the informant's family education, income, occupation, political views, religion and mores, medical needs, diet and miscellaneous observations. Pseudonyms are often substituted for individuals and places named in the narrative texts." You may want to check out the Introduction, which includes interview excerpts organized around themes of "Hard Times in the City," "Women and Work," "Industrial Lore," and others.
American Memory
"American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America..."
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers Project,1936-1938
"Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)..." See the excellent introduction to the collection by Norman Yetman.
Bracero History Archive
"The Bracero History Archive collects and makes available the oral histories and artifacts pertaining to the Bracero program, a guest worker initiative that spanned the years 1942-1964. Millions of Mexican agricultural workers crossed the border under the program to work in more than half of the states in America."
Densho: The Japanese-American Legacy Project
"Densho is a nonprofit organization started in 1996, with the initial goal of documenting oral histories from Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II. This evolved into a mission to educate, preserve, collaborate and inspire action for equity. Densho uses digital technology to preserve and make accessible primary source materials on the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans."

Historical Statistics of the United States
The standard source for the quantitative facts of American history.

Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930
A "web-based collection of historical materials from Harvard's libraries, archives, and museums that documents voluntary immigration to the United States from the signing of the Constitution to the onset of the Great Depression. Concentrating heavily on the 19th century, Immigration to the US includes over 400,000 pages from more than 2,200 books, pamphlets, and serials, over 9,600 pages from manuscript and archival collections, and more than 7,800 photographs."
Institute of Oral History (University of Texas at El Paso)
"Established in 1972 for the purpose of 'preserving the history of the region adjacent to the Rio Grande both in the United States and in Mexico.' Since that time, the Institute has built one of the largest border-related oral history collections in the United States. While an emphasis has been on the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez region, the collection also contains interviews dealing with the history of communities all along the U.S.-Mexico border." Interview transcripts available from 1960-1985.

Roper Center Public Opinion Archives
A comprehensive database of 500,000 questions and answers asked in the US since 1935. All of the major polling organizations in the US are included in this system. The RoperExpress section allows users to search for and download data sets housed at the Roper Center.

Reference Librarian

Jenny Bowers

Email Me

Contact:

University Libraries

2150 E. Evans Ave.

Denver, CO 80208

(303) 871-3403

Subjects: Anthropology, Communication Studies, Film Studies, Gender Studies, Journalism / Media Studies, Psychology, Social Work, Sociology / Criminology

University of Denver

University Libraries

Research Guides

SOWK 4118 History of Social Welfare and Social Work: Government Documents and Primary Source Material

Government Documents

Historical Newspapers and Periodicals

Other Historical Material

Reference Librarian