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Course Guide for Reconstruction History 300 Mr. Henningsen Spring Term |
| Gen. William T. Sherman “40 acres and a mule” Special Field Order 15 - Jan 16, 1865
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“It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule….We never got the 40 acres….We didn’t get the mule. So we decided we’d ride this donkey as far as it would take us.” - Rev. Al Sharpton, 2004 Democratic National Convention |
This guide provides an overview of information resources available at the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library. Selected print and electronic resources are provided. There are many more excellent sources.
The following steps will assist you in the research process.
Step 1: Get Organized and Selecting a topic
Click here
for a list of suggested topics on Reconstruction or consult with your
teacher. Be sure to select a topic that is of interest to you.
Think about what you are required to do. What do you want to write about?
What are some search terms or key words you may use in locating information
for your topic?
Step 2: Gather Information
Begin your research with reference sources located in the Garver Room. Reference books will provide you with an overview of your topic, a vocabulary of terms to search for more information, and will frequently give you a bibliography of works related to your topic.
Click here for a list of selected specialized reference books (available in the Garver Room) that you may want to consider.
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Tip: Ask a Librarian, stop by a Help Desk early and often during the research process for assistance. |
| The OWH Library Catalog | All NOBLE Libraries | Memorial Hall Library | MASS Virtual Catalog | OCLC WorldCat |
| More Info | More Info | More Info | More Info | More Info |
Finding books on Desk Reserve:
Click here for a list of books on Desk Reserve at the Circulation Desk. Check in OWL under the Course Reserves tab and search by course under History 300 for a list of books on reserve.
America: History and Life Detailed abstracts of American and Canadian history from over 2,000 journals. Prehistory to present.
American Periodicals Series Online 1741 - 1900 Periodicals Series Online 1741-1942 APS Online features over 1,100 periodicals spanning nearly 200 years from colonial times to the early 1900’s. Titles range from religious and historical journals such as The Dial and Southern Review to popular magazines like Vanity Fair and Ladies' Home Journal.Historical Newspapers Searches 4 newspapers; Christian Science Monitor (1908-1991), New York Times (1851-2001), Wall Street Journal (1889-1987), and the Washington Post (1877-1988).
JSTOR A full text collection of scholarly journals, many going back to the first issue.
New York Times Archives Full-text of the New York Times from 1851 to 1999.
Readers’ Guide Retrospective An electronic version of the Readers' Guide Index to Periodical Literature. Indexes several hundred periodicals, from 1900 to 1982.
Note that America: History and Life and the Readers’ Guide databases are not full-text. You must check the titles of the periodicals in these databases using Serials Solutions and Phillips Academy Print holdings to determine if the library owns a particular title. Some of these articles may have to be obtained from other libraries. Be sure to allow enough time in you research for this to happen.Periodical Index (lower level index table)
Ref 050 P78b Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature Paper index with citations to articles from 1802 to 1906.
Atlantic Monthly Harper’s Magazine Living Age Scribner's Scribner's Monthly 1857-1971 1859-1970 1844-1892 1887-1939 1871-1881 Consult the Readers’ Guide and indexes in individual periodicals for topic indexes.
**Remember to evaluate web sites just as you evaluate books for authority and content.
Library of Congress American Memory contains pamphlets, personal narratives and other primary source material on topics in Reconstruction
Reconstruction the Second Civil War - PBS The American Experience contains primary sources on Reconstruction
Congressional Globe - Debates and Proceedings 1833-1873 contains the full-text of Congressional proceedings during Reconstruction
Freedmen’s Bureau Online contains articles, records and images related to the Freedmen’s Bureau
Valley of the Shadow records the history of two communities, one northern and one southern, from the Civil War through Reconstruction
Documenting the American South contains texts, images, and audio files of Southern History from colonial times to the early 1900’s
Step 3: Use the Information
Synthesize the information, make an outline, take notes, organize the information, write the paper and document sources. Capture the information you will need for your bibliography the first time you use each source. Make sure to avoid Plagiarism! Use this useful guide to quoting and paraphrasing sources.
Step 4: Take time to Reflect
Ask yourself: did you accomplish what you wanted to do? If you take the time to evaluate what you did you will become a better researcher.
