A digital collective of books and journals from numerous academic and research libraries around the world.
Scholarly journals and books. Access begins with the first volume for many journal titles, but usually does not have the newest volumes of each journal. To try out AI tools in JSTOR, login using your personal JSTOR account and visit the FAQs to learn more.
Journals and ebooks from major university presses on literature and criticism, history, performing arts, cultural studies, education, philosophy, political science, gender studies, and more.
Full page views and text searching of numerous newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S., with an emphasis on such topics as the American Civil War, African-American culture and history, Western migration and Antebellum-era life.
Secondary sources are historical works written by someone who did not participate in the event or topic. They are documents written to explain and explore historical events and topics, often presenting a particular thesis, or perspective. They comment on, interpret, and discuss primary sources, as well as other secondary sources.
Scholarly sources are secondary sources written by and for people in academia – like you! When a scholar of history writes an article, a book, or a book chapter, their work goes through a rigorous vetting process before publication. Other scholars read and comment on the work, generally making sure the author’s information is correct, and that their interpretation/perspective is valid. On the other hand, popular sources, for a general audience, often do not include such thorough scrutiny, and so we do not consider them to be reliable sources of historical information.
Examples of scholarly secondary sources:
What NOT to use as your secondary source: