Research Guides: HIST 3613: Early National and Antebellum America, 1789-1850: About Newspapers

Journalism Then and Now

Compare these two papers from not so long ago...

July 21, 1969

Read this story...

September 12, 2001

Read this story...

...with these from the 19th century...

Chillicothe, Ohio, Fredonian, February 2, 1815

Chillocothe, Ohio, Fredonian
February 2, 1815
(Battle of New Orleans, January 9, 1815)

Read this story...

New York Times
October 20, 1859
(John Brown's Raid, October 18, 1859)

Read this story...

Antebellum American Newspapers

Think Antebellum

Most newspaper databases are not subject-indexed by a human being--you will just be searching the full text of the articles. Therefore, you've got to use search terms that correspond to the mindset of the time.

When possible, use specific personal or place names and terminology of the time, instead of searching concepts.

Concept	Search terms
free love	oneida colony john humphrey noyes complex marriage woodhull josiah warren communalism
temperance	american temperance society teetotal abstinence drink drunkard demon rum
trail of tears	indian removal indian emigration seminole wars john ross commissary general cherokee, choctaw, etc.
second great awakening	revivals circuit riders camp meetings cumberland presbyterians millerites william miller adventists

Speak Antebellum

A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles
Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1951.
2v. Ref PE2835 .D5.
The American version of the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) with many colloquialisms and colorful phrases
Dictionary of American Regional English
Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1985-.
4v [in progress]. Ref PE2843 .D52 1985
Oxford English Dictionary: Overview of Nineteenth-Century English
This essay discusses some of the differences in present day and 19th century English. Remember that you can use the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online for histories and meanings of specific words.

Oxford English Dictionary Online This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Provides the complete text of the OED's twenty-volume Second Edition and three-volume Additions Series, together with the continually updated third edition. New entries are published each quarter, Search by headword, words in definition, parts of speech, or keywords, authors, or works for quotations. Features include the ability to browse by category, such as archaic words, to browse by timeline, and the Historical Thesaurus, a taxonomic classification of the majority of senses and headwords.

Manly Slang from the 19th Century
This list from the blog, "The Art of Manliness," has some roarers like "cupboard love" and "sober-water."
How to Speak 19th Century
"This article was originally published in The Historic Interpreter, newsletter of the Minnesota Historical Society Interpreters Caucus. Portions were published in the magazine of the Midwest Outdoor Museum Coordinating Council (MOMCC)."

Political, Regional and Social Affiliations

In the 19th century, newspapers and newspaper editors were proudly, even fiercely, associated with specific political parties and movements. Knowing a paper's bias will help you interpret what you are reading.

Here are some sources for identifying a paper's political affilaition (if it is not clear from the context!)

Local, State Histories

Look in the catalog under the subject:

american newspapers--[place]

american newspapers--arkansas--history

american newspapers--new york, n y--bibliography

Online Lists

CLARENCE: Newspaper Holdings of the American Antiquarian Society
Search by place of publication, date range, genre, publisher, or political affiliation.
NOTE that this database does not give access to the full text of the papers.
Chronicling America, 1770-1963
This project at the Library of Congress offers digitized papers from all states and provides a directory of papers published since 1960. Search by keyword, browse by date or place, or limit to dates or ethnic groups.

Timelines

Political Parties in the United States, 1820–1860
Produced by North Carolina Digital History.

Historical Research and Newspapers

Are newspapers primary or secondary sources? Bellieve it or not, we could argue about that! Below are some tips and tutorials for using newspapers in historical research.

Periodicals- Learning Historical Research
Part of historian William Cronon's online guide to conducting research in history

Formats

It would be so great if you could just Google everything. Unfortunately, there are a larger number of papers still only in print formats. In Mullins Library, you can find historical papers through:

UofA subscription resources

These are databases that the Libraries pay for to provide you access. They will require you to come through our web site to be authenticated as a UofA student.

Freely available newspapers online

In some cases, you will be able to access the entire paper. In others, you will be able to identify the dates of an article that interests you. You can then find the microfilm copy in our library or ask for a copy on Interlibrary Loan.

Microfilm

These copies of newspapers on reels of film are housed in the Periodicals Reading Room on level 2 of Mullins Library. You can find these papers by title in OneSeaerch You can scan microfilm images to PDF and save them to a flash drive or email.

Microcard

This format is like a tiny page of a newspaper and requires a special machine to read; you cannot make copies of microcards but only take notes from them.