Basic Reference Sources
These sources will provide articles by authorities in the field on topics, events, places, and persons. Articles will range in length from one or two paragraphs to dozens of pages. Most will give a bibliography of recommended books and articles for further research.
- Encyclopedia of Southern CultureCharles Reagan Wilson & William Ferris. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. Ref F209 .E53 1989; 2nd edition, 2006-, in 8 volumes.
Topical coverage of religion, foodways, biography, music, history, and more. Very useful for the references at the end of most entries. - Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture.Written for a popular audience, this growing site offers biographical, topical, geographic, and thematic essays with bibliographies of sources and suggested readings.
- Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
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Covers: 3000 B.C.E. -. Provides signed articles drawn from key Oxford reference sources, including:
African American National Biography, Africana, an encyclopedia of the African and African American experience in five volumes, The Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895, the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present, and Black Women in America.
- Companion to the American Southed. John Boles. New York: Blackwell, 2002.
Main F 208.2 .C66
Presents a series of topical essays; good summaries of current scholarship on various eras and themes.
- American National Biography (ANB) This link opens in a new window
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Provides biographical sketches for deceased persons who have contributed to the history of the United States. Biographies have been contributed by leading scholars and include bibliographies listing additional secondary sources as well as noting the location of manuscript collections.
- Encyclopedia of Religion in the SouthSamuel S. Hill and Charles H. Lippy. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2005. 2nd ed. Ref BR535 .E52 2005.
- Encyclopedia of African and African-American ReligionsNew York: Routledge, 2001. REF BL2462.5 .E53 2001.
- The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore.3v. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. REF GR111.A47 G74 2006.
- The Companion to Southern Literature: Themes, Genres, Places, People, Movements, and MotifsJoseph M. Flora and Lucinda H. MacKethan. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2002. Ref PS261 .C55 2002.
Statistics and Censuses
- Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
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Covers: 1789- .An online research tool designed to provide access to current and historical census data, election results, and demographic information. It covers US census and electoral history - at the county level - from 1790 to 2010, as well as more recent data from the American Community Survey , the Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS), and carbon emissions data. - Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
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Covers 1789-2000. Offers the fully-searchable tables from the five-volume reference work covering demographic, economic, social, and cultural statistics drawn form both U.S. government publications as well as other publications. Users may download tables in Excel or CSV formats and create tables with data merged from multiple sources.
- Historical Statistics of Black America.2v. Detroit: Gale, 1995. Ref E 185 .H543 1995.
Mainly offers statistics in the postbellum period but has a section on slavery and economics: slave population by state, prices, etc.