Researching Independence
With the Fourth of July behind us and Summer Quarter just beginning, we wanted to remind you of some of the awesome resources you have access to through the library…and maybe learn a little something about early America in the process!
Our Reference Collection has a wide variety of materials that can give you the background information you need, including subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, maps, and primary sources. 1776: Excerpts from the Acclaimed History, with Letters, Maps, and Seminal Artwork contains copies of eighteenth-century paintings, and 37 removable replicas of letters, maps, and historic documents in 10 envelopes secured with the congressional seal. How cool is that?! While you’re in the library, take a look at The American History Cookbook, from which you can replicate early colonial dishes and patriotic cakes.
If you’re looking for a brief overview of pretty much anything, the books in our Very Short Introduction series are perfect. For example, you might want to learn more about The American Revolution, The Founding Fathers, or Decolonization.
Our main collection has even more sources, like A People’s History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence, which uses diaries, letters, and memoirs to recount the events of the American Revolution from the perspective of African Americans, Native Americans, women, and others.
And don’t forget all our databases!
You can learn more about patriotic music in Oxford Music Online, read the eyewitness account of a cobbler who participated in the Boston Tea Party in History Study Center, or find colonial statistics in Historical Statistics of the United States. Did you know that “on the eve of the American Revolution, real per capita gross domestic product in the Thirteen Continental Colonies was higher than that of any other nation in the world at the time” (McCusker)?
As always, if your research topics or personal interests happen to not be the American Revolution, feel free to ask a librarian to find the best sources for what you want to learn about!
