Research Resources: What's Available Around the Country

Earlier this month, we introduced our Research Resources blog series to help students further their research. Last time, we shared tips on conducting strong online research. This week, we'll be sharing some of the numerous national resources available to students. As always, please feel free to share your resources with us by emailing them to info@historydayct.org.

By this point in the history day process, students should be deeply researching their project. They should be digging deep and becoming experts in their topic. Research can be overwhelming though and for those doing CHD for the first time, it can be scary. There are many easily available resources that we will be sharing right here on the Connecticut History Day Blog. Over the next several posts, we'll be sharing resources for U.S. history, local history, and world history. 

Keep in mind that any of these resources could be useful for a variety of types of history, not just American history. 

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress (LOC) online offers millions of records for books, manuscripts, letters, maps, images, and so much more. Students can even ask a Librarian for assistance by emailing a question to a LOC subject specialist. The LOC also curates digital collections to help scholars find resources related to a specific topic-- anything from African American perspectives and presidential papers to baseball cards and band music from the Civil War era. 

National Archives

The National Archives offers specific National History Day online research tools to aid students in their research. Resources in the NHD section of the National Archives website are organized by time period (ex. American Revolution, Industrialization, World War I, etc.). Student can find information on further resources and how to cite National Archives documents. Students and educators can also find information to learn how to work with primary sources. 

History, Art & Archives at the United States House of Representatives

The US House of Representatives offers students a full Triumph & Tragedy Resource Guide with all sorts of topics and resources pulled form their website. The NHD page is organized by topic and gives students different historical highlights, records to review, and collection objects. In some cases, blogs are included that give further insight into the topic. 

The Avalon Project

A part of Yale Law School, the Avalon Project offers a large number of documents related to law, history, and diplomacy. The documents have all been transcribed to make them easier to read. Each document includes a source for each item and then supporting documents expressly refereed to in the text. 

Digital Public Library of America

Offering thousands of resources, the Digital Public Library of America includes images, books, news, oral histories, and more for students to access for free and immediate use. 

Of course, there are hundreds of other resources available for students to use during their research. Feel free to share your class' favorite places to research with us by emailing them to info@historydayct.org. 

Note: As of January 25, 2019, some of the resources listed here have a pop-up regarding the Government Shut Down. The resources are all still accessible and available for students to use.