Home > Research Guides > History Guides > U. S. History 1865 to Present

History of the United States to 1865 The purpose of this guide is to support Professor Bate's assignments in his History 1130 class. The navigational tabs across the top of the page will help you select various resources. Check out this list of titles Professor Bates has recommended.

Reference Works

Specialized reference works like the ones listed below are very useful for research. All of the titles here are located on the first floor of the Library. Browse around the same areas to find other useful titles.

For additional suggestions see the other research guides for American History.

Biographies

American National Biography 

Reference E 176 .A6

Dictionary of American Biography 

Reference E 176 .D563

National Cyclopedia of American Biography 

Reference E 176 .N28

Chronologies

American Chronicle 

Reference E 169.1 .G664

American Eras 

Reference E 178 .A59

Discovering Collection 

Brief non-scholarly overviews.

Great Events from History, American Series 

Reference E 178 .M22

Great Events from History, North American Series 

Reference E 45 .G64

Magill's History of North America 

Reference E 18 .M2 1988

Encyclopedias

American Revolution, an Encyclopedia 

Reference E208 .A433

Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia 

Reference E 111.C774 1991

Credo 

Contains many dictionaries and companions that cover U.S. History.

Early Civilizations of the Americas 

Reference E 61 .B46

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History 

Reference E 185 .E54

Dictionary of American History 

Reference E 174 .D52

Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History 

Reference E 169.1 .E624

Encyclopedia of American Social History 

Reference E 20 .E6

Encyclopedia of the American Civil War 

Reference E 468 .E53

Encyclopedia of the American West 

Reference F591 .E485

Encyclopedia of the Confederacy 

Reference E 487 .E55

Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies 

Reference E 45 .E53

Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century 

Reference E 169.1 .E626

Gale Virtual Reference Library

McMillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery 

Reference HT 861 .M24

Wars of the Americas 

Reference E 18.75 .M374

Women in the American Civil War

Works in the General Collection

Search the Library Catalog to locate print and audio-visual materials.

Some suggested searches include searching by country. Of course you can substitute any of the individual states or regions that make up the United States. There are other subheadings that may be of interest too. If you are not finding what you are looking for, consult the history librarian (information below) or the Reference Desk.

• United States - History - [Time Period]
• United States - History - [Event], example United States History Civil War
• United States - Politics and Government - [Time Period]
• United States - Social Life and Customs - [Time Period]
• United States - Civilization - [Time Period]
• United States - Intellectual Life - [Time Period]

You can also search by topic. For example:

• Northwest, Old
• Puritans
• Witchcraft - Massachusetts - Salem
• Women - United States - History

Books from Other Libraries

You have many choices for locating books not owned by College of DuPage.

You can of course check your local public library. Make sure the books are scholarly in nature.

You can also search World Cat. World Cat lists books from all over the United States. These books can be ordered via Inter Library Loan. While in the World Cat record just click on Find This! You will be able to search the C.O.D. Catalog and then fill out the Inter Library Loan request form if the item is not available from C.O.D.

We also have reciprocal borrowing arrangements with our four local liberal arts colleges: Wheaton, Elmhurst, Benedictine, and North Central.

Online Books

The Library Catalog contains access to many eBooks. Use the same suggested searches above, but limit or modify your search to the location eBook or Reference eBook. These online books were chosen with the same care as other books in the collection. Some of the history databases also have books or parts of books in them. You may also want to check some of the titles on the Online Books page.

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Ken Orenic, Reference Librarian
630-942-2338
orenick@cod.edu

September 2012

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