Research Guides: U.S. History: 20th Century: Overview

Background & Reference

Roaring Twenties & the Great Depression

Historical Dictionary from the Great War to the Great Depression
Covers the history of this period through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography.
Encyclopedia of the Great Depression
Features entries on depression-era politics, government, business, economics, literature, the arts, society and culture.

Cold War

The Columbia Guide to the Cold War
Contains narrative essays on key events and issues, and also features an A-to-Z encyclopedia, a concise chronology, and an annotated resource section.
Historical Dictionary of the Cold War
Contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography.
The Oxford Handbook of the Cold War
Essays on conceptual frameworks, regional perspectives, cold war instruments and cold war challenges.
A Companion to the Vietnam War
24 essays on America's longest and most divisive foreign conflict.

1990s

America in the Nineties
Decade of the 1990s from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Recommended Resources

America: History & Life (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Any topic regarding U.S. or Canadian history
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Fulltext of the entire back issues of scholarly journals
Library Search - Advanced This link opens in a new window
Articles, books, & media among SMU Libraries' collections & databases

History Databases at SMU

Primary Sources

Life Magazine, 1936-2000 This link opens in a new window
Photojournalism of events, politics & culture
Time Magazine Archive, 1923-2000 This link opens in a new window
Weekly reports of current events, politics, sports, & entertainment
Interwar Culture This link opens in a new window
Arts & culture, fashion, home & family life, travel, world current affairs, class, social & welfare issues
History Vault: American Politics and Society from Kennedy to Watergate, 1960-1975 This link opens in a new window
Includes a compilation of document types from the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon presidencies as well as records from federal agencies.
Nixon Years, 1969-1974 This link opens in a new window
Official British analysis of U.S. policy decisions, White House staff appointments, & more
American Consumer Culture This link opens in a new window
Primary sources for market research, consumerism, business & advertising in the U.S. from 1935-1965
J. Walter Thompson: Advertising America This link opens in a new window
Documents the advertising industry & its impact on consumer culture from 1890s-1990s
1980s Culture and Society This link opens in a new window
Political, social, welfare issues, etc.
American History, 1493-1945 This link opens in a new window
Documents American History from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century
Leisure, Travel and Mass Culture This link opens in a new window
Documents British & American working class tourism from 1850-1980
Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975 This link opens in a new window
Documents cultural shifts in the mid-twentieth century
Popular Culture Collection (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
Periodicals on & about popular culture

Cold War Primary Sources

Cold War: Global Perspectives on East-West Tensions, 1945-1991 This link opens in a new window
Pravda Archive: Global Perspectives, 1959-1996 This link opens in a new window
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), Daily Reports 1941-1996 This link opens in a new window
Translated international news coverage of U.S. policy
Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window
U.S. foreign and military policy documents since 1945
Nuclear Arms and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Global Perspectives, 1945-1996 This link opens in a new window
Pentagon Papers (Hein) This link opens in a new window
U.S. Department of Defense history of the political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945-1967
American Proxy Wars: Korea and Vietnam: Global Perspectives, 1946-1975 This link opens in a new window

Research Librarian

Pam Pagels

Contact:

ppagels@smu.edu
214 768-1857

Subjects: Classical Studies, History, International & Area Studies, Medieval Studies, Music & Music Education, Theatre, Writing & Reasoning

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U.S. History: 20th Century: Overview

Background & Reference

Roaring Twenties & the Great Depression

Cold War

1990s

Recommended Resources

Primary Sources

Cold War Primary Sources

Research Librarian

Sample Library of Congress (LC) Subject Headings

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