American National Biography
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American National Biography is the first new comprehensive biographical dicionary focused on American history to be published in seventy years. Produced under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies, the ANB contains over 17,500 profiles on historical figures written by an expert in the field and completed with a bibliography. The scope of the work is enormous--from the earlest recorded European explorations to the very recent past.
Encyclopedia of American Social Movements
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This four-volume set examines every social movement in American history - from the great struggles for abolition, civil rights, and women's equality to the more specific quests for prohibition, consumer safety, unemployment insurance, and global justice.
Working Americans, 1880-2006
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Each volume in the widely-successful Working Americans series focuses on a particular type of American and illustrates what life was like for that group from the 1800s to the present time. The volumes are arranged into decade-long chapters, each introduci
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History
The Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History surveys the richly layered dimensions of American life in a format that clarifies the many issues, ideas, movements and places that constitute the American experience. How is the West defined as a cultural region? What did the notions of "secession" and "union" mean to Americans living in the 1860s? How does Disney pervade and influence perceptions about America today? In more than 200 articles written by scholars and enriched with illustrations, boxed biographies and documentary excerpts from primary sources, American thought and culture is thoroughly explored. The Encyclopedia covers not only historic periods such as the Colonial era and the Reagan era, but also looks at cultural groups such as the working class and cultural institutions and forms such as the university and cinema.
Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History
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Users looking for authoritative and comprehensive information about black history, figures and accomplishments now have a defining and current reference to address their needs. The second edition of the Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History is a much-needed expansion of the 1996 classic and its 2000 supplement. As with the earlier publications, the second edition is aimed at high school and college students, as well as the general reader. Whereas the first edition focused almost exclusively on the United States, this new set identifies and addresses broad themes critical to understanding the texture of the cultures, achievements, challenges and comprise North America, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Readers can find comparative analyses of social movements, languages, religions and family structures in the context of an interdisciplinary framework that fills a substantial gap in studies of this genre. While many articles from the original set have updated content and bibliographies, almost half of the second edition is composed of completely new scholarship.
Before diving into a new topic, it is good to read an overview. This will help you
The common type of resource that people use to get an overview are called Reference Works. Reference works are referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end, and are meant to be accessed quickly.
Reference works are considered tertiary resources. Tertiary works are multiple steps removed from the original research and are a standard place to start (but not finish) your research. They shouldn't be cited in your own work, but used to as a branching off point to find research about a topic. .
Use Reference or Tertiary works to:
Authoritative references, including Britannicas latest article database, hundreds of articles not found in the print Britannica; Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary (Tenth Edition); the Britannica Book of the Year; and thousands of links to other World Wide Web sites selected by Britannica editors
Offers full text from reference books, history periodicals, historical documents, and biographies, historical photos and maps, and historical videos.
Resources on American government, current affairs, history, politics, public policy, and data analysis for the social sciences. Includes CQ Almanac, CQ Researcher Plus Archive, CQ Magazine, and the Supreme Court Yearbook.
