LibGuides: History 276: African American History since Reconstruction: Newspapers

Finding Newspaper Articles

Unlike periodicals and journals (see introduction to "Article Indexes" on the "Periodicals" page), few newspapers were ever indexed. Before newspaper digitization, the main way to find newspaper articles was to sit at a microfilm machine, and browse through issue after issue of newspapers. If you were researching a specific event, and had a date and place associated with that event, then your work would be a little easier.

The few newspapers that were indexed (e.g. the New York Times) were among the very first to be digitized, so with very few exceptions, you will not be using indexes to identify articles from newspapers.

To find a specific newspaper, or to identify newspapers published in a specific year or place, or newspapers published for a specific audience (e.g. African Americans, farmers), use the:

University of Illinois Library Newspaper Database
A catalog of newspapers at the University of Illinois Library. Lists newspapers in all formats--print, microfilm, and digitized. You can search for newspapers by title, or identify newspapers by place of publication, date of publication, or by the newspaper's subject or intended audience. Only includes newspapers that are either the original print publication, or else facsimile reproductions of the original print publication.

Many newspapers have been digitized, and the University of Illinois Library has a strong collection of digitized newspapers. Below are the best databases to begin with, when researching nineteenth century American history.

Guide to locating African American Newspapers

The History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library developed a guide on locating African American newspapers. This guide contains the most complete and up-to-date information on the subject. It will help you locate the best newspapers for your research, both locally and nationally.

African American Newspapers

Newspaper Indexes

Index to Black Newspapers by Black Newspaper Indexing Project.
Call Number: 016.0713 IN2
ISBN: 0149-7502
Publication Date: 1977-1986
Continued by: Black Newspapers Index (see below).
Black Newspapers Index
Call Number: 016.0713 IN21
ISBN: 0149-7502
Publication Date: 1987-2007
Continues: Index to Black Newspapers (see above).

Digitized Historical Newspapers

African American Newspapers, Series I and II: 1827-1998
A wide ranging collection that complements our largest collection of digitized African American newspapers, ProQuest Historical Black Newspapers. While ProQuest Historical Black Newspapers covers the major, metropolitan black newspapers of the twentieth century, African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 provides access to a broader range of publications, especially the black press of America's smaller cities, and the few extant issues of the earliest black newspapers, most of which were previously available only on microfilm or in smaller digital collections scattered around the Internet. Click here to view a complete title list for African American Newspapers Series I and II. Part of America's Historical Newspapers and the Archive of Americana.
African American Newspapers: The Nineteenth Century
Nine major African American newspapers of the nineteenth century, including Freedom's Journal (the first African American newspaper ever published), the Christian Recorder, the Colored American, Douglass' Monthly, Frederick Douglass' Paper, the National Era, the North Star, the Provincial Freeman, and the Weekly Advocate. Click here to view a complete title list for African American Newspapers: The Nineteenth Century.
America's Historical Newspapers
Hundreds of titles, with especially strong coverage of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-centuries, but also strong coverage of the early twentieth-century. Includes the following sub-collections: Early American Newspapers, Series I through VII, X, XIII, and IV (1690-1922); Hispanic American Newspapers (1808-1980); African American Newspapers, Series I-II (1827-1998); Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection (1799-1977); and Caribbean Newspapers (1718-1876). Newspapers were primarily sourced from the American Antiquarian Society and the Center for Research Libraries. Part of the Archive of Americana.
Chronicling America
American newspapers published during 1836-1960. Also includes the U.S. Newspaper Directory with information about American newspapers from 1690 to the present.
ProQuest Historical Black Newspapers
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The major black newspapers of the twentieth century. Click here to see a complete list. Part of ProQuest Historical Newspapers.