English 3 Term Paper: Historical Context

Places specific literary works in their historical context.

Rose, Cynthia, ed. American Decades Primary Sources. 10 vols. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Oct. 2012.

"Cross-disciplinary source spanning the 20th century. Each volume in the set includes full or excerpted primary sources representing the seminal issues, themes, movements and events from a decade. Includes oral histories, songs, speeches, advertisements, TV, play and movie scripts, letters, laws, legal decisions, newspaper articles, cartoons, recipes, and more."

American Eras. 8 vols. Detroit: Gale, 1997. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Oct. 2012.

"Includes essays on events, publications, lifestyles and individuals important to particular eras in U.S. history."

Kutler, Stanley I., ed. Dictionary of American History. 3rd ed. 10 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Oct. 2012.

"The first comprehensive revision of this classic reference source, originally published in 1940, features updated and revised entries from previous editions, as well as more than 800 new entries covering recent events and topics not covered previously. This authoritative work serves students, scholars, and general readers interested in a wide range of topics in American history, from the well studied and familiar to the obscure."

Walkowitz, Daniel J., and Daniel E. Bender, eds. Social History of the United States. 10 vols. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Oct. 2012.

"Explores the social history of 20th-century America in detail, decade by decade, through the eyes of its everyday citizens."

Pendergast, Sara, and Tom Pendergast, eds. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Oct. 2012.

"Includes more than 2,700 signed essays ranging from 500 to 2,500 words, written by subject experts and edited to form a consistent, readable, and straightforward reference. Entries include subject-specific bibliographies and, where appropriate, photographs and textual cross-references to related essays."

Carnagie, Julie L., et al, eds. U*X*L American Decades. 11 vols. Detroit: UXL, 2003. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Oct. 2012.

"This series covers 20th-century events and social history beginning in 1900 and ending in 1999, written expressly for middle school students. Each decade is covered in one volume. Topics for each decade include: Headline Makers, Topics in the News, Arts and Entertainment, Business and the Economy, Education, Government, Politics, and Law, Lifestyles and Social Trends, Medicine and Health, Science and Technology, and Sports."

National Newspapers Core (1985 – current)
Proquest Historical Newspapers (1851-2008)
Proquest Research Library

National Newspapers Core (1985 – current) is one place you could probably find book reviews of or responses to your full-length biography. You will also find articles that mention or focus on your subject.

Proquest Historical Newspapers has New York Times articles that will probably also mention or focus on your subject.

Proquest Research Library is a good place to find other articles and scholarly resources on your person. Click the box for “Peer Reviewed” in order to get scholarly articles, and “Full Text” so you’ll get entire articles that you can read right then.

This database used to be called "Proquest Platinum."