Home - HIST 278 - U.S. Women's History 1890 - present - LibGuides at DePauw University Libraries

Background info

American National Biography
Great starting point, but wouldn't count for one of your two scholarly sources. The bibliographies could lead you to good sources.

Women in Congress
"This Web site, based on the publication Women in Congress, contains biographical profiles of former women Members of Congress, links to information about current women Members, essays on the institutional and national events that shaped successive generations of Congresswomen, and images of each woman Member, including rare photos."

Find books using WorldCat Discovery

If you're on-campus and want to check out a print book, use our contactless pickup system to request it and pick it up. Instructions here: https://libanswers.depauw.edu/faq/343823

If you're off-campus, you can limit your search to e-books, but if you find books that are only in print, but could really help you in your research, here are some options to try:

Check HathiTrust (further down on this guide)
If there are one or two chapters that are helpful, email library@depauw.edu and we'll get them scanned for you
Work with a librarian to talk about other ways we might be able to help.

Find digitized books using HathiTrust

HathiTrust
HathiTrust normally will provide full downloadable access to a lot of pre-1923 books. In addition, during the current "emergency access," one person at a time can read (but NOT download) any books included in HathiTrust that the DePauw libraries own in print. You'll have to "check out" the book temporarily to read it.

Find journal articles

Academic Search Complete
Articles (or article summaries) from scholarly journals, newspapers and popular magazines covering most academic disciplines.
GenderWatch
Articles from journals, magazines, newspapers (some working papers & dissertations), published since 1970. Almost all are full text. Gender studies, men's studies, & women's studies.
JSTOR
Journal article archive, covering humanities, social sciences and science. Begins with vol. 1, issue 1, 1800's, or even earlier (most titles exclude the most recent 3-5 years; some titles have current issue access).

Primary Sources

Women & Social Movements US 1600-2000
Full text from books, images, documents, scholarly essays, commentaries, etc. Records of women’s reform organizations throughout the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Women's Magazine Archive
Archives of Better Homes & Gardens, Chatelaine, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, Parents and Redbook. Cosmopolitan, Essence, Seventeen, Town and Country, Woman’s Day, Women’s International Network News
Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940
Provides primary sources on social, political, health, and legal issues impacting LGBTQ communities around the world.

Sharing Stories from 1977 Biography Project

DePauw Access

Ancestry Institution (on-campus, VPN access only)
Locate birth, marriage, death dates, and more. A good place to begin your biographical research.
Indiana State Library Legacy Index
Index includes local history and vital records, such as: birth, marriage, death, divorce, obituaries, court records, military records, and more.
Hoosier State Chronicles
Online access to digitized issues of Indiana's historic newspapers.
New York Times (Historical) (1851-2017)
Full text newspaper from 1851 to four years ago. May cover local Indiana topics on the national and international level.
U.S. Major Dailies (1980-present)
Includes New York times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times.
America's Historical Newspapers (on-campus, VPN access only)
Includes historic newspapers from around the United States. The dates vary widely.
INSPIRE/Newspapers.com
Limited access to historic national and international newspapers via INSPIRE, a service provided by the Indiana State Library.
Feminists Who Changed America, 1963-1975
2,200 biographies in this reference work by Barbara J. Love.
Indianapolis Star (2009-present)
Retrospective articles, possible information about those who attended in current articles.
Indianapolis Star (1903-2004)
We now have access to the Indianapolis Star from 1903-2004! (Database added week of April 12, 2021)

Access Elsewhere

We do not have a subscription to Newspapers.com where digitized, historic editions of the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis News can be found. You can search via the databases below and take note of the newspaper title, date, and page number. It's a bonus if you can provide the title of the article. Submit a request to receive a PDF version of the article via the Indiana State Library's "Ask-A-Librarian" service.

Indianapolis Star Archives
Includes historic editions of the Indianapolis Star from 1862-2021 and the Indianapolis News from 1869-1999.

Additional Resources/Tips

Many public and special collection libraries and historical societies will have non-digitized files on people, places, events, and etc. within their holdings. Make sure to reach out to them for more information about individuals and any specifics on finding additional resources in the local area.

The Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana State Library has a rich collection of women's history materials. The Indiana Historical Society has made a comprehensive guide of their women's history materials on their website. The Indiana State Library houses the records of many women's organizations. A filtered search of those collections can be found via their Manuscript Catalog. Both institutions continue to digitize their collections via the Indiana Historical Society Digital Repository and the Indiana State Library Digital Collections.