Choosing a topic
Picking a topic is research! Topics start very broad and then need to be narrowed down to a manageable size. For example, the broad topic for this assignment is Civil Rights & Reconstruction; however, there are thousands of books, articles, and films about all aspects of these eras. You will need to choose a narrow event that occurred during this time frame. Think big, then narrow your focus. You can also choose to focus on gender or race, person or place, activity or movement. Try a variety of topics and see what kind of results you get. If you get very few results, change the topic and try again.
Check out this brief tutorial from North Carolina State University
Topics
- Progressivism
- Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
- Muckrackers (yellow journalism)
- NAACP
- Prohibition
- American Imperialism
- Hawaii
- Puerto Rico
- Philippines
- Panama Canal
- World War, 1914 - 1918
- Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
- Pancho Villa
- Harlem Hellfighters
- Suffrage
Primary Sources
Primary sources provide first person experiences on your topic. Primary sources include letters, legal documents, interviews, live performances, images, and artifacts. Primary sources can be found in books, newspapers, and journals. They can also help you narrow your topic and discover keywords for further searching. Below are primary sources related to suggested topics:
Milestone Documents in American History : Exploring the Primary Sources That Shaped America by Primary Sources in Full Text with Overviews, Context, Explanation and Analysis. See vol. 3 for Woodrow Wilson : joint address to Congress leading to a declaration of War against Germany; Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points;
Deining Documents in World History: Women's History (1791-2017), 2 Volume Set by Call Number: REF HQ 1236. W664 2018 vol. 1 & vol. 2ISBN: 9781682175835Publication Date: 2018-03-30These volumes provide in-depth analysis of a broad range of historical documents from influential figures in women's history from the United States and around the world. The set provides detailed, thought-provoking analysis of: Mary Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Jane Addams: Why Women Should Vote The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen Nineteenth Amendment Shirely Chisholm: The Black Woman in Contemporary America From the European calls for the rights of women to the modern feminist movement, these volumes provide thoughtful analysis of documents and speeches allowing readers to gain a better understanding of the roles, opinions, and changing attitudes of and toward women in world history. An important resource for the history collections of high schools, undergraduate libraries and public libraries.
I have spoken: American history through the voices of the Indians by Call Number: E 98 .O7 A7 1971A chronological compilation of both famous and unfamiliar Indian speeches from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries.
Defining Doucments of American History: LGBTQ+ (1923-2017) by Call Number: REF KF 4754.5 .L495 2018 v.1As gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals have continued their fight for basic rights and equal treatment under the law, various court cases and challenges to those cases have continued to refine the debate. This new resource provides important analyses of over 80 documents significant to LGBTQ rights
