Research Guides: HST371: Remembering Slavery: A Gendered Reading of the WPA (ex-slave) Interviews: Primary Sources

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Subjects: Africana Studies, Archives Concentration, Community Engagement and Social Change, Education, History, Jewish Studies, Religion, Social Work, Study of Women and Gender

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Slave Narratives From the Federal Writers' Project (Gale) During the Great Depression, the Federal Writers' Project, which was part of the Works Progress Administration, sent out-of-work writers to seventeen states to conduct interviews with former enslaved people. The writers collected over 2,000 narratives, and the result was the Slave Narrative Collection.
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 (Library of Congress) Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves.

The American Slave by George P. Rawick Vol. 2-17 consist of transcriptions of narratives prepared by the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-38, and deposited in the Library of Congress, where they were assembled under title: Slave narratives, a folk history of slavery in the United States from interviews with former slaves.
Call Number: Neilson Library Reserve
ISBN: 0837133149
Publication Date: 1972-10-20
Weevils in the Wheat by Charles L. Perdue; Thomas E. Barden; Robert K. Phillips; Virginia Writers' Project Staff (Contribution by) A collection of interviews of former slaves, conducted by the Virginia Federal Writers' Project in 1936 and 1937. Bibliography: p. [391]-394.
Call Number: Neilson Library Reserve
ISBN: 0813905966
Publication Date: 1976-01-01

Additional Primary Sources

Accessible Archives This link opens in a new window Contains 19th century American newspapers (including African American), US county histories, and notable magazines (Godey's Ladies Book, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, etc.)
American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals [EBSCO] 1684-1912 This link opens in a new window Digitized American magazines & journals, detailing American history & culture. Topics include women's issues, health, science, the history of slavery, industry & professions, religion, the arts, etc.
American Periodicals [ProQuest] 18th-early 20th Century This link opens in a new window Combines American Periodical Series (APS) and American Periodicals from the Center for Research Libraries, offering full text access to 18th-early 20th century American magazines and journals.
Early American Imprints, 1639-1820 This link opens in a new window Books, pamphlets, and broadsides on every aspect of American life, based on Charles Evan's American Bibliography and the continuation by Shaw-Shoemaker.
The Making of the Modern World [Gale] 1450-1945 This link opens in a new window Covers social history, early commerce, trade, colonization, industry, political systems, revolutions, slavery, exploration, philosophy, and more.
Sabin Americana [Gale] 1500-1926 This link opens in a new window Based on Sabin's Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to America from Its Discovery to the Present Time. Full text books, pamphlets, broadsides & documents, from sermons & tracts to legislation & literature. Covers all the Americas.
Slavery & Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive [Gale] This link opens in a new window Contains primary source documents from the United States & Europe, as well as other parts of the world; formats include antebellum books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, images, and extensive archival material.

Documenting the American South (Univ. of North Carolina) See in particular North American Slave Narratives (link below).
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A collection of sources on Southern history, literature and culture from the colonial period through the first decades of the 20th century.
Making of America
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A digital library of primary sources in 19th century American social history; includes books as well as articles from 19th century magazines and reveiws.
North American Slave Narratives (Univ. of North Carolina)
US Freedmen's Bureau Project Will launch in a few months. Watch for additional records that will be available for indexing on DiscoverFreedmen.org, if you'd like to participate in this crowd-sourced project.
Voices from the Days of Slavery (American Memory, Library of Congress) 7 hours of recorded interviews, in which 23 interviewees, born 1823-1860's, discuss how they felt about slavery, slaveholders, coercion, the family, & freedom.

Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law [HeinOnline] This link opens in a new window Essential legal materials on slavery in the US & the English-speaking world: All statutes passed by each colony & state on slavery, plus all federal statutes; all reported state & federal cases on slavery; English-language legal commentary before 1920; pamphlets & books on slavery from the 19th century; relevant Congressional debates; and supporting books & law review articles.

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HST371: Remembering Slavery: A Gendered Reading of the WPA (ex-slave) Interviews

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WPA Ex-Slave Interviews/ Narratives

Additional Primary Sources