Visual Arts and Humanities Librarian
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WPA Ex-Slave Interviews/ Narratives
- 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.
- Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936–1938 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. Seventy years after the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, these narratives allow a glimpse into freedpeople's memories of slavery. They offer a first-hand account of enslaved people experiences with the institution of slavery.
The American Slave by
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: E441 .A58ISBN: 0837133149Publication Date: 1972-10-20
Weevils in the Wheat 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: Smith College AnnexISBN: 0813905966Publication 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.)
- Archive Grid This link opens in a new window Detailed archival collection descriptions & finding aids from libraries, museums, historical societies & archives in the US.
- 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).
- US Freedmen's Bureau Project Search the Freedmen's Bureau records for your African American ancestors. 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.