Research Guides: HIST 2600: Violence in the United States, 1860-Present: Newspapers

How-To Video: Searching Historical Newspapers

Searching Historical Newspapers
This quick video demonstrates how to search in the library's databases to find historical newspapers articles pertaining to your research topics

NC Newspaper Locator

NC Newspaper Locator
The North Carolina Newspaper Locator database, reflecting the microfilm holdings of the NC State Government and Heritage Library, contains listings for nearly 2,000 unique newspaper titles dating from 1751 to today. Search for titles by specific counties or those surrounding them, city, date or date range, or by a newspaper title itself. Users may request the microfilm reels through interlibrary loan.

Historical Newspapers - Print

Atkins Library has a number of old newspapers on microfilm. These may be challenging to use because they do not have an index. However, if you have a specific date or narrow date range, this will help you in using the newspapers on microfilm. In addition, there is an extensive microfilm set of newspaper clippings for the Charlotte Observer 1929-1974 and this has an extensive index.

Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Newspapers
List of historical area county newspapers owned by Atkins Library. Free or open source.
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Historical newspapers of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

Raleigh News & Observer

Index to the News and Observer, 1926-1992
Search or browse topics and personal names to find 20th-century News and Observer article citations.

Raleigh News & Observer This link opens in a new window
Raleigh News & Observer full text from 1991 to the present.

Historical Newspapers - Electronic

African American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Contains information about cultural life and history during the 1800's and includes first-hand reports of the major events and issues of the day, including the Mexican War, Presidential and Congressional addresses, the humanities, world travel and religion.
African American Newspapers Series 1: 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
Provides access to U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African-American experience. This collection includes historically significant papers and features many rare 19th-century titles.
America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Searchable American newspaper collections, including African American Newspapers Series 1, 1827-1998; Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876; South Carolina's Historical Newspapers; Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980; and selected historical newspapers.
American Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Full text periodicals published between 1740 and 1940.
Atlanta Constitution (1868-1942) This link opens in a new window
Newspaper includes obituaries, stocks and editorials.
Charlotte Observer Historical Archive, 1886-2018 (via Readex) This link opens in a new window
Includes obituaries, stocks, editorials and first-hand accounts of events.
Chicago Defender (1910-1975) This link opens in a new window
A leading African-American newspaper, with more than two-thirds of its readership outside of Chicago.
Christian Recorder, 1861-1902 This link opens in a new window
The oldest existing black periodical in America. Focused on religious news, but also includes articles about education, voting rights, equality and other secular issues that affected the lives of black Americans.

Chronicling America: Historic Newspapers 1789-1963
Newspaper digitization project from the Library of Congress

Douglass' Monthly, 1859-1863 This link opens in a new window
Dedicated to abolitionism and social reform, it was one of four newspapers published by Frederick Douglass.
Gale NewsVault This link opens in a new window
Platform for cross-searching a range of historical UK newspaper and periodical collections, including 19th century British Library Newspapers (Parts I and II); 19th Century UK Periodicals, Series 1; Times Digital Archive (1785-2006); and, Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive (1902-2007)
Harper's Weekly: 1857-1912 This link opens in a new window
A 19th century illustrated newspaper from 1857-1912. Includes news stories, illustrations, cartoons, editorials, biographies, literature and advertisements.
Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 This link opens in a new window
Spanish-language newspapers printed in the U.S. during 19th and 20th centuries. Many of these newspapers were published bilingually in Spanish and English.
History Commons - North America This link opens in a new window
19th Century African American newspapers, American County Histories to 1900, American Civil War Primary Sources, and more.
Independent Voices This link opens in a new window
An open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers and magazines produced by feminists, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, and the extreme right-wing press.
Japanese-American Relocation Camp Newspapers: Perspectives on Day-to-Day Life This link opens in a new window
First-person accounts from interned Japanese Americans during World War II.
Latin American Newspapers (Series I), 1805-1922 This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to more than 30 Latin American newspapers published 1805-1922.
New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993) This link opens in a new window
This leading Black newspaper of the 20th century reached its peak in the 1940s. It was a strong advocate for the desegregation of the U.S. military during World War II, and also covered the historically important Harlem Renaissance.
New York Times Historical Archives (1851-2020) This link opens in a new window
Major global newspaper including news, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, as well as photos and advertisements.
Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001) This link opens in a new window
The oldest continuously published black newspaper dedicated to the needs and concerns of the fourth largest black community in the U.S. During the 1930s the paper supported the growth of the United Way, rallied against the riots in Chester, PA, and continuously fought against segregation.
Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (H.W. Wilson) This link opens in a new window
Index for general-interest, news, and opinion magazines published primarily in the United States.
South Carolina's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
South Carolina Historical newspapers from late 1700s to 1859.
Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Historical newspaper archive with full-text coverage of the Times from 1785 to 2013. Supports research across multiple disciplines including business, humanities, political science, and philosophy with coverage of all major international historical events.
Times Picayune (1923-1988) This link opens in a new window
News Orleans-based newspaper covering 1923-1988