Walker Library: Slavery: Primary Sources: Home

Selected E-Books

Search the Library Catalog. Find books with primary sources by combining slave* with such terms as sources, correspondence, diaries, personal narratives, sermon, and address. Examples of books with a good mix of primary sources include Witness for Freedom and Women and Slavery in America: A Documentary History.

Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice This link opens in a new window Primary source documents relating to slavery and social justice.
Slavery and the Law (1775-1867) This link opens in a new window
More about this database (pdf)
Title List (pdf)
ProQuest LibGuide (help and documentation)
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new window Legal materials on slavery in the U.S. and the English-speaking world.
Includes every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, all reported state and federal cases on slavery, and hundreds of books and pamphlets on the subject.
Southern Life and African American History, 1775-1915, Plantation Records, Part 1 This link opens in a new window
More about this database (pdf)
Title List (pdf)
ProQuest LibGuide (help and documentation)

Black Abolitionist Papers, 1830-1865 This link opens in a new window Unique set of primary sources from African Americans actively involved in the movement to end slavery in the United States between 1830 and 1865. Content includes letters, speeches, editorials, articles, sermons, and essays from libraries and archives in England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and the United States.
Over 15,000 items written by nearly 300 Black men and women are available for searching. Unique, hand-written correspondence and documents comprise around 30% of this collection. See brochure (PDF) for more information.

American Civil War: Letters & Diaries This link opens in a new window Complete content of original letters and diaries.
This release contains 2,009 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of diaries, letters and memoirs. Particular care has been taken to index this material so it can be searched more thoroughly than ever. Each source has been carefully chosen using leading bibliographies. Includes 4,000 pages of previously unpublished manuscripts such as the letters of Amos Wood and his wife and the diary of Maryland Planter William Claytor.