Research Subject Guides: History: Boston and New England

What are primary sources?

Primary sources are first-hand sources created at the time of a particular event or period.

Primary source basics: a video tutorial (Gale Cengage)
Comparing primary and secondary sources (NU Library)
Using primary sources: questions to ask (Library of Congress)

Finding archives with sources on your topic:

Primary sources can be found online, reproduced in printed books, or in their original form in archival collections. To find out which American archives have manuscripts and records on your topic, search ArchiveGrid. See our ArchiveGrid tutorial.

Search ArchiveGrid

New England Newspapers

Colonial and Early American

Early American Newspapers, Series 1, 1690-1876: From Colonies to Nation. This link opens in a new window Early American newspapers, often printed by small-town printers, documented the daily life of hundreds of diverse American communities, supported different political parties and recorded both majority and minority views.Note: Northeastern has Series 1 only.
Early American Newspapers, Series 1, 1690-1876 offers 340,000 fully searchable issues from over 730 American newspapers from from 23 states and the District of Columbia.

Focusing largely on the 18th and early 19th centuries, this online collection is based on Clarence S. Brighams History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1690-1820 and other authoritative bibliographies.

Twentieth Century

Bay State Banner (1965-1979) (Proquest) This link opens in a new window
Boston area newspaper geared to an African American audience. Part of the Proquest Ethnic Newswatch database.
Boston Globe (1872-present) (Proquest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Historical and current access to the Boston Globe, one of two major daily newspapers in Boston. Link to the most recent issue.
Includes variations on the title: Daily Boston Globe and Boston Daily Globe. Historic content (1872-1990) includes a PDF view of the newspaper including illustrations, charts, and advertisements. After 1990, only text is available.

Boston Phoenix (2015-2017) via Wayback Machine
Includes selected content from the alternative newspaper the Boston Phoenix, 2015-2017. For prior issues, please see the library's Digital Repository Service or visit Northeastern's Archives and Special Collections, in 90 Snell Library.

Boston Irish Reporter (1994-present) (Proquest Ethnic Newswatch) This link opens in a new window
Based in Dorchester, a neighborhood of Boston, the newspaper is geared to Boston's Irish Americans.
Boston Haitian Reporter (2001-2013) (Proquest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Published in English, geared to a Haitian American audience. Provided by Ethnic Newswatch (Proquest). Don't miss Ruth's Recipes!
CVN (Cape Verdean News) 1979-2010 This link opens in a new window
Newspaper by and for the Cape Verdean community of New Bedford, Massachusetts. From Ethnic Newswatch (Proquest)
Jewish Advocate (1991-present) This link opens in a new window
The United States's oldest continuously operating newspaper for the Jewish community. Available through Ethnic Newswatch (Proquest)

Trotter Review
Based at UMass Boston, this news and current affairs magazine covers issues of interest to Boston's African American community.

Need more newspapers? Backfiles of the Cape Cod Times, Worcester Telegram, Lowell Sun and much more, are available online to residents, employees and property owners in Massachusetts on Gale OneFile:News through the Boston Public Library (BPL). Don't have a BPL login? Learn how to sign up here.

A sampling of local history primary sources

Getting started with the history of Boston? Check out the Boston Public Library's Guide to Boston History

Of special interest:

Big Dig Collections at Northeastern
The Northeastern Archives and Special Collections support research on the Big Dig through the papers of numerous individuals involved with this project. Clipping files from the Boston Globe have additional information. Open to the public.
Birth of Boston
A project based at Northeastern telling the story of Boston's land ownership through maps from the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Boston Public Schools Desegregation Project (Northeastern University)
Over 3,000 photographs, news clippings, flyers, posters and reports digitized from personal and community organization records in the Northeastern University Archives.
Boston Public Schools Re-Writing History: The Boston Busing Crisis
A guide to Boston Schools Desegregation history developed by Snell Library for students in the Boston Public Schools.
Boston Social Justice Collections (Northeastern University)
The Northeastern Archives and Special Collections support research on social justice organizations addressing development, rent control, health, education, and transportation, especially as they affect underrepresented communities in Greater Boston.
Digital Commonwealth
Cultural heritage materials digitized by Massachusetts libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives. Not just for documents, this is a great source for images, sound recordings, and more.

Early American Newspapers, Series 1, 1690-1876: From Colonies to Nation. This link opens in a new window
Early American newspapers, often printed by small-town printers, documented the daily life of hundreds of diverse American communities, supported different political parties and recorded both majority and minority views.Note: Northeastern has Series 1 only.
Early American Newspapers, Series 1, 1690-1876 offers 340,000 fully searchable issues from over 730 American newspapers from from 23 states and the District of Columbia.

Focusing largely on the 18th and early 19th centuries, this online collection is based on Clarence S. Brighams History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1690-1820 and other authoritative bibliographies.

Massachusetts Historical Society Maps
Maps of Boston plus local towns and counties dating from 1637 through the 19th century. Includes Clough's atlases.
Massachusetts Historical Societies
Organized by city/town, and accompanied by a list of related archives. Useful for local history research and genealogy.

Globe Spotlight: Boston. Racism. Image. Reality

Sportlight series: racism in Boston

Published in December 2017, in installments:

Image and reality [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
Seaport [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
Hospitals [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
Colleges [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
Sports [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
Power [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
Solutions [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]

Boston Globe site: available with a personal subscription. (learn more)

Proquest: access with myNortheastern username and password

History : Boston and New England

What are primary sources?

New England Newspapers

A sampling of local history primary sources

Globe Spotlight: Boston. Racism. Image. Reality