LibGuides: Primary Sources: 1800s Reform Movements: Home

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Primary Sources for the Reform Movements of the 1800's

This page includes resources about the reform movements of the mid-1800's, including the treatment of the mentally ill, temperance, the abolition movement, women's rights, and education.

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DPLA Expansion and Reform
These are primary source sets from the Digital Public Library of America related to expansion and reform (1801-1861).

Newspapers.com
Try a variety of search terms to describe your topic. Then filter the results by time period.

Additional Resources

Additional Primary Sources

Find additional primary sources through some of the links below.

Primary Source Resources
Links, eBooks, and Databases from the SHS Media Center to explore primary sources.
Making of America from Cornell University
The Cornell University Library Making of America Collection is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology.
Second Great Awakening Primary Sources
Primary sources related to some reform movements in the 1800's.
Perkins School for the Blind
Primary sources related to the history of Perkins School for the Blind in MA.
The Second Great Awakening
Primary sources related to a few of the reform movements.
The Dial: A Magazine for Literature, Philosophy, and Religion
This archive, organized by Walden Woods, has information and selections from the Dial, a magazine by transcendentalists. Click on "Index of Individual Contributors" at the bottom of the page for excerpts.

Opinions Throughout History: Gender Roles by Grey House Publishing
Call Number: 305.30 ISS

ISBN: 9781682179512

Publication Date: 2018-11-30

This title explores the history of gender roles in the United States. Each chapter includes a source document and a discussion of the historical context and relationship with today's issues.
Opinions Throughout History: Mental Health by Micah L. Issitt
Call Number: 362.2 ISS

ISBN: 9781637005408

Publication Date: April 2023

This title explores the history of Mental Health in the United States. Each chapter includes a source document and a discussion of the historical context and relationship with today's issues.
Daily Life Through American History in Primary Documents by Randall M. Miller; Theodore J. Zeman; Francis J. Sicius; Jolyon P. Girard
Call Number: 973 MIL

ISBN: 9781610690331

Publication Date: 2011-12-12

Get insight into how American Life in past eras really was. Eras included: Colonial Period through American Revolution, American Revolution to the Civil War, Civil War to World War I, and World War I to the Present. ABC-CLIO