History - College of Humanities & Social Sciences - Open & Free Materials by Course - Research Guides at Sam Houston State University

HIST 1301 & 1302: U.S. History

Open-Access Options
Zero-Cost (But Not Open) Options

SURVEY TEXTBOOKS

U. S. History (OpenStax Textbooks from Rice University)
ISBN: 978-1-947172-08-1
Covers content for both 1301 and 1302 (pre-1492 through 21st century).
- Instructor Resources (e.g., slides, test banks, etc.)
- Open License: CC-BY
- Paper book available for a fee
- Read instructor reviews.
History in the Making: A History of the People of the United States of America to 1877 (Univ. of North Georgia Press)
ISBN: 9780988223738
- Open License: CC-BY-SA
- Publisher List Price: $0 (ebk)
- Read instructor reviews.

SURVEY TEXTBOOKS WITH SOURCE READERS INCLUDED

The American Yawp (Univ. of Houston-Victoria, Univ. of Texas-Dallas, et al.)
Covers 1301 and 1302, split at 1877. Includes a Primary Source Reader.
- Open License: CC-BY-SA
Sage American History
Sage American History is designed for use by undergraduate college, community college and high school teachers and students. Sage American History is divided into 30 chronological sections, colonial through modern times. A selection of original documents is included in each section.
- Open License: CC-BY-NC-SA

SOURCE READERS

Many Pasts: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web (George Mason Univ. and City Univ. of New York)
Primary documents in text, image, and audio, including annotations to address context and significance. Larger site also provides syllabi, web-based assignments ("blackboard"), resources on how to make use of historical evidence, and more.
- Instructor Resources syllabi, assignments, etc.

Building the American Republic (Univ. of Chicago Press)
ISBN: 9780226300658
Two-volume set treating the content of both 1301 and 1302, split at 1877.
Accessibility Note: The publisher reports that both volumes are available from Bookshare to allow students with print disabilities to access the books in audio, braille, large font, etc., and plain-text files can also be obtained for accessibility purposes from BiblioVault.
- Copyright Applies
- Paper book available for a fee
- Read faculty review quotes.

Digital History (Univ. of Houston)
U.S. history textbook, plus 400+ annotated documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection; supplemental primary sources; succinct essays; multmedia exhibitions; and reference resources that include a database of annotated links, classroom handouts, chronologies, glossaries, audio archive, and visual archive.
- Copyright Applies

SURVEY TEXTBOOK SUPPLEMENTS OR REPLACEMENTS FROM THE LIBRARY

Concise, level-appropriate topic overviews from academic encyclopedias and other reference works can provide excellent supplements or replacements to textbook chapters. This content is free to students because it has already been purchased or licensed by the SHSU Library.

If you don't like the way your preferred textbook addresses one topic, a substitute can replace that chapter. Or a full array of content selections can be custom-curated to fit your syllabus in place of an off-the-shelf textbook.

Need help? Your subject librarian can help to curate appropriate content that fits your syllabus and course goals.

Gale Ebooks (*formerly* Gale Virtual Reference Library - GVRL) This link opens in a new window Collection of ebooks (primarily reference) in almost all subjects, which are searchable together or individually. For a list of titles currently available, click on "Title List" at top right.
- This link opens in a new window
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window (number of simultaneous users is limited) Combines quick reference coverage of the full subject spectrum with the rich resources of the Oxford Companions from ready-reference to comprehensive scholarly articles. See the titles in Oxford Reference.

SOURCE READER SUPPLEMENTS OR REPLACEMENTS FROM THE LIBRARY

In addition to individual "readers" or documentary histories on specific topics, the library holds the following series, which present large quantities of primary source documents. This content is free to students because it has already been purchased or licensed by the SHSU Library.

Many volumes are available in electronic format for easy integration into Blackboard. To use source documents from print volumes, contact the library about Electronic Reserves.

Bedford Series in History and Culture
More than 70 volumes give a brief history and related primary documents on diverse topics in U.S. and World History, such as Jefferson vs. Hamilton, the Dred Scott Decision, the Emancipation Proclamation, the First World War, the influenza pandemic of 1918, U.S. environmentalism since 1945, the end of the Cold War, and MUCH more.
Documents Decoded Series
Volumes cover topics such as the Great Depression and New Deal and women's rights.
Defining Documents Series
Volumes cover topics such as Manifest Destiny (1803-1859); Reconstruction (1865-1877); the emergence of modern America (1874-1917); World War I (1914-1919); the 1920s; the 1930s; the 1950s; Civil Rights; the Vietnam War; and more.
American Eras Primary Sources Series
Volumes cover topics such as colonial and revolutionary eras, early nationhood, Civil War and Reconstruction, and the industrial revolution.
Milestone Documents Series
Volumes cover topics such as African American history, world history, American history, and more.
Historic Documents Series (1972-2013)
Encyclopedia of American Historical Documents Selected documents, from exploration of the Americas through Bush administration--strongest in more recent documents. Arranged in sections by era, with section and document introductions for historical context.

The library also provides access to numerous digital archives which contain primary-source material on many periods and topics.

Early American Imprints 1639-1819 (includes Evans and Shaw-Shoemaker) This link opens in a new window Virtually every book, pamphlet and broadside published in America from 1639-1819. Documents almost every aspect of life in colonial America and the early U.S.
Accessible Archives (All Available Collections) This link opens in a new window Vast array of historical newspapers, magazines, and full-text books, including Frank Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator, African American newspapers, Godey's Lady's Book, women's suffrage and feminist publications, extensive Civil War documents, county histories from across the U.S., and much more.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994 This link opens in a new window Reports, documents, journals of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, 1817-1994. Every publication, over 415,000 documents, from 15th - 103rd Congresses.
America's Historical Newspapers 1690-1998 This link opens in a new window American and U.S. local newspapers from all 50 states, ranging from 1690 to 1998.
American Periodicals, 1740-1940 This link opens in a new window U.S. periodicals, including special interest, general, children's, women's, literary, and professional. Includes American independence and Civil War articles.
Dolley Madison Papers Digital Edition, 1768-1848 This link opens in a new window Dolley Payne Madison was the most important First Lady of the nineteenth century. The Dolley Madison Digital Edition provides all of her known correspondence from 1768 through 1848, more than 2670 documents.
Papers of Thomas Jefferson This link opens in a new window Search & view 37 volumes of Jefferson's papers, 1743 to his death in 1826. Includes all illustrations and bibliographical content of print edition, plus linked cross-references and indexes.
Civil War, Parts 1-7 (Accessible Archives) This link opens in a new window Wide variety of rosters, muster lists, newspapers, pamphlets, regimental histories, and memoirs, Union and Confederate. Click "more" for details of content.
- Regimental histories, rosters, and muster lists representing all Union regiments.
- Commanding officer memoirs, strategies and tactics (mostly Union, some Confederate).
- Selected newspaper content from 1850s and 1860s representing Union

Find more digital archives from the SHSU Library...

HIST 2311

World History Volume 1, To 1500 by Ann Kordas; Ryan Lynch; Brooke Nelson; Julie Tatlock
Publication Date: 2023
- Instructor Resources (e.g., slides, test banks, etc.)
- Open License: CC-BY
- Paper book available for a fee
World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 (Univ. of North Georgia Press) by Berger/Parkinson/Israel/Miller/Reeves/Williams
- Open License: CC-BY-SA
- Read instructor reviews.

HIST 2312

World History Volume 2 by Julie Tatlock; Ann Kordas
Publication Date: 2022
Designed to meet scope & sequence of a world history course from 1400 at two-year and four-year institutions. Suitable for both majors & non majors. Includes work of diverse & underrepresented scholars.
- Instructor Resources (e.g., slides, test banks, etc.)
- Open License: CC-BY
- Paper book available for a fee

Subject Librarian

Kristina Claunch

Contact:

936-294-1520
kclaunch@shsu.edu
Library (NGL) Room 223G

College of Humanities & Social Sciences - Open & Free Materials by Course: History

HIST 1301 & 1302: U.S. History

HIST 2311

HIST 2312

Subject Librarian