During the latter half of the 20th century, the science of aeronautics played an increasingly powerful role in culture, technology and military operations, influencing everything from Cold War politics to astrophysics to the communication industry. Aeronautics and Space Flight: Global Origins of Modern Aviation and Rocketry is a fully searchable digitized collection that chronicles the history of modern aviation as it unfolded, offering valuable insight for students and researchers in a variety of disciplines.

African American Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, 1827-1998, provides online access to more than 350 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African-American experience. This unique collection, which includes historically significant papers from more than 35 states, features many rare 19th-century titles. Newly digitized, these newspapers published by or for African Americans can now be browsed and searched as never before.

African American Periodicals, 1825-1995, features more than 170 wide-ranging periodicals by and about African Americans. Published in 26 states, the publications include academic and political journals, commercial magazines, institutional newsletters, organizations bulletins, annual reports and other genres. These diverse periodicals—which have shaped, and in turn been shaped by, African American culture—will enable new discoveries on lives of African Americans as individuals, as an ethnic group and as Americans.

African Americans and Jim Crow: Repression and Protest offers more than 1,000 fully searchable printed works critical for insight into African-American culture and life from the beginning of Jim Crow to World War I and beyond. In the previous period—from the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction to the year 1883—newly freed blacks in the United States witnessed significant gains. Progress, however, was short-lived. Through the development of Jim Crow laws and numerous other acts hostile to their interests, the rights of African Americans were systematically stripped away.

In 1883 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be invalid. The decision—known as “The Civil Rights Cases” because it involved five separate proceedings—declared the federal government cannot keep businesses or individuals from discriminating on the basis of race. The Court’s decision severely restricted the power of the federal government to guarantee equal status under the law to African Americans. In addition, certain states adopted new statutes establishing racial segregation, thereby legalizing the treatment of African Americans as second-class citizens. The 1883 decision ultimately led to the enactment of Jim Crow laws that codified racial segregation in many U.S. states.

African Americans and Reconstruction: Hope and Struggle provides nearly 1,400 fully searchable printed works essential for understanding the African-American struggle for identity from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of Jim Crow. In the period immediately following the 1865 ratification of the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment—which definitively ended slavery throughout the United States—African Americans, whether once slave or always free, faced new challenges as a free people often surrounded by hostile whites.

Over the next 18 years—perhaps the most formative in African-American history—newly freed blacks in the United States witnessed significant gains. Among them were full citizenship; assured voting rights (at least theoretically under the law); opportunities for the non-literate to learn to read and write; the right of former slaves to acquire the land of former owners; the right to participate in the political process; opportunities to find employment on their own; and the right to use public accommodations. These gains were protected by important legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1875, a federal law that, as written, guaranteed certain protections, but in practice was not universally enforced at local levels.

Over 1,300 books, pamphlets, broadsides and ephemera about Africa and its peoples, as published in England, the Americas, Europe and Africa across four centuries.

African Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, 1800-1925, offers unmatched coverage of the people, issues and events that shaped the continent during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Featuring titles from Algeria to Angola, Zambia to Zimbabwe, this unique resource chronicles the evolution of Africa through eyewitness reporting, editorials, legislative information, letters, poetry, advertisements, obituaries and other items. Together, African Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, provide news and perspectives from a wide range of counties and cultures during a time of sweeping change.

Created from the Library Company’s acclaimed Afro-Americana Collection—an accumulation that began with Benjamin Franklin and steadily increased throughout its entire history—this unique online resource will provide researchers with more than 13,000 printed works. These essential books, pamphlets and broadsides, including many lesser-known imprints, hold an unparalleled record of African American history, literature and culture. This digital edition of one of the world’s preeminent collections for African American studies is available as a single complete collection, or in one or more of ten chronological segments, organized by historic era.

Built in partnership with the American Antiquarian Society, this full-color digital edition offers fully searchable facsimiles of 15,000 broadsides printed between 1820 and 1900 and 15,000 pieces of ephemera printed between 1749 and 1900. Featuring documents produced locally across the country, these rare items vividly capture the daily lives of earlier Americans in a way that no other material can. Many are graphically stunning in contrast to most printed items of the time.

Broadsides and ephemera were an affordable way for many 18th- and 19th-century Americans to express their views, share news, or distribute their writings publicly. Nearly every town had a newspaper printer, and these printers kept their presses busy creating inexpensive material like broadsides, trade cards, billheads and ballads, much of which was subsequently destroyed by the elements, reused, or simply tossed away. This unparalleled resource is now bringing these items to light for the first time, offering researchers the possibility of fresh discovery and providing teachers with a valuable new tool for visual learners.

Created to cajole, convince, inform and edify the American people on nearly every issue of the day, pamphlets have had a powerful impact on American life. As America’s population grew rapidly and printing costs declined, the use of pamphlets exploded in the 19th century. Revealing passionate views and perspectives not seen in other print genres, these rare items addressing slavery, suffrage and dozens of other divisive issues include speeches, orations, debates, sermons, treatises, tracts, narratives, poems, songs, memoirs, announcements, legal notices and more.

The Korean and Vietnam wars were two of the defining events of the 20th century. While the origins of both are rooted in their countries’ respective histories, much of the world regarded the wars as proxies for the larger Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. To understand the Korean and Vietnam wars and their influence on 20th-century geopolitics, researchers need original sources covering Cold War politics, East-West relations, colonial history and more—all of which are found in American Proxy Wars: Korea and Vietnam.

As America transitioned from the Jim Crow era to the Civil Rights movement and beyond, the rest of the world paid close attention. The only comprehensive collection covering these foreign reactions to America’s racial struggles in the mid-20th century is American Race Relations: Global Perspectives, 1941-1996. In addition to providing unique viewpoints on America’s fight for racial justice, this fully searchable online collection also offers rare insight into race relations in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

American State Papers, 1789-1838 enables students and scholars to easily search and browse legislative and executive documents of the first 14 U.S. Congresses. Part of the America’s Historical Government Documents suite of collections, this digital edition is the essential complement to the digital U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994. This seminal set of U.S. government documents is a rich source of primary material on wide-ranging aspects of early American history. Beyond, American State Papers is cross-searchable with the digital U.S. Congressional Serial Set and all other Readex Archive of Americana collections.

Apartheid, the Afrikaans word for “apartness,” defined life in South Africa in the mid-20th century. As white colonists systematically stripped away the rights of Native Africans, the effects of their actions seeped through South Africa, reverberating throughout the continent and the world. Nowhere is the worldwide reaction to apartheid captured as thoroughly as in Apartheid: Global Perspectives, 1946-1996. This fully searchable digitized collection contains nearly 60,000 translated news broadcasts and publications, written by both the people who experienced apartheid and those around the world who watched, reacted to and analyzed it.

Created from the renowned holdings of the Library Company of Philadelphia, Black Authors, 1556-1922, is the most complete and compelling collection of its kind. It offers more than 550 fully catalogued and searchable works by black authors from the Americas, Europe and Africa, expertly compiled by the curators of Afro-Americana Imprints collection, the largest existing collection of its kind. Found within are wide-ranging genres, including personal narratives, autobiographies, histories, expedition reports, military reports, novels, essays, poems and musical compositions.

Created from the renowned holdings of the Library Company of Philadelphia, Caribbean History and Culture, 1535-1920, is the largest and most significant collection of its kind. More than 1,200 fully cataloged and searchable books, pamphlets, almanacs, broadsides and ephemera cover the history of this broad region from the 16th century to the early 20th century.

Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876—the largest online collection of 18th- and 19th-century newspapers published in this region—will provide a comprehensive primary resource for studying the development of Western society and international relations within this important group of islands. This unique resource will prove essential for researching colonial history, the Atlantic slave trade, international commerce, New World slavery and U.S. relations with the region as far back as the early 18th century.

Created in cooperation with the American Antiquarian Society—one of the world's largest and most important newspaper repositories—this collection will provide students and scholars with easy access to more than 150 years of Caribbean and Atlantic history, cultures and daily life. Featuring more than 140 newspapers from 22 islands, this resource will chronicle the region’s evolution across two centuries through eyewitness reporting, editorials, legislative information, letters, poetry, advertisements, obituaries and other news items.

Most of these newspapers were published in the English language, but a number of Spanish-, French-, and Danish-language titles are also provided. Countries represented include Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadaloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Nevis, Puerto Rico, St. Bartholomew, St. Christopher, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Tobago, Trinidad, and the Virgin Islands. Also found within this resource are newspapers from Bermuda, an island not technically part of the Caribbean, but situated on shipping routes between Europe and this region and integrally related to this region.

From segregation to women’s suffrage to discrimination of all kinds, civil rights have shaped the course of American history. Civil Rights in America: From Reconstruction to the Great Society is a premier archive of official publications and primary source material related to civil rights in the United States. Fully searchable, with unique browsing capabilities and comprehensive metadata, this collection is indispensable for teaching and researching American history, political science, social justice, and related fields.

As scientists’ understanding of the earth sciences advanced by leaps and bounds in the latter half of the 20th century, concern emerged over human impact on the planet’s biology and atmosphere. The modern environmental movement grew from this concern, as did pioneering research on climate change. Climate Science and Sustainability: Global Origins of Modern Environmentalism is a fully searchable digitized collection that captures these advances as they unfolded, offering valuable insight for students and researchers in a variety of disciplines.

In the 1950s, computing devices were bulky calculating tools used mostly in military and government applications. As these machines became increasingly sleek and affordable, they transformed every aspect of life, from business to entertainment to our own homes. Computing and Artificial Intelligence: Global Origins of the Digital Age is a fully searchable digitized collection that chronicles the history and impact of computer science as it unfolded, offering valuable insight for students and researchers in a variety of disciplines

This dramatic expansion of the venerable Evans and Shaw-Shoemaker digital collections of Early American Imprints makes available more than 5,350 rare and unique early American printed documents, all catalogued by the American Antiquarian Society. For today’s students and scholars of early American history, literature and culture, no other collections offer the opportunity to view and search newly available publications spanning the Colonial and Early Republic periods. The materials cover a wide range of imprint types: captivity narratives, criminal confessions, expedition logs, government acts, histories, maps, military records, musical compositions, personal narratives, poetry, regional histories, short stories, songs, speeches, training manuals, treaties and others.

Early American Imprints, Series I: Supplement from the American Antiquarian Society, 1652-1800, offers more than 850 previously unavailable imprints, most of which were not included in either Charles Evans’ monumental work, or Roger Bristol’s supplemental bibliography. Early American Imprints, Series II: Supplement from the American Antiquarian Society, 1801-1819, provides more than 1,500 imprints that fall into the scope of Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker's “American Bibliography.” Many of these were either missed by Shaw-Shoemaker, or were listed by them but could not be found until now.

Early American Imprints, Evans and Shaw-Shoemaker—the definitive resource for researching every aspect of 17th-, 18th-, and early 19th-century America—have been dramatically expanded. From the acclaimed holdings of the Library Company of Philadelphia comes a broad range of recently uncovered books, pamphlets and broadsides, most of which were not included in Charles Evans’ monumental work, Roger Bristol’s supplement, or "American Bibliography, 1801-1819" by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker. Printed during a century and a half of American life, spanning the colonial era, the formation of the new nation and the Early Republic, these 2,000 rare and unique items represent a remarkable enrichment of Early American Imprints.

Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800, has been hailed as the definitive resource for teaching and researching nearly every aspect of 17th- and 18th-century America. This incomparable digital collection contains virtually every book, pamphlet and broadside published in America over a 160-year period. Providing complete digital editions of more than 36,000 printed works, Series I covers subjects ranging from history, literature and culture to politics, government and society.

Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819, has been hailed as a definitive resource for teaching and researching the Early National Period in American History. This incomparable digital collection contains virtually every book, pamphlet and broadside published in America during the first two decades of the 19th century. Providing complete digital editions of more than 36,000 printed works, Series II covers subjects ranging from history, literature and culture to politics, government and society.

As the first draft of history, American newspapers have preserved essential records and detailed accounts of the people, issues and events that shaped the nation for hundreds of years. In the 1800s, American newspapers were often published by small-town printers and reflected the interests and values of the communities they served. But as the country grew and changed, so too did its newspapers. In the 19th century, the number of titles published rose dramatically, and newspapers were transformed by an increasing emphasis on society, industry, scientific advances, investigative journalism and human-interest stories. By the early 20th century, nearly every town in the United States had its own newspaper.

Early American Newspapers, Series 14, 1807-1880, offers digital editions of many of the most notable 19th-century newspapers from America’s urban centers. It delivers long runs of 48 major titles published in 34 towns and cities in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Each title has been selected not only to represent the new forms of journalism that emerged during this pivotal period in U.S. history, but also to enable longitudinal studies—an increasingly popular methodology for historical and literary research. Together, their outstanding coverage of daily metropolitan life, politics, literature, religion and popular culture in the 19th-century U.S. will enable students and scholars to make fresh discoveries within innumerable topics crucial to American studies.

Early American Newspapers, Series 16, captures the intersection of America’s environmental, social and industrial past. Featuring more than 60 titles published between 1800 and 1877, Series 16 offers vivid accounts of the origins and growth of America’s most important industries, including textiles, agriculture, coal mining, oil and gas drilling, iron and steel production, commercial fishing and whaling, timber, railroads, canals and more. But America’s transformation from an agrarian nation to an industrial powerhouse wasn’t without repercussions, and newspapers from the towns and cities most impacted by these industries didn’t shirk from covering their environmental and social costs. The publications in Early American Newspapers, Series 16, provide firsthand reporting, editorial analysis, advertisements and classifieds that shed light on the impact of America’s march forward.

This collection provides online access to a select group of Eastern European newspapers published in the 19th and 20th centuries. Featuring fully searchable titles from Poland, Hungary, and Romania, Eastern European Newspapers offers in-depth coverage of the people, issues, and events that shaped this important region, especially in the years surrounding World War I.

Featuring more than 130 fully searchable newspapers in 10 languages from 25 states—including many rare 19th-century titles—this online collection provides extensive coverage of many of the most influential ethnic groups in U.S. history. With an emphasis on Americans of Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Jewish, Lithuanian, Polish, Slovak and Welsh descent, this unique resource will enable students and scholars to explore often-overlooked aspects of this nation’s history, politics and culture.

Like the Reports themselves, FBIS Daily Report Annexes, 1974-1996 offers international views and perspectives on historical events from thousands of monitored broadcasts and publications. Created by the U.S. intelligence community to benefit analysts and policy makers, Annexes were “For Official Use Only.” Although a very small number of copies may have found their way into the Government Documents collections of some libraries, no institution outside of the Central Intelligence Agency holds all of the records. Full-text searchable for the first time, FBIS Daily Report Annexes features individual citations for each item as well as highlighted events to assist student researchers.

As the United States’ principal historical record of political open source intelligence for more than half a century, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report is an indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent world history. The original mission of the FBIS was to monitor, record, transcribe and translate intercepted radio broadcasts from foreign governments, official news services, and clandestine broadcasts from occupied territories. Accordingly, it provides a wealth of information from all countries outside of the U.S.—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

As the United States’ principal historical record of political open source intelligence for more than half a century, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report is an indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent world history. The original mission of the FBIS was to monitor, record, transcribe and translate intercepted radio broadcasts from foreign governments, official news services, and clandestine broadcasts from occupied territories. Accordingly, it provides a wealth of information from all countries outside of the U.S.—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

Part 1: Middle East, Africa, Near East and South Asia
This fully searchable online collection—one of eight individually available area subsets of FBIS Daily Reports, 1974-1996—consists of the following specific FBIS series: MEA (Middle East & North Africa, 1974-1980, Middle East & Africa, 1980-1987) and NES (Near East & South Asia, 1987-1996). As the indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent regional history, these reports provide students and scholars with national and occasionally local perspectives through a wealth of original political broadcasts and newspaper coverage.

Part 2: Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

This fully searchable online collection—one of eight individually available area subsets of FBIS Daily Reports, 1974-1996—consists of the following specific FBIS series: SSA (Sub-Saharan Africa, 1974 and 1976-1980), SAF (Sub-Saharan Africa (1975, 1976), SAS (South Asia, 1980-1987), AFR (Africa, Sub-Sahara, 1987-1988) and AFR (Sub-Saharan Africa, 1988-1996). As the indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent regional history, these reports provide students and scholars with national and occasionally local perspectives through a wealth of original political broadcasts and newspaper coverage.

Part 3: China

Considered by many Sinologists to be one of the most valuable collections for the study of 20th-century China, this fully searchable online collection—one of eight individually available area subsets of FBIS Daily Reports, 1974-1996—consists of the following specific FBIS series: CHI (People’s Republic of China, 1974-1980 and China, 1981-1996). As the indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent regional history, these reports provide students and scholars with national and occasionally local perspectives through a wealth of original political broadcasts and newspaper coverage.

Part 4: Asia, Pacific and East Asia

This fully searchable online collection—one of eight individually available area subsets of FBIS Daily Reports, 1974-1996—consists of the following specific FBIS series: APA (Asia & Pacific, 1974-1987) and EAS (East Asia, 1987-1996). As the indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent regional history, these reports provide students and scholars with national and occasionally local perspectives through a wealth of original political broadcasts and newspaper coverage.

Part 5: Latin America

This fully searchable online collection—one of eight individually available area subsets of FBIS Daily Reports, 1974-1996—consists of the following specific FBIS series: LAM (Latin America, 1974-1987) and LAT (Latin America, 1987-1996). As the indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent regional history, these reports provide students and scholars with national and occasionally local perspectives through a wealth of original political broadcasts and newspaper coverage.

Part 6: Eastern Europe

This fully searchable online collection—one of eight individually available area subsets of FBIS Daily Reports, 1974-1996—consists of the following specific FBIS series: EEU (Eastern Europe, 1974-1987 and East Europe, 1987-1996). As the indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent regional history, these reports provide students and scholars with national and occasionally local perspectives through a wealth of original political broadcasts and newspaper coverage.

Part 7: Soviet Union and Central Eurasia

This fully searchable online collection—one of eight individually available area subsets of FBIS Daily Reports, 1974-1996—consists of the following specific FBIS series: SOV (Soviet Union, 1974-1991 and Central Eurasia, 1992-1996). As the indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent regional history, these reports provide students and scholars with national and occasionally local perspectives through a wealth of original political broadcasts and newspaper coverage.

Part 8: Western Europe

This fully searchable online collection—one of eight individually available area subsets of FBIS Daily Reports, 1974-1996—consists of the following specific FBIS series: WEU (Western Europe, 1974-1987 and West Europe, 1987-1996). As the indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent regional history, these reports provide students and scholars with national and occasionally local perspectives through a wealth of original political broadcasts and newspaper coverage.

Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980, represents the single largest compilation of Spanish-language newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. The distinctive collection features hundreds of Hispanic American newspapers, including many long scattered and forgotten titles published in the 19th century.

For wide-ranging perspectives on human migration that stretch far beyond the borders of the United States, Immigrations, Migrations and Refugees: Global Perspectives, 1941-1996, is an unparalleled new resource. This fully searchable digital archive includes firsthand accounts from reputable sources around the world, covering such important events as post-World War II Jewish resettlement, South African apartheid, Latin American migrations to the United States and much more.

This unique collection—fully searchable for the first time—features English translations of foreign-language monographs, reports, serials, journal and newspaper articles, and radio and television broadcasts from regions throughout the world. With an emphasis on communist and developing countries, this digital edition of Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS) Reports, 1957-1995, contains a wealth of hard-to-find social science, scientific, and technical materials translated from many languages; in fact, few libraries or institutions outside of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Library of Congress hold a comprehensive microform edition, especially for the first two decades following the founding of JPRS.

Latin American Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, 1805-1922, offer unprecedented coverage of the people, issues and events that shaped this vital region during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Featuring titles from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and a dozen other countries, these resources provide a wide range of viewpoints from diverse Latin American cultures. Together, both series of Latin American Newspapers chronicles the evolution of Latin America over two centuries through eyewitness reporting, editorials, legislative information, letters, poetry, advertisements, obituaries and other items.

For anyone seeking to understand one of the world’s most complex, volatile and internationally significant regions, Middle East and North Africa: Global Perspectives, 1958-1994, is an indispensable resource. This fully searchable online archive offers firsthand reporting and deep analysis on important issues and historic events from Morocco to Egypt to Afghanistan. And with unique content not available anywhere else, it allows researchers unprecedented opportunities to delve into the cultural, economic and political forces that are integral to an array of interdisciplinary topics.

From genetic engineering to fertility treatments to stem cell research, some of the most cutting-edge advances in the life sciences have stirred global controversy, prompting concerned scientists and citizens alike to question their ethical implications. Morality and Science: Global Origins of Modern Bioethics is a fully searchable digitized collection that chronicles the field of modern bioethics as it emerged, offering valuable insight for students and researchers in a variety of disciplines.

The nineteenth century witnessed unprecedented growth and sweeping changes in the dramatic arts with the number of theaters in the United States growing a hundredfold. Music hall and variety theater came to rival the “legitimate” theater in popularity. Romance gave way to realism, the musical stage proliferated, and the stage became a platform for social and political commentary. As a result, drama became the most popular form of entertainment in America. It was popular across all classes of society and took myriad forms: historical plays, melodramas, political satires, black minstrel shows, comic operas, musical extravaganzas, parlor entertainments, adaptations of novels and many others. All of these can be found in Nineteenth-Century American Drama: Popular Culture and Entertainment, 1820-1900.

Beginning at the end of World War II and continuing through the Cold War period and beyond, tools of radioactive, chemical, and biological warfare played a role in many of the 20th century’s most significant events. From the Cuban missile crisis to the Gulf War, the development, proliferation, and containment of weapons of mass destruction shaped technology, international conflicts, politics, and more. Researchers in a variety of disciplines will find no more comprehensive resource for studying these issues than Nuclear Arms and Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The launch of the world’s first nuclear power plants and the growing threat of the Cold War in the 1950s thrust nuclear energy to the forefront of the world’s consciousness, laying the foundation for the Atomic Age. Nuclear Energy: Global Origins of Energy Resource Management in the Atomic Age is a fully searchable digitized collection that chronicles the history and impact of nuclear technology as it was developed, offering valuable insight for students and researchers in a variety of disciplines.

For decades the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Pravda was widely read both within the Soviet states and by foreign diplomats, politicians, and intelligence agencies. Researchers have long considered Pravda a bellwether of Soviet thought, yet access to the paper’s archives has been limited to those who could read Russian or travel to find it on microfilm. Now, with Readex’s Pravda Archive, 1959-1996, this important trove of primary source documents is available in English via a fully searchable digitized collection.