LibGuides at USA: HY 435: Civil War and Reconstruction: Home

Course Info

HY435/535: Civil War and Reconstruction

HY 435 and 535 will focus on the US from 1840-1877.

Baldwin County Campus Library Resources

Students and faculty members on the Baldwin County campus can request library assistance from the Baldwin County Campus librarian. Services available are reference and research instruction as well as book retrieval services. Contact Angela Rand: 251-928-8133 or arand@usouthal.edu .

Library Links

Library Hours
Marx Library Homepage
SOUTHcat: USA Libraries' Catalog
SOUTHcat is the catalog for the libraries at the University of South Alabama. Use this to find records for books, electronic books, media items, and government documents in our collection.
Databases & E-Reference
The list of electronic databases and reference sources subscribed to by the Marx Library. Use this link to find newspaper, magazine, and academic journal articles from a variety of sources.
Journal/E-Book List
The list of newspapers, magazines, and journals subscribed to by the library. Use this to search a specific periodical or to locate a citation.
Ask a Librarian
Contact information for the reference department at the Marx Library. Includes phone, email, and live chat information.

American Civil War Weblinks

American Civil War Homepage
The American Civil War Homepage gathers together in one place hypertext links to the most useful identified electronic files about the American Civil War (1861-1865). The page opens a gateway to the Internet's multi-formatted resources about what is arguably the seminal event in American history. Not only was the War the occasion for the abolition of slavery, but by conflict's end the re-United States had emerged as a modern, industrialized power.
Civil War letters, diaries and newspapers
The Electronic Text Center is home to a variety of primary source material on the American Civil War, including letters, diaries and newspapers. Letter collections include searchable transcriptions as well as digital images of the manuscripts.
Civil War maps from the Library of Congress
Civil War Maps brings together materials from three premier collections: the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Library of Virginia. Among the reconnaissance, sketch, and theater-of-war maps are the detailed battle maps made by Major Jedediah Hotchkiss for Generals Lee and Jackson, General Sherman’s Southern military campaigns, and maps taken from diaries, scrapbooks, and manuscripts—all available for the first time in one place.
The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana
Alfred Whital Stern (1881-1960) of Chicago presented his outstanding collection of Lincolniana to the Library of Congress in 1953. Begun by Mr. Stern in the 1920s, the collection documents the life of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) both through writings by and about Lincoln as well as a large body of publications concerning the issues of the times including slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and related topics.
The collection contains more than 11,100 items.
Making of America E-Book
Reconstruction, political and economic, 1865-1877, by William Archibald Dunning.

Useful Resources

Understanding Assignments
Great handout from the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about the essential first step of any research project - understanding the assignment.
Subject Guides
These guides, compiled by USA librarians, can help you identify key print and electronic sources in your disciplines.
Assignment Calculator
This online tool developed by the University of Minnesota can help you plan your research paper. Don't procrastinate!
Online Writing Lab @ Purdue University
Writing Center @ University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Evaluating Web Information

When looking at a website, evaluate it using criteria such as:

Purpose & Audience

Who is the site designed for?
Is the site scholarly or popular?
Are there advertisements on the site?
What is the overall purpose of the site?

Authority & Credibility

Can the author of the site be identified?
What are the author's qualifications?
Is the site affiliated with a particular organization?
What is the domain of the site (.edu, .gov, .org, .com)?
Do you think the author has expertise on the subject?

Accuracy & Reliability

Does the site appear to be well-researched?
Are there references to the sources of informations supporting the site's statements or viewpoints?
Does the site include grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors?
How does the site compare to library resources available on the topic?

Currency & Timeliness

When was this information published?
Does the page indicate when it was most recently updated?
Are there dead links on the page?

Objectivity or Bias

Does the site present many opinions or just one?
Can you tell if the site presents mostly opinions or facts?
Can you identify any bias in the information presented?
Is the site sponsored by a company or organization?
If there are advertisements, are they easy to distinguish from the informational content?

Structure & Navigation

Is the site well organized?
Is it easy to navigate between different pages on the site?
Does the site offer a search box?

Finally, ask yourself these questions:

Is this site a reliable, well-documented information source provided by a reputable author or organization?
Would this be a good source of information for my assignment?

My profile

Angela Rand

She/her/hers

Email Me

Contact:

Marx Library
5901 USA Drive North,
University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688

251-460-7028

Subjects: Adult Interdisciplinary Studies, Communication, Education, Health, Kinesiology and Sport, Interdisciplinary Studies, Psychology, USA Baldwin County