9/11 Terrorist Attacks: History

Library research guide for 9/11 terrorist attacks

About this page

This page collects library databases and special collections for students studying history.

Primary sources

Ethnic NewsWatch from Proquest | Basic Search Tutorial This link opens in a new window
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Searches full-text of newspapers and magazines published for ethnic communities in the US. 1991-present.
Independent Voices from Reveal Digital This link opens in a new window
Digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals published during the latter half of the 20th century.
Military & Government Collection from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
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Current military and government news from periodicals, academic journals, and other sources.
Military Database from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
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Covers topics across all government and military branches, including international relations, political science, criminology, defense, aeronautics and space flight, communications, civil engineering, and more.
Political Extremism in the 20th Century from Gale This link opens in a new window
Political Extremism and Radicalism in the Twentieth Century is a compilation of rare and unique archival collections covering a wide range of fringe political movements. It has been sourced from distinguished libraries and archives across the world but also premiers some previously hidden treasure troves.
ProQuest Congressional from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
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Indexes, and provides selected full-text of, the wide variety of US Congressional publications. Indexing begins in 1789, full-text begins in 1970.
Also contains information on members of Congress and committees, as well as the Federal Register and the Congressional Record.
U.S. Declassified Documents Online from Gale This link opens in a new window
Contains full-text of declassified documents from many U.S. governmental agencies. 1945 into the 1990s.
Includes records of the Cabinet, National Security Council, CIA, State Department, and Joint Chiefs of Staff, among others.

Secondary sources

America History and Life from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Indexes scholarship on American and Canadian history and culture. Provides some full-text. 1964-present.
Border and Migration Studies from Alexander Street Press This link opens in a new window
Historical background on thirty plus worldwide border areas, including: U.S. and Mexico; the European Union; Afghanistan; Israel; Turkey; The Congo; Argentina; China; Thailand; and others.
Dissertations - CRL Foreign Doctoral Dissertations from Center for Research Libraries This link opens in a new window
Searches dissertations from foreign universities held at the Center for Research Libraries (in Chicago). No online full-text, but available through Interlibrary Loan.
Be sure to read the introductory information on the site, because there are special search features and because their cataloging is ongoing. Thus all their holdings are not accessible here, though you can use other means to locate uncatalogued material.
Dissertations and Theses Global from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
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Searches doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Extensive North American coverage, lesser European coverage. Full-text availability varies by author's permission.
Dissertations from Great Britain - EThos: Electronic Theses Online Service from EThos This link opens in a new window
Searches dissertations from Great Britain. Most downloadable, in some cases others are available within 30 days for a fee.
Middle Eastern & Central Asian Studies from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Index of primarily academic research on the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa, covering 1900 to the present. Contains some full-text.

Special collections and university archives

FBI Investigation and Surveillance Records, 1919-[ongoing]
Photocopies of case files, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, largely concerning the agency's investigations of political dissent. Notable files include those on Albert Einstein, the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Joseph McCarthy, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Watergate, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. The collection also contains the J. Edgar Hoover Official and Confidential File
Kathy Kelly papers, 1977- [ongoing]
A Chicago-based peace activist who cofounded Voices in the Wilderness/Voices for Creative Nonviolence in 1996, anchoring its leadership team from the beginning. She has been arrested on several occasions for acts of nonviolent resistance to US military policy, including planting corn on missile silo sites in Missouri in 1988, for which she was sentenced to one year in federal prison. Her peacemaking efforts in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Haiti, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, and Lebanon have led to numerous honors and her continuing nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize
Milwaukee Pledge of Resistance Records, 1981-2004
Records of a peace organization (originally part of a national network) formed in opposition to the United States government's support of the "Contras" in Nicaragua. Included are correspondence, minutes, publications, reports, press releases and other records documenting the group's nonviolent resistance to US military intervention in Latin America, the Middle East, and elsewhere. James M. Barrett, formerly professor of Biology at Marquette University, served for many years as coordinator and editor of its newsletter
Voices in the Wilderness records, 1996-2005
Records of a Chicago based campaign, initiated by a small number of peace activists, including Kathy Kelly, who remained a coordinator until the end. It utilized the means of nonviolent direct action, such as civil disobedience and fasting, to oppose economic sanctions and war against Iraq. The group organized over seventy delegations to Iraq which brought donations of medicine and toys to children in hospitals in open violation of the US/UN sanctions and US law. The Treasury Department responded by imposing a $20,000 fine. Refusing to pay the penalty as a matter of principle, Voices in the Wilderness closed its doors in the summer of 2005, reorganizing under the name Voices for Creative Nonviolence