The following announcement was written by ProQuest CSA. Please note that this online service normally is available through your local library and is not a part of HeritageQuest Online, a different product offered by the same company:
19th century American history resource helps researchers go beyond the battles
Ann Arbor, Mich. – May 1, 2007 –ProQuest Civil War Era, a new digital resource that will make researching the American Civil War and its context more direct and complete than ever before, is now available from ProQuest CSA. ProQuest Civil War Era is the first research solution to collect, digitize and combine in a single search platform the era’s key newspapers and activist publications, creating a comprehensive view of not only the years of battle, but also the factors leading to war.
Why did territorial expansion fuel the slavery argument to the point of civil war? Was there more to the Southern argument than just a defense of slavery? What were the reasons for Northern aversion to the Lincoln administration? Was Emancipation driven by great humanitarian impulses or the necessities of war? More than just battles, ProQuest Civil War Era explores the key political and social viewpoints of the period as well.
"While a plethora of Civil War resources are available, ProQuest Civil War Era is the only one to digest coverage of both the 4-years of military battle and the ‘war of words’ that severed North from South into a truly comprehensive resource, said Barbara Beach, vice president of publishing for ProQuest CSA. “The content in this collection has been digitized material previously available only in print or film formats, fulfilling a growing need for primary source material related to the Civil War and its historical and societal context.”
ProQuest Civil War Era is a deep set of primary sources, with documents that encompass the buildup and evolution of the war that shaped U.S. identity, all displayed in both original article and page image formats. It provides desktop access to nearly 2,000 pamphlets, highlighting the multiple and distinct perspectives of government officials, clergy, social reformists, and other opinion leaders of the time. Supporting this information are the complete runs of eight newspapers from 1840 – 1865, specifically selected for the regional and diverse perspectives they offer. The combination of resources, built in conjunction with librarians and scholars, allows researchers to explore the entire era.
With newspapers from both the North and the South as well as Eastern and Western states, researchers can compare and analyze the varying perspectives that prevailed throughout the entire era. ProQuest Civil War Era includes newspapers of the South (Richmond Dispatch, Charleston Mercury, New Orleans Times Picayune), North (Boston Herald, New York Herald, Columbus State Journal), Mississippi Valley and Border States (Kentucky Daily Journal, Memphis Daily Appeal). These regional papers allow comparison of key events. For example researchers can draw a distinction between the coverage of the Battle of Gettysburg in the Boston Herald and the Charleston Mercury, or use the Memphis Daily Appeal to follow the exploits of Southern cavalry as it conducted raids on Northern supply depots throughout the Mississippi Valley region.
Pamphlets are drawn from two respected collections. The first comes from the personal libraries of Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary, member of the Lincoln Cabinet, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1864-1873), and John P. Hale, senator from New Hampshire and personal friend to President Lincoln. Slavery and Anti-Slavery Pamphlets from the Libraries of Salmon P. Chase & John P. Hale includes 166 pamphlets, speeches, reports, legal opinions and convention proceedings covering slavery, and anti-slavery movements, and the conditions of African- Americans after the Civil War. Civil War Pamphlets 1861-1865 includes 1,758 pamphlets illustrating the “war of words” during the conflict. Often 20 – 40 pages in length, these pamphlets are the intellectual precursors to Op-Ed pages in modern newspapers, providing an outlet for individuals to express their views.
Available on the ProQuest® platform, ProQuest Civil War Era can be cross-searched with ProQuest Historical Newspapers™ and American Periodicals Series Online™.
For more information preview the ProQuest Civil War Demo at http://www.il.proquest.com/products_pq/interactive/demos/civilwar/cwd_demo0.htm.
About ProQuest CSA
ProQuest CSA combines the strengths of two leading and historic information technology firms: ProQuest Information and Learning and CSA. The company provides seamless access to and navigation of more than 125 billion digital pages of the world’s scholarship, delivering it to the desktop and into the workflow of serious researchers in multiple fields, from arts, literature, and social science to science, technology, and medicine. ProQuest CSA is part of Cambridge Information Group (www.cambridgeinformationgroup.com).ProQuest CSA’s vast content pools are available to researchers through libraries of all types and include the world’s largest digital newspaper archive, periodical databases comprising the output of more than 9,000 titles and spanning more than 500 years, the preeminent dissertation collection, and various other scholarly collections. Users access the information through the ProQuest® and CSA Illumina Web-based online information systems, Chadwyck-Healey™ electronic and microform resources, UMI® microform and print reference products, eLibrary® and SIRS® educational resources, Ulrich's Serials Analysis System™, COS Scholar Universe, and Serials Solutions resource management tools. Through the expertise of business units Serials Solutions and COS, ProQuest CSA provides technological tools that allow researchers and libraries to better manage and use their information resources. For more information, visit www.proquest.com and www.csa.com.
