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The 1960s - Research Guide

This guide will help you find both primary and secondary resources concerning the United States during the 1960s. If you do not find what you need, please be sure to ask for assistance.

I. Franklin, the Penn Library Catalog

Use Franklin to look for books at the Penn Libraries.

Subject Searches - When looking for works about a country during a specific time period or about a specific event, it is often useful to do subject searches in Franklin.

Here are some relevant Library of Congress Subject Headings:

General Subject Searches for Time Periods

United States--History--1961-1969
United States--History--1969-
United States--Economic conditions--
United States--Politics and government--1945-1989
United States--Politics and government--1953-1961
United States--Politics and government--1961-1963
United States--Politics and government--1963-1969
United States--Politics and government--1969-1974
United States--Race relations
United States--Social conditions--1960-
United States--Social conditions--1960-1980
Nineteen sixties
Nineteen sixty-eight, A.D.

Politics, Parties, Protest, Rights

Black Panther Party
Civil rights--United States
Civil rights movements--United States
Democratic Party (U.S.)--
Gay liberation movement--
New Left--
Peace movements--United States
Protest movements--United States
Radicalism--
Republican Party--
Student movements--United States
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 --Protest movements
Women's rights

Culture, Society, and Behavior

Birth control--
Communal living--United States
Criticism--United States
Homosexuality--United States--
Sex--
Sex customs--
Sex (psycholology)--
Sex role--
Subculture--United States--
Popular culture--United States
United States--Popular culture
Public Opinion--United states--

Groups of Peoples as Subjects

African-Americans--
Baby boom generation--United States
Civil rights workers--
College students--United States--
Beat generation--
Feminists--United States--
Gay men--United States--
Hippies--
Hispanic-Americans--
Intellectuals--United States--Political activity
Lesbians--United States--
Students--United States--
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Veterans--
Youth--United States--
Women--United States--history

Mass media and visual culture

Advertising--United States--
Journalism--Social aspects--United States
Journalism--United States
Mass media--United States--Influence--History--20th century
Mass media--Social aspects--United States--History--20th century
Mass media and culture--United States--History--20th century
Motion pictures--United states
Television--United States
Television audiences--United States
Television broadcasting--Social aspects

Specific Events as Subjects

Central High School (Little Rock, Ark.)--History
Democratic National Convention (1968 : Chicago, Ill.)
Detroit (Mich.)--Riot, 1967
Jackson State College--Riot, May 13-15, 1970
Kent State University Riot, May 4, 1970
Presidents--United States--Election--1968
Woodstock (N.Y.)
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--

Keyword and Keyword Expert searches look for words anywhere in the Franklin record. Note, when searching phrases in a keyword or keyword expert search, words must be in quotation marks. Words and phrases can be combined with and and or only in a Keyword Expert serch.

"democratic national convention"
brown and "board of education"
"womens rights" or feminis?

Primary Sources in Franklin - Often the following words will be found in the subject headings assigned to works which contain primary source material. Watch for these words when doing subject searches and add them to keyword searches or subject heading keyword searches.

diaries
personal narratives
correspondence
sources
interviews

Add the above terms to keyword searches:

"vietnam war" and "personal narratives"
"civil rights" and sources

Try author searches for works by famous figures of the time:

Bukowski, Charles
Cleaver, Elridge
Rubin, Jerry
King, Martin Luther, Jr

For publications from a particular organization, group, or political party, try author searches under the names of the group.

Black Panther Party
National Organization for Women
Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.)

II. Finding Magazine Articles written during the 1950s-1970s

Indexes to Articles

A number of online article indexes provide coverage of articles written in the 1960s.

Readers' Guide Retrospective (online).: Provides indexing to popular periodicals. Currently the retrospective file covers 1900-1982. For the fifties and early sixties, you may also consult the printed version of Readers' Guide at [Van Pelt Reference: AI3 R48].
JSTOR: Database of back issues of journals in the humanities and social science. Many titles are available from the date range of the late 1950s to the early 1970s.
Periodical Index Online: Covers journals in the social sciences and humanities. Coverage is from the late 1700s to the 1990s, so references to some articles published between 1950s and 1970s can be found here.
ISI Citation Indexes.: Indexes science journals from 1945 to the present, social science journals from 1956 to the present, and arts and humanities journals from 1975 to the present.
Art Index Retrospective: Covers art publications from 1929 to 1984. Periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins.
Indexes articles from more than 420 art publications.
ERIC (Ebsco): Coverage starts in 1966. ERIC stands for Education Resource Information Center. A major index in the field of education. Indexes journals and other types of publications in the field of education.
Education Index (print).: [Van Pelt Reference: L11 .E384]; Library has: 1929 - present.; For topics related to colleges and universities, student protests, and administrative reactions, use Education Index in conjunction with ERIC. Index to journals in the field of education.
Chicano Database: The Chicano Database identifies all types of material on Mexican-American topics and about Chicanos. Updated quarterly, the Chicano Database provides extensive coverage from the 1960s to the present, with selective coverage dating back to the early 1900s.

Holdings and locations of selected popular periodicals

Holdings - The Library has the printed copies of many popular periodicals from the 1960s. Many of theses are located in the AP2 call number range on the third floor of the Van Pelt Library. Others are only available in Microform.

Ebony: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 167], v1. 1945-present.
Life: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 530], 1936-1972.; [Van Pelt Library Stacks: AP2 .L547 ], 1936-1972
Ms: [Van Pelt Library Stacks: HQ1101 .M55 ], v.1 (1972/1973)-v.18 (1989); [Van Pelt Library Stacks: HQ1101 .M552 ], v.1 (1990/1991) - present.
Nation: [online: Nation Archive from EBSCO], all issues back to 1865.; [Van Pelt Library Stacks: ], v.1 (1865)-v.139 (1934).; [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 180], v.1 (1865)-present.
National Review: [Van Pelt Library Stacks: AP2 .N3545], v.1 (1955/1956)-v.18 (1966),v.23 (1971), v.42 (1990)-v.52 (2000); [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 216],v.19 (1967)-present.
New Republic: [online: New Republic Archive from EBSCO], all issues back to 1914.; [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 37]
Newsweek: [Van Pelt Library Stacks: AP2 .N6772], v.29 (1947)-present.; [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 388], v.1 (1933)-present.
Rolling Stone: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 422], no.1, 1967-present.
Time: [Van Pelt Library Stacks: AP2 .T37], v.14 (1929)-present.; [Van Pelt Library: Microfilm cont 389], v.1 (1923)-present.
U.S. News and World Report: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 615], v.1 (1933)-v.63 (1967).; [Van Pelt Library Stacks: JK1 .U65], v.64 (1968)-present.
Village Voice: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 158], 1955 - present, some years incomplete.

III. Newspapers from the 1950-70s

Currently there are few sources which index newspapers from the 1960s. A number of ethnic newspapers are available in full-text back to the 1960s. There is also a complete index for the New York Times. The Library also has some other relevant newspapers on microfilm. See below.

Ethnic NewsWatch.: A searchable, full-text archive of ethnic newspapers published from 1959-present. Newspapers from the 60s include the Memphis Tri-State Defender, The San Francisco Sun Reporter, The New Pittsburgh Currier, The Arizona Fort Apache Scout, the Boston Bay State Reporter and the Armenian Reporter International.
The New York Times, ProQuest Historical Newspapers.: A searchable, full-text version of the New York Times from 1851 to 1999. The Library also has the microfilm version of the NYT at [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm news 52] and a printed index [Van Pelt Reference: AI21 .N44]. References from the index provide date, section, page, and column.
Los Angeles Times.: A searchable, full-text version of the Los Angeles from 1881 to 1985.
Pittsburgh Courier.: A searchable, full-text version of the Pittsburgh Courier from 1911-2002.
Wall Street Journal.: A searchable, full-text version of the Los Angeles Times from 1881 to 1985.
Chicago Defender.: A searchable, full-text version of the Chicago Defender from 1910 to 1975.
The Birmingham News [microform].: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Film news 636], 1954-1955, 1963-1964.
Philadelphia Inquirer Public Ledger.: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: microfilm news 61], Apr.16 1934-Dec.1951, Feb.1952-Dec.11 1969 - present.; Called Philadelphia Inquirer from 1969 to the present.
Philadelphia Tribune.: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: microfilm news 407], 1912 - present.
St. Louis Post Dispatch. (St. Louis, Missouri): [Van Pelt Library Microtext: microfilm news 63], 1953-1979.
Washington Post.: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: microfilm news 256], 1967 - present.
Black Panther. (Oakland, CA.): [Van Pelt Library Microtext: microfilm news 425], 1967 - 1980.; Earlier years are part of the Underground Newspaper Collection.

Newspaper Collections

Underground Press Collection.: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: microfilm news 270], 473 reels.; To see a listing of the newspapers included in the collection, do a title search in Franklin on underground newspaper collection. See also the Listing of Contents for titles in the microform collection [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: AI3 .U54].

IV. Indexes for Articles ABOUT the Sixties

Multidisciplinary

EBSCO MegaFile: A combined index of EBSCO's Academic Search Premier and Masterfile Premier. Indexes both scholarly journals and popular periodicals. Strong from 1990s forward, although many titles, including numerous popular periodicals, are indexed back further.
Periodicals Contents Index.: [Also listed in Section II]. Covers 1770-1995. Includes citations to many journals in the humanities and social sciences. A good tool for finding contemporary narrative accounts and older book reviews.

U.S. History

America: History & Life.: Covers U.S. and Canadian history. You can limit your search by decade; to do so add 1960D to the time period field on the search screen.

Art, Literature, Music

Art Index Retrospective: [Also listed in Section II]. Covers art publications from 1929 to 1984. Periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins.
Indexes articles from more than 420 art publications. For later years, 1983 to the present, see Art Index.
MLA International Bibliography.: The major index for literary criticism, language, folklore. Cites journal articles, selected books and dissertations. Coverage begins with 1963. Strong source for material relating to travel literature or to the treatment of travel in literature. See also for cultural theory, treatment of culture in literatures, cultural encounters, etc.
Music Index.: Music Index Online draws its current contents from more than 640 international music periodicals. Covers 1979 to the present. For earlier years, see Music Index, [Van Pelt Library Marian Anderson Music Study Center: ML118 .M84]

Public Policy / Politics

PAIS.: Covers public affairs and policy issues relating to a wide range of topics: agriculture, banking, finance, business, demographics, education, health, environment, public administration, law and legislation, and international relations. Covers 1972 to the present. For earlier years see: PAIS Bulletin (name varies), [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: JA 1 .P357], 1915 -

Sociology and Culture/Ethnic/Gender Issues

Sociological Abstracts.: Index to journals, books, and conference papers in sociology. Includes significant coverage of historical topics and events from a sociological perspective.
Hispanic American Periodical Index.
Index to Black periodicals. 1984- . Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall & Co.: [Van Pelt Reference: AI3 O4]; Continues: Index to Periodical Articles by and about Blacks [Van Pelt: AI3 .O4 1966-1969]. An even earlier title, Index to selected periodicals, indexes articles between 1961-1965 [Van Pelt: AI3 .O4]
Studies on Women Abstracts. Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Carfax Pub. Co. Vol. 1- , 1983- .: [Van Pelt Reference: HQ1180 .S78]
Women Studies Abstracts. NY: Rush Pub., Vol. 1- ,1972- .: [Van Pelt Reference Stacks: HQ1101 .W653]

V. Reference Works - Chronologies, Biography, and Topical Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Bibliographies

Below is a small sample of the many specialized bibliographies, dictionaries and, encyclopedias that focus US history in the 1960s and 20th century. Browse the Van Pelt Library Reference stacks in the E call number range to see additional titles available. Watch for the words encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliography in subject searches. These terms can be added to keyword searches to find additional reference works.

A look at the Decade - Chronologies and Facts

American Decades. edited by Vincent Tompkins. Detroit : Gale Research, c1994-c1996.: [Van Pelt Reference Stacks: E169.12 .A419] See the volumes for 1960-1969 and 1970-1979.
American Chronicle: year by year Through the Twentieth century. Lois Gordon and Alan Gordon. New Haven [Conn.] : Yale University Press, c1999.: [Van Pelt Library Reference: E169.1 .G664 1999]
Facts on File.: Also available in print at [Van Pelt Reference Stacks: D410 .F3] v.6 (1946)-v.44 (1984),v.46 (1986)-v.59 (1999); Chronology of events. See the volumes for the 1960s.
McCleary, John Bassett. The Hippie Dictionary: a Cultural Encyclopedia (and Phraseicon) of the 1960s and 1970s. Berkeley, CA : Ten Speed Press, c2002.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: HQ799.7 .M28 2002]
Historical Dictionary of the 1960s. Edited by James S. Olson. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, c1999. [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: E841 H58 1999]
Atlas of the Baby Boom Generation. Neil A. Hamilton ... [et al.]. Detroit, Mich. : Macmillan Reference USA, 2000.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: E741 .A88 2000]

Biography

American National Biography.: General biographical dictionary for the U.S.
Leaders from the 1960s: a Biographical Sourcebook of American Activism. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1994.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: HN59 .L32 1994]
Political Profiles. New York : Facts on File, Inc., c1976-.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: E840.6 .P64], v. 1-5.

Civil Rights

Civil Rights in the United States. edited by Waldo E. Martin, Jr. and Patricia Sullivan. New York : Macmillan Reference USA, c2000.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: E184.A1 C47 2000], v. 1-2.
Murray, Paul T. The Civil Rights Movement: References and Resources. New York: G.K. Hall, 1993.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: E185.61 .M975 1993]

Court Cases

Historic U.S. Court Cases: an Encyclopedia. John W. Johnson, editor. 2nd edition. New York : Routledge, 2001.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: KF385.A4 J64 2001], v. 1-2.
Great American Court cases. Mark Mikula and L. Mpho Mabunda, editors. Detroit : Gale Group, c1999.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: KF385.A4 G68 1999], v. 1-4.

Culture and Society

McWilliams, John C. The 1960s Cultural Revolution. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2000.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: E841 .M37 2000]
The ABC-CLIO Companion to the 1960s Counterculture in America. Neil A. Hamilton. Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c1997.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: E169.02 .H3515 1997]
The 1960s: an Annotated Bibliography of Social and Political movements in the United States. Rebecca Jackson. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1992.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: HN59 .J34 1992]

Vietnam War

Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: a Political, Social, and Military History. Spencer C. Tucker, Editor. Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c1998.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: DS557.7 .E53 1998]
Burns, Richard Dean.The Wars in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, 1945-1982: a bibliographic guide. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, c1984: [Van Pelt Library Reference: DS557.7 .B88 1984]
Peake, Louis A. The United States in the Vietnam War, 1954-1975: a selected annotated bibliography. New York: Garland Pub., 1986.: [Van Pelt Library Reference: DS558 .P43 1986]
Those Who Were There: Eyewitness accounts of the war in Southeast Asia, 1956-1975 & aftermath: annotated bibliography of books, articles & topic-related magazines, covering writings both factual & imaginative. Paradise, CA: DustBooks, 1984.: [Van Pelt Library Reference: DS559.5 .T56 1984]
The Vietnam War: Handbook of the Literature and Research. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1993.: [Van Pelt Library Reference: DS558 .V58 1993]

Women's Movement, Feminism

Buhle, Mari Jo. Women and the American left: a guide to sources. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall, c1983.: [Van Pelt Reference Stacks: HQ1420 .B95 1983]; See especially the section for 1965-1981, pp. 195-246.
Nordquist, Joan. The feminist movement: a bibliography. Santa Cruz, CA: Reference and Research Services, 1992.: [Van Pelt Reference Stacks: HQ1150 .N67 1992]
Ryan, Barbara. The women's movement: references and resources. New York: G.K. Hall, 1996.: [Van Pelt Reference Stacks: HQ1236.5.U6 R93 1996]

VI. Selected Primary Sources Collections

In addition to the newspaper and periodical articles indexes described above, the Library houses other types of primary source material:

A. Autobiography, Personal Writings

Be sure to check all relevant figures as authors in Franklin. The Library has many bibliographies of published diaries, among them are:

Brignano, Russell C. Black Americans in autobiography; an annotated bibliography of autobiographies and autobiographical books written since the Civil War.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks:

B. Speeches and Debates

Annenberg/Pew Archive of Presidential Campaign Discourse.: Annenberg Library CD-ROM; Transcripts of speeches, television ads and debates of twelve United States general election Presidential campaigns-1952 through 1996. Includes the work of the two major party nominees-with the exception of Barry Goldwater. Collection begins September 1 of each election year and ends on election eve or day. Nomination acceptance speeches are also included. The Archive is available on CD-ROM and is fully searchable by subject and keyword.
Vital Speeches of the Day. New York, The City News Pub. Co.: [online: from EBSCO], 1934 - present; [Van Pelt Library Stacks: PN6121 .V52], v.1 (1934/1935) - .
Speech Index.: [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: AI3.S85]
Voices of Multicultural America: notable speeches delivered by African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Americans, 1790-1995. Deborah Gillan Straub, editor. New York : Gale Research, c1996.: [Annenberg Library Reference: PS663.M55 V64 1996]
A Call to Conscience: the Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Edited by Clayborne Carson and Kris Shephard. New York : Intellectual Properties Management, Inc. in association with Warner Books, c2001.: [Van Pelt Library Stacks: E185.97.K5 A5 2001]
Kennedy, Robert. RFK: Collected Speeches. Edited and introduced by Edwin Guthman and C. Richard Allen New York : Viking, 1993.: [Van Pelt Library Stacks: E840.8 .K4 1993]

C. Presidential Papers

Public papers of the presidents of the United States. (print). Washington : Federal Register Division, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration ; For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O.,: [Van Pelt Library Stacks: J80 .A283]; Contains the public messages, speeches, and statements of the President. Set includes Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. For additional works by the presidents, including published correspondence, remember to search under the names of the presidents as authors.
Online Presidential Research collections .: John F. Kennedy Library - includes speeches and press conferences.; Lyndon B. Johnson Library - see Research tab for online collections.; Richard M. Nixon Library - 1969-1974. Click on Research Center, then Public Papers.; Gerald Ford Library and Museum - see online documents.

D. Microform Collections

Facts on film. May 1954-Dec. 1973.: Reproduces the unique collection of materials on race relations assembled in the Library of the Southern Education Reporting Service based in Nashville, Tennessee. Includes the Southern School News, transcripts of U.S. Supreme Court hearings, newspaper editorials from southern papers, newspaper clippings by subject and by state, pamphlets, and miscellaneous materials.; [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 127]; Reel Index in Microforms at E185.61 F165]
FBI file on Malcolm X [microform]. Wilmington, DE : Scholarly Resources, [1995?]: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm 4354], reel 1-10 + guide.
Herstory. 90 reels.: Contains women's periodicals from the International Women's History Periodical Archive.; [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm cont 319]; "Table of contents" shelved at Microforms service desk.
Papers of the NAACP.: "Part 20: White resistence and reprisals, 1956-1965." 15 reels.; [Microfilm 4296 Part 20]; "Part 21: relations with the modern civil rights movement, 1956-1965." 22 reels.; [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm 4296 Part 21]
Civil Rights During the Nixon Administration, 1969-1974 [microform]. Frederick, MD : University Publications of America, c1989-.: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm 4303], part 1:reel 1-46 + "Guide pt. 1".; A description is available from the LexisNexis company.
Civil Rights during the Johnson Administration [microform]: a Collection from the Holdings of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, Austin, Texas. Frederick, Md. : University Publications of America, c1984-c1987.: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm 3948], Reels 1-69 + Guides pt.1-5; pt. 1. The White House central files; pt. 2. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; pt. 3. Oral histories; pt. 4. Papers of the White House Conference on Civil Rights, 1965-1966; pt. 5. Records of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Kerner Comission).
United States. President's Commission on Campus Unrest. President's commission on campus unrest [microform]. . Bethesda, MD : University Publications of America, c2001.: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: Microfilm 4476}; Investigations into the tragedies at Kent State University and Jackson State College. The commission held its first meeting on June 25, 1970. During the next three months, it conducted 13 days of public hearings in Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles, California; Jackson, Mississippi; and Kent, Ohio.
Underground Press Collection.: [Van Pelt Library Microtext: microfilm news 270], 473 reels.; See the Listing of Contents for titles in the microform collection [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: AI3 .U54].

VII. Selected Internet Sites

Civil Rights in Mississippi - Digital Archive -McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.: Searchable collection of digitized varchival material documenting Mississippis role in the Civil Rights movement. Contains oral histories (some with audio excepts) from local civil rights leaders and activists, manuscripts, letters, diaries and photographs.
Vietnam Project - Texas Tech University: Includes the Vietnam Vitual Archive, a collection of scanned documents and images concerning the Vietnam War, Indochina, and the impact of the war on the United States and Southeast Asia.
Black Panther Newspaper Collection: Selected articles from the Black Panther.
Documents from the Women's Liberation Movement - An On-line Archival Collection Special Collections Library, Duke University: The materials in this on-line archival collection document various aspects of the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States, and focus specifically on the radical origins of this movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Items range from radical theoretical writings to humourous plays to the minutes of an actual grassroots group.
Famous American Trials - "The Chicago Seven" Trial, 1969-1970
Free Speech Movement, Student Protest U.C. Berkeley, 1964-65: Includes oral histories, journals, legal proceedings, contemporaneous journalism, FSM newsletters, books, pamphlets, minutes of meetings, government documents, and more.
Imaginative Representations of the Viet Nam War - Connelly Library, La Salle University
Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project - Stanford University
May 4th Collection from Kent State University Libraries and Media Services, Department of Special Collections and Archives.
Sixties Project: Includes a wide range of materials, including the Personal Narrative Project.
The Whole World Was Watching: an oral history of 1968.: A joint project between South Kingstown High School and Brown University's Scholarly Technology Group. The resource contains transcripts, audio recordings, and edited stories of a series of interviews conducted in the spring of 1998. Members of the Sophomore Class at SKHS interviewed Rhode Islanders about their recollections of the year 1968.

For Further assistance, please contact:

Nick Okrent at okrent@pobox.upenn.edu

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