American Periodicals Series Online
APS Online contains digitized images of over 1,500 titles and 7 million pages of American magazines and journals, from the first American magazines, published in 1741, to the advent of American involvement in World War II - 200 years of American history as recorded in magazines, journals, and newspapers.
The journals in this collection cover three broad periods:
- Eighty-nine journals published between 1740 and 1800 offer insights into America's transition from a British colony to an independent nation. Titles include Massachusetts Magazine, which published America's first short stories, and Thomas Paine's Pennsylvania Magazine, which reported on inventions. One of the first mass printings of the Declaration of Independence, a letter by George Washington on the crucial Battle of Trenton, and the thoughts of Benjamin Franklin are among the highlights of content from this period.
- More than 900 titles from the first 60 years of the nineteenth century showcase "the golden age of American periodicals." General interest magazines, children's publications, and more than 20 journals for women are among the historically-significant content that also includes the serialization of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin in National Era. Also available are hard-to-find materials, such as Edgar Allan Poe's contributions to the Southern Literary Messenger, as well as the first appearances of Nathaniel Hawthorne's stories in New England Magazine, and Margaret Fuller's contributions to the Dial.
- One hundred eighteen periodicals published during the Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction (1865-1877) eras reflect the nation in turmoil and growth, and titles from the 1880s through 1900 capture the settling of the West and the emergence of modern America. Early professional journals, including Publications of the American Economic Association, popular titles such as Scribner's Monthly issued by publishing houses, celebrations of Americana in Ladies' Home Journal, thoroughly-researched investigative journalism in McClure's, and the incisive political and social commentary of Puck illustrate the variety of the American experience.
For more information on resources in American history or literature, contact Adam Rosenkranz, history librarian, or Gale Burrow, librarian for British & American literature.