Finding Resources: Chronicling America Historic Newspaper Topic Guides

The Teaching with Library of Congress blog provides some great tips for finding articles in the Chronicling America Historic Newspaper Collections and provides some teaching ideas as well. Be sure to check out, too, the following learning activity: Comparing Reports: Battle of Little Bighorn.

Below is a list of topic guides by subject, each of which includes a list of important dates, search strategies, and sample articles. You can also scroll through these topics by date range or by title.

African American History

• Booker T. Washington (1895-1915)
• Emancipation Proclamation (1862-1863)
• Fugitive Slave Ads (1792-1861)
• Harpers Ferry. John Brown. (1859)
• Harriet Tubman (1869-1913)
• Ida B. Wells (1892-1909)
• Jack Johnson vs. James J. Jeffries (1910)
• James Reese Europe, the Jazz King (1909-1919)
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1892-1905)
• Pullman Porters (1894-1910)
• Race Riot, NY (1900)
• Ragtime (1897-1921)
• Silent Protest Parade (1917-1922)
• Sissieretta Jones: African-American Soprano (1889-1911)
• Tulsa Race Riot (1921)

American Enterprise, Industrialization and Development

• Alaska Gold Rush (1890-1905)
• Andrew Carnegie (1901-1920)
• The Annexation of Hawaii (1887-1898)
• Bat Masterson (1877-1921)
• Billy Sunday, Evangelist (1891-1919)
• Clara Barton (1881-1904)
• Daylight Savings Time (1918)
• Deadwood (1876-1880)
• Dollar Princesses (1874-1910)
• Edison (1904-1920)
• Electric Cars (1891-1922)
• From Territory to Statehood: The Northern West (1882-1907)
• From Territory to Statehood: The Southwest (1893-1910)
• From Territory to Statehood: The West (1890-1907)
• Golden Spike (1862-1869)
• Hello Girls (1898-1922)
• Horseless Carriages and Ford’s Model T (1895-1920)
• Motorcycle Mania (1869-1921)
• New York Subway (1903-1922)
• Newsies (1891-1915)
• Pinkertons (1875-1919)
• Pulitzer (1895-1911)
• Pure Food and Drug Act (1899-1906)
• Rockefeller (1891-1915)
• Seward’s Folly (1867-1903)
• Skyscrapers (1892-1914)
• Standard Oil (1904-1911)
• Washington Monument (1836-1894)
• Wright Brothers (1903-1905)

Arts, Education, Culture, Crazes and Trends

• Alternative Medicine (1887-1918)
• Anna Eva Fay (1881-1908)
• Bachelor Maids (1894-1918)
• Ballet Russes. Serge Diaghilev (1910-1916)
• Bicycle Craze (1889-1898)
• Bicycle Fashion (1887-1898)
• Birth of a Nation (1915-1917)
• The Bloomer (1851-1897)
• Bohemia in Greenwich Village (1914-1922)
• Buffalo Bill (1869-1999)
• Buster Brown (1904-1915)
• Carnegie Libraries (1885-1904)
• Cartoonist W.E. Hill (1916-1922)
• Caruso in the United States (1903-1921)
• Charlie Chaplin
• Cherry Trees (1909-1919)
• Circus (1794-1919)
• Comic Strips (1899-1908)
• Comics: Mr. Skygack, From Mars (1907-1914)
• Courier of the Czar (1877-1914)
• Dorothy Dix (1904-1920)
• Early Cinema (1882-1909)
• Edwin Booth (1853-1913)
• Enslaved by a Pirate (1907)
• Esperanto (1887-1920)
• Eugenics (1887-1921)
• Eva Tanguay (1901-1922)
• Figure Skating (1864-1917)
• James Montgomery Flagg (1904-1922)
• Flappers (1919-1922)
• The Gibson Girl. The standard of feminine beauty. (1895-1908)
• Gorky. Russian author and revolutionary visits the US (1906)
• Helen Bertram. Prima donna of comic opera. (1887-1908)
• Houdini (1906-1919)
• Hypnotism (1887-1921)
• James Reese Europe, the Jazz King (1909-1919)
• Jazz (1921-1922)
• Jessie Fowler, Phrenologist (1898-1922)
• John Philip Sousa (1892-1921)
• Lady Constance Richardson (1901-1921)
• Mabel Stark (1915-1921)
• Mark Twain, stories about (1878-1921)
• Mark Twain, stories by (1866-1916)
• Martians (1870-1922)
• The Metropolitan Opera House (1880-1903)
• New York Public Library (1895-1912)
• Nietzsche (1896-1921)
• The Ouija Board (1890-1921)
• Oscar Wilde (1881-1910)
• Passenger Pigeons (1889-1916)
• Paul Poiret (1911-1922)
• Paul Swan (1910-1921)
• Polaire (1899-1916)
• Radium (1903-1921)
• Ragtime (1897-1921)
• Sissieretta Jones: African-American Soprano (1889-1911)
• Teddy Bear (1902-1914)
• Theda Bara (1915-1934)
• Utopian Communities (1845-1922)
• Valentino (1921-1926)
• Walt Whitman (1852-1822)
• Zodiac Craze (1879-1921)

Crimes and Trials of the Century

• Adolph Luetgert (1897-1913)
• Alfred Packer, The Man Eater (1874-1907)
• Anarchist Incidents (1886-1920)
• Belle Gunness Murder Farm (1908)
• Black Bart (1883-1922)
• Butch Cassidy (1889-1913)
• Carrie Nation (1900-1911)
• Catarrh Remedy: Peruna Scandal (1885-1918)
• Cocaine Epidemic (1898-1915)
• Constance Kopp (1914-1916)
• The Dreyfus Affair (1894-1906)
• Emma Goldman: McKinley Assassination Conspirator? (1901)
• Erich Muenter’s “Reign of Terror” (1906-1915)
• Fatty Arbuckle (1917-1922)
• Guldensuppe Murder (1897-1898)
• H.H.Holmes and the Murder Castle (1894-1914)
• The Haymarket Affair. A terrorist bomb in Chicago. (1886-1893)
• Haywood Trial. Terrorists in Idaho. (1905-1908)
• Heroin (1912-1919)
• Italian Squad, NYPD (1904-1922)
• Jack the Ripper (1888-1891)
• Jesse James (1876-1916)
• The Kidnapping of Ellen Stone (1901-1902)
• The Kidnapping of Ion Perdicaris (1904-1907)
• Leo Frank (1913-1915)
• Lincoln Assassination (1865)
• Lizzie Borden (1892-1893)
• Los Angeles Times Bombing (1910-1913)
• Molineux (1891-1917)
• Molly Maguires (1867-1911)
• Mona Lisa (1910-1919)
• Palmer Raids (1919-1921)
• Russell Sage Dynamite Attack (1891-1907)
• Ruth Cruger (1917-1920)
• Stanford White Murder “trial of the century” (1906-1908)
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911-1914)

Natural Wonders, Disasters and the Environment

• Blizzard (1888)
• Boston Fire (1872)
• Brooklyn Theater Fire (1876)
• Bubonic Plague in Chinatown (1899-1920)
• Chicago Fire (1871)
• Cloquet Fire (1918)
• Curious Cases (1894-1910)
• Galveston Flood (1900)
• Grover Shoe Factory Disaster (1905)
• Halley’s Comet (1909-1910)
• Hoboken Pier Fire (1900)
• Influenza of 1918 (1918-1920)
• Iroquois Theater Fire (1903-1905)
• Johnstown Flood (1889)
• Knickerbocker Theater Collapse (1922)
• Krakatoa (1883-1921)
• Monongah Mine Disaster (1907)
• Morgan Ammunition Depot Explosion (1918)
• Orchidelirium (1885-1905)
• Race to the North Pole (1909)
• Race to the South Pole (1909-1913)
• San Francisco Earthquake (1906)
• Sinking of the SS Sultana (1865-1898)
• Slocum Steamboat Tragedy (1904-1906)
• Titanic, Sinking of (1912)
• Tornado Outbreak (1908)
• Train Wreck in Washington DC (1906)
• Tuberculosis (1882-1922)
• Typhoid Mary (1907-1915)
• Wellington Washington Train Disaster (1910)
• Yellowstone (1871-1922)
• Yosemite National Park (1855-1916)

Politics, Government and World Leaders

• Alice Longworth (1905-1906)
• Brewers’ Campaign Against Prohibition (1907-1918)
• Communism (1845-1920)
• Czar Nicholas II (1894-1921)
• Easter Rising (1916)
• Edith Wilson (1896-1920)
• Emancipation Proclamation (1862-1863)
• Eugene Debs (1894-1921)
• Frances Cleveland (1885-1891)
• French Revolution of 1848 (1848-1852)
• The Garfield Assassination (1881-1882)
• Hippopotamus Steak (1910)
• Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (1866-1868)
• Know-Nothings (1854-1859)
• Larrazolo (1906-1921)
• League of Nations (1918-1920)
• Masaryk (1902-1918)
• The McKinley Assassination (1901)
• Nineteenth Amendment. The vote for women. (1890-1920)
• Pope Leo VIII’s Death & Election of Pius X (1903-1914)
• President Cleveland and rumors of a Cancerous Growth (1893)
• Presidential Administrations
  • Chester A. Arthur (1881-1886)
  • James A. Garfield (1880-1883)
  • Grover Cleveland (1885-1894)
  • Benjamin Harrison (1888-1892)
  • William McKinley (1897-1901)
  • Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1912)
  • William Taft (1908-1913)
• Presidential Elections
  • Cleveland vs. Harrison (1884)
  • Benjamin Harrison (1888)
  • Grover Cleveland (1892)
  • William McKinley (1896)
  • McKinley-Roosevelt (1900)
  • Theodore Roosevelt (1904)
  • William Taft (1908)
  • Woodrow Wilson (1912)
• Prohibition (1917-1920)
• Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
• Rasputin (1912-1917)
• Rev. Talmage (1884-1902)
• Russian Revolution of 1905 (1905-1906)
• Sixteenth Amendment: The Personal Income Tax (1909-1920)
• Theodore Roosevelt’s Africa Expedition (1909-1910)
• Victor Berger, Socialist Congressman (1910-1921)
• Victoria Woodhull (1871-1908)
• William Jennings Bryan Resignation (1915-1919)
• Wyatt Earp (1878-1921)

Public Spirit, Exhibitions, and Celebrations

• April Fools’ Day (1871-1922)
• Boy Scouts (1910-1922)
• Christmas Carols (1904-1925)
• Eiffel Tower (1889-1911)
• Fourth of July Celebrations (1876-1911)
• Halloween (1861-1922)
• Labor Day (1882-1906)
• Lincoln Memorial (1910-1922)
• Memorial Day/Decoration Day (1868-1920)
• Mother’s Day (1909-1922)
• New Century Celebrations (1899-1901)
• Owney, the Railway Mail Dog (1891-1899)
• Statue of Liberty (1878-1886)
• Stunt Flyers (1910-1921)
• Thanksgiving (1863-1920)
• World’s Fair: Chicago (1892-1893)
• World’s Fair: Philadelphia (1870-1876)
• World’s Fair: St Louis (1901-1904)
• Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (1897-1920)

Science, Technology, and Innovation

• Air Mail (1912-1922)
• Boston Subway (1897-1921)
• Brooklyn Bridge (1883-1920)
• Darwin (1863-1919)
• The Electric Chair (1887-1919)
• Female Pilots (1911-1918)
• The Flatiron Building (1902-1908)
• Glenn Curtiss (1904-1914)
• Harriet Quimby (1911-1912)
• Interpretation of Dreams (1893-1922)
• Marconi (1896-1922)
• Marie Curie (1899-1921)
• Melvin Vaniman (1910-1912)
• Mount Wilson Observatory (1905-1917)
• Nikola Tesla (1894-1915)
• The Panama Canal (1889-1914)
• Patent Medicines (1902-1909)
• Invention of the Telephone (1876-1915)
• Shackleton (1910-1916)
• Theodore Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet (1907-1909)
• Titanic, the Building of (1908-1910)
• Women and Aviation (1910-1919)
• X-rays (1896-1922)

Sports and American Pastimes

• Babe Ruth (1916-1922)
• Badminton (1886-1920)
• Baseball’s World Series (1903-1910)
• Basketball (1893-1915)
• Boston Marathon and the nationwide marathon craze. (1897-1909)
• Chicago Black Sox Baseball Scandal (1919-1921)
• Exercise Tips for Women (1902-1921)
• Football Reform (1905-1906)
• Francis Ouimet (1912-1913)
• Indianapolis 500-mile Race (1911-1922)
• Jack Johnson vs. James J. Jeffries (1910)
• Jim Thorpe Native American Athlete (1912-1922)
• Marihuana (1887-1922)
• Motor Sport Spectators and Death (1906-1921)
• Olympics (1896-1920)
• Pacific Coast Hockey Association (1912-1919)
• Ping-pong craze (1900-1902)
• Roller Coasters (1884-1915)
• Roller Skating Craze (1905-1912)
• John L. Sullivan (1882-1918)
• Tennis (1881-1923)
• Vanderbilt Cup (1904-1921)
• Yoga (1905-1918)

Struggle for Human Rights and Freedoms

• Alice Paul (1910-1922)
• Alma Boone Little (1914-1915)
• Asylums (1840-1920)
• Battle of Blair Mountain, WV. (1921)
• Bleeding Kansas (1854-1859)
• Booker T. Washington (1895-1915)
• Brandeis (1908-1916)
• Carrie Chapman Catt (1900-1920)
• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1909)
• Clarence Darrow (1894-1920)
• Colorado Coalfield War (1913-1915)
• The Cour d’Alene Mining Insurrection (1892-1899)
• Crystal Eastman (1909-1920)
• Dawes Act (1887-1922)
• Dorr Rebellion (1841-1855)
• Eight Hour Day (1915-1917)
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1850-1912)
• Ellis Island (1890-1907)
• Fugitive Slave Ads (1792-1861)
• Ghost Dance Movement (1890-1916)
• Golden Flyer Suffragettes (1916)
• Gompers (1877-1920)
• Harpers Ferry. John Brown. (1859)
• Harriet Tubman (1869-1913)
• Helen Keller (1888-1920)
• Homestead Strike (1892)
• Ida B. Wells (1892-1909)
• Jane Addams (1905-1920)
• Ludlow Massacre (1914)
• Margaret Sanger (1915-1922)
• Mother Jones (1994-1921)
• Nellie Bly (1887-1922)
• Native American Education (1879-1920)
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1892-1905)
• Pullman Porters (1894-1910)
• Race Riot, NY (1900)
• Railroad Strike of 1886 (1886)
• Silent Protest Parade (1917-1922)
• Susan B. Anthony (1883-1920)
• Teamsters Union Strike (1905)
• Tulsa Race Riot (1921)
• Wounded Knee Massacre (1890-1914)
• The Yaqui (1886-1915)

The Civil War

• Appomattox (1865-1868)
• Belle Boyd (1862-1900)
• Civil War Ballooning (1861-1864)
• Blockade Runners in the Civil War (1862-1904)
• Boston Corbett (1865-1920)
• Civil War Maps in the New York Daily Tribune (1861-1865)
• Civil War Secessions (1860-1861)
• Fort Sumter (1861)
• Gettysburg (1863)
• Ironclads (1861-1931)
• Sherman’s March (1864)

World War I

• Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914-1918)
• Christmas Truce (1914-1915)
• Female Spies in World War One (1915-1922)
• Lafayette Escadrille: American Aviators in World War (1916-1918)
• League of Nations (1918-1920)
• Mata Hari (1905-1922)
• Pigeons in War (1901-1921)
• Planes in WWI (1908-1917)
• Red Cross (1914-1918)
• The Sinking of the Lusitania (1915)
• Tanks in World War I (1916-1918)
• Treaty of Versailles (1919)
• World War I Armistice (1918)
• World War I Declarations (1914,1917)
• World War I Draft (1917-1919)
• World War I Poetry (1916-1920)
• Zimmermann Telegram (1917)

Other war related pages

• Battleships. Pre-World War I naval arms race. (1906-1910)
• The Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)
• Dr. Mudd: Conspirator or Saint? (1865-1883)
• Nathan Bedford Forrest (1879-1914)
• Pancho Villa (1913-1922)
• Philippine-American War (1899-1902)
• Roosevelt’s Rough Riders (1898-1899)
• Russo-Japanese War (1904-1906)
• The Sinking of the Maine (1898)
• Spanish-American War (1898)
• Submarines (1864-1918)
• Vera Cruz (1914)

Women’s History

• Alice Paul (1910-1922)
• Alma Boone Little (1914-1915)
• Belle Boyd (1862-1900)
• The Bloomer (1851-1897)
• Bloomer Girls Baseball (1897-1909)
• Carrie Chapman Catt (1900-1920)
• Carrie Nation (1900-1911)
• Clara Barton (1881-1904)
• Constance Kopp (1914-1916)
• Crystal Eastman (1909-1920)
• Dollar Princesses (1874-1910)
• Dorothy Dix (1904-1920)
• Edith Wilson (1896-1920)
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1850-1912)
• Emma Goldman: McKinley Assassination Conspirator? (1901)
• Female Pilots (1911-1918)
• Female Spies in World War I (1915-1922)
• Flappers (1919-1922)
• Frances Cleveland (1885-1891)
• The Gibson Girl. The standard of feminine beauty. (1895-1908)
• Golden Flyer Suffragettes (1916)
• Harriet Tubman (1869-1913)
• Helen Bertram. Prima donna of comic opera. (1887-1908)
• Helen Keller (1888-1920)
• Hello Girls (1898-1922)
• Ida B. Wells (1892-1909)
• Jane Addams (1905-1920)
• Katherine Stinson (1912-1921)
• The Kidnapping of Ellen Stone (1901-1902)
• Margaret Sanger (1915-1922)
• Mother Jones (1994-1921)
• Mother’s Day (1909-1922)
• Nellie Bly (1887-1922)
• Queen Victoria (1837-1901)
• Sissieretta Jones: African-American Soprano (1889-1911)
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911-1914)
• Typhoid Mary (1907-1915)
• Susan B Anthony (1883-1920)
• Victoria Woodhull (1871-1908)

State-focused Chronicling America Highlights

• Topic Search Guides for Hawaii and the Pacific and Historical Feature Articles from the  University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Ohio Titles (by name, county, region, time period, special press, Civil War) and Ohio Topic Guides from Ohio Memory
• South Carolina-Topics in Chronicling America from The University of South Carolina University Libraries

Do you know of more state-focused links to newspapers in the Chronicling America collections? If so, please let us know so we can add them here.