UWM Libraries Research and Course Guides: HIST 294 Seminar on Historical Method: Research Techniques: Historical Newspapers

Historical Newspaper Databases

Searching for Major Newspapers

This video demonstrates how to search and browse the historical newspaper databases. These search tools allow you to find historical articles and issues published in the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Washington Post. Find database links below the video. Please note: you cannot find current or recently published news articles in these databases.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune (1849-1999)
The Chicago Tribune (1849-1999) offers full page and article images with searchable full text. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2020) This link opens in a new window
The New York Times (1851-2020) offers full page and article images with searchable full text. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Los Angeles Times (1881-2000) This link opens in a new window
The Los Angeles Times (1881-2000) offers full page and article images with searchable full text. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-2007) This link opens in a new window
The Washington Post (1877-2007) offers full page and article images with searchable full text. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.

Newspapers.com Library Edition - World Collection. This link opens in a new window
Newspapers.com Library Edition - World Collection contains historical newspapers from the 1700s - 2000s. Included are thousands of well-known regional, state, and small local newspapers in the United States and other countries. There are 150 Wisconsin-specific titles including the Janesville Daily Gazette, the Racine Daily Herald, the Eau Claire Leader, and many more.
Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers This link opens in a new window
The Wisconsin Newspaper Association's Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers provides access to more than 250 Wisconsin newspapers from 2005 to 90 days ago, and 13 historical Wisconsin newspapers from the 1800s and 1900s. Each addition is covered cover to cover in a PDF, searchable format.

Library of Congress Digitized Newspapers
This links to all the digitized newspapers in the LOC collections from 1777-1963.

Important: Milwaukee Journal/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel issues published before 1990 are only available on microfilm. See the Newspapers on Microfilm box for details.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel digital newspaper. Current content is available as well as a text (back to 1990) and image archive (back to 2018). Issues published earlier than 1990 are available on microfilm only.

Colonial Africa Newspapers from the British Library
This collection, which contains runs of colonial newspapers from Africa that span the years 1821–1922, offers a superb introduction to the geographical spread and types of newspapers available to students of European colonialism and indigenous resistance in Africa. he twenty-four titles found here represent newspapers published in nearly every main region of the colonized continent south of the Sahara: British West Africa, South Africa, Portuguese and British East Africa, and the Congo under King Leopold and Belgium.

Gale Primary Sources
Contains the newspaper collections: The Times Digital Archive, British Library Newspapers, Daily Mail Historical Archive, Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers collection, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Burney Newspapers Collection, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Nichols Newspapers Collection, Associated Press Collections Online, Mirror Historical Archive, 1903-2000, Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals, The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003, The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003, the Financial Times Historical Archive, and The Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive.
Newspapers.com Library Edition - World Collection. This link opens in a new window
Newspapers.com Library Edition - World Collection contains historical newspapers from the 1700s - 2000s. Find thousands of well-known regional, state, and small local newspapers in the United States including 150 Wisconsin papers. International coverage for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Panama, and the United Kingdom.

African American and Latine Papers

African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
African American Newspapers, 1827-1998, provides online access to approximately 270 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience. This unique collection, which includes papers from more than 35 states, features many rare and historically significant 19th-century titles.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender (1909-1975) This link opens in a new window
The Chicago Defender (1909-1975) offers full page and article images with searchable full text. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.

Milwaukee Defender 1957-1958
An African-American newspaper published between 1957 and 1958.
Soul City Times 1968-1971
An African-American newspaper published between 1968 and 1971. In 1971, the Soul City Times merged with the Milwaukee Star.
Milwaukee Star
1960's black newspaper that was the self proclaimed "Voice of the Negro in Wisconsin." A community newspaper that ranged from features such as the "Miss Milwaukee Star" and "Northside Voters Voice" to an interview with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Milwaukee in 1964.
Milwaukee Courier 1964-
Beginning in 1964, the Courier became Milwaukee’s second African-American newspaper in print at the time. The Courier is currently still in print.
La Guardia, 1969-1985
Browse digital issues of La Guardia in the Wisconsin Historical Society Digital Archives. La Guardia claims to be the first Spanish-speaking newspaper in Milwaukee. The publication's goal was to "serve as the voice of the Latino Community." La Guardia intended to be the mode of communicating "important and interesting news," both nationally and locally, that affects the community, in combination with serving as a reference to local activities.

Gender-related and Queer Publications

20th Century Advice Literature
Twentieth Century Advice Literature: North American Guides on Race, Gender, Sex, and the Family allows students and researchers to immerse themselves in the values and behaviors of Americans of the past. The collection provides a window into American social history by bringing together the instructional, prescriptive, behavioral, and etiquette literature that defined standards of personal conduct for millions of Americans and reflected the prevailing social mores across the twentieth century. When complete, the collection will contain 150,000 pages of fully searchable handbooks, manuals, textbooks, etiquette guides, self-help books, instructional pamphlets, and how-to books that illustrate both how Americans actually behaved and how they felt they ought to behave.
QZAP Queer Zine Archive
QZAP was first launched in November 2003 in an effort to preserve queer zines and make them available to other queers, researchers, historians, punks, and anyone else who has an interest DIY publishing and underground queer communities. QZAP is headquartered in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin LGBT History Project Media Collection
Collection of linked and/or digitized periodicals and news sources from and about Wisconsin's LGBTQ community.
Gay Peoples Union (GPU) News
The Gay Peoples Union Collection presents digital copies of primary source materials documenting GPU and Milwaukee's gay liberation movement. The digital collection includes the entire run of GPU News, GPU's monthly news magazine, which was published from October 1971 to January 1981. The magazine included coverage of local and national news, editorials, articles, book reviews, fiction and poetry. It published works by authors and artists such as Dennis Cooper, Betty Fairchild, Arnie Kantrowitz, and Vito Russo.

Newspapers on Microfilm

Using Microfilm

The UWM Libraries Microtext Room is located in the Lower-level, West wing of the Golda Meir Library (link to map)
Sign up to use the reader at the Equipment and Reserve Services desk or via phone at 414-229-4673. The Microtext reader can be reserved for 3 hour blocks. Users with a reservation have priority over the machine.
Check out the password for the computer hooked up to the microfilm reader from the Equipment and Reserve desk before you start.
Microtext is shelved in cabinets by call number and is self-service.

Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Microfilm

MILWAUKEE JOURNAL (Milwaukee, Wis.: 1890), Call Number: (MF) AN 06, 1890-1995
MILWAUKEE SENTINEL (Milwaukee, Wis.), Call Number: (MF) AN 05, 1883-1995

List of microfilm publications