United States

Discovering American Roots of the Indian Independence Movement through Gale Primary Sources: The Hindu-German Conspiracy Trials in the USA

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| By Amandeep Singh, Gale Ambassador at Banaras Hindu University |

Whenever the Indian revolutionary movement outside India is taught in history classes at different universities and colleges, the Komagata Maru incident of 1914 and the revolutionary activities of the Ghadar Movement in the United States certainly bring a thrilling experience to students and teachers. However, over the years, it has become a footnote when it comes to bringing new discourses.

For decades, the revolutionary movements outside India have not been rethought in the ways they should have been. The paucity of primary sources and travel limitations have been among the significant reasons why scholars and students have been unable to rethink and revisit the revolutionary movements abroad, especially in the USA.

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Collisions: Driving Through Digital Humanities in Search of Roadkill

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│By Gilberto Mazzoli, ESEH-Gale Fellow│

In 2024 I have been one of four recipients of the ESEH-Gale Fellowship in Digital Environmental Humanities. This fellowship has been a good opportunity to explore some aspects of my research in environmental history in a different way and helped to make my current research more visible.

This fellowship not only allowed me to access for seven months, numerous online Gale Primary Sources archives related to the environmental history of the United States and to experiment with tools contained in the Gale Digital Scholar Lab, but enabled me to develop a part of my research project related to the creation of digital interactive maps. This pushed me to learn new technical skills, like GIS, and to think differently about some aspects of my research in environmental history.

In this brief account I reflect on my first experience with digital humanities and on the challenges faced during my research.

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Exploring Latino History through the Chicano Movement

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│By Phil Virta, Senior Acquisitions Editor, Gale Primary Sources│

Gale’s archive Latino Social and Political Culture and History: Perspectives on the Chicano Movement presents a history of Chicanas/os in the United States with documents on programmes that brought Mexican guest workers to the country such as the Bracero Programme, organisations that evolved to support the community such as the United Farm Workers, and the individuals who helped found and advance the Chicano Movement (El Movimiento) such as César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, and Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales. 

Labour records, correspondence, organisational papers, personal papers, manuscripts, and ephemera all contribute to our understanding of a tumultuous period in the annals of the United States. This post will introduce the background and content of this important new archive.

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The American Civil War: The International Perspective – The First Digital Archive of Its Kind

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│By Emma Harris, Associate Editor, Gale Primary Sources│

A fundamental topic in American history, the American Civil War (1861-1865) was a major event of the nineteenth century, not just in America but also in global politics, with ramifications for the future of slavery and ideas of popular, democratic government. Lecturers and researchers have increasingly been looking to study the war in its international context as the trajectory and outcome of the war impacted those beyond just America—especially in Europe.

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An Exploration of Women’s Liberation: Insights from Gale Primary Sources

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│By Poppy Sargent, Gale Ambassador at the University of Exeter│

Exploring women’s liberation throughout the years reveals a journey of bravery, courage, and transformation. From the beginning of the women’s liberation movement to the twentieth century, women have held a powerful position in society, whether this be in the workplace, politics, or simply social aspects of society.

Leveraging insights from Gale Primary Sources, this exploration delves into the ways in which women’s liberation was advertised, highlighting key events which led up to the result of women’s suffrage in the United States, various leaflets and posters used to advertise suffrage, and how these can be used to influence modern day suffrage articles. Gale’s extensive archives highlight the crucial role of the media in advertising women’s suffrage.

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Sacred Returns: The American Bison, Prophecy and History  

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│By Lindsay Whitaker-Guest, Associate Editor│

In June 2024, an extremely rare white bison (buffalo) calf was sighted in Yellowstone National Park causing great excitement amongst visitors, wildlife researchers, and most significantly local Native American people.

The birth is ecologically and culturally important, but above all symbolises the momentous recovery of the American bison, which according to Native American traditions is an indication of a brighter future. But why has the birth of this adorable creature been so celebrated? And what might this mean for the future of the American bison?   

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Courting Primary Sources: Historical Opportunities from Briefs filed with the U.S. Courts of Appeals

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│By Bennett Graff, Manager, Acquisitions, Gale Primary Sources│

The family of titles that comprise The Making of Modern Law series is a critical part of the Gale Primary Sources portfolio.  Titles in the series reveal aspects of our social, economic, religious, and political history through documentation that come from a universe of data that is both part of and yet, in notable ways, distinct from the kinds of materials one might regard as “typical” of archival collections. Aside from their obvious worth to legal scholars, how can these materials be of value to researchers from other disciplines?

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Studying Colonialism in Complementary Archives: Nineteenth Century Collections Online and Decolonization

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│By Louis Venter, Gale Ambassador at the University of the Free State│

If you ask any seasoned historian what makes historical research unique, they will emphasise the crucial role of primary sources, which define and distinguish history from other forms of academic writing. In an ever-digitising world, historians can now access digital scans of genuine archival material from anywhere, eliminating the need to travel to distant archives, and making research more efficient.

Bringing together primary sources from multiple archives can enhance one’s research, and Gale Primary Sources offers two key complementary digital archives that can be used in tandem to study colonialism – Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Europe and Africa, Colonialism and Culture and Decolonization: Politics and Independence in Former Colonial and Commonwealth Territories.

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Exploring Community and Identity in Sexuality and Gender History – Archives of Sexuality and Gender: Community and Identity in North America

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│By Phil Virta, Senior Acquisitions Editor│

Queer history is full of groups and individuals that took a stand against injustices, fought to change discriminatory laws, advocated for acceptance, and spoke out for those who might otherwise remain marginalized.  Studying this history can inspire and educate us as we face ongoing challenges in society such as homophobia, transphobia, attacks on women’s rights, and a willingness to eliminate any mention of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Archives of Sexuality and Gender: Community and Identity in North America (ASG VI) offers interesting perspectives on society, sexual identity, community building, and gender issues.  It presents a history of North American society with materials that cover activism, social justice issues, disabilities, women’s rights, alternative sexualities, sexuality and religion, and ethnic communities.  The collections detail how identities developed in different social conditions, and how communities grew around dedicated, sometimes courageous, individuals and organized groups.

In this venture Gale Primary Sources has partnered with the ArQuives, Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives; the GLBT Historical Society; the Elihu Burritt Library (Central Connecticut State University); and Colegio de México, which represents Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  This archive comprises 28 collections that provide a personal historical perspective, helping researchers get to know the individuals and groups involved. 

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An Interdisciplinary Treasure Chest: The Pacific Coast Counterculture Collection

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│By Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr., Graphic Designer, Editor and Writer responsible for the Pacific Coast Counterculture Collection│

More than fifty years have passed since the rebellion of American youth during the 1960s that became known as the Counterculture. Now, this exciting and colourful movement is the subject of Gale Primary Sources’ Pacific Coast Counterculture Collection, which is part of their new digital archive Power to the People: Counterculture, Social Movements and the Alternative Press, Nineteenth to Twenty-First Century. The digital collection contains a unique mix of printed material – pamphlets, publications, periodicals and more – that captures the diversity, creativity and impact of individuals and small groups that emerged during this intense time.

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