LibGuides: HIST 396: Topic: US/Mexico Borderlands: Finding Primary Sources

Primary sources at Tomlinson Library

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Struggle, and Violence Along the US/Mexico Border: An Oral History by Thomas, John
Call Number: F 787 .T46 2017

ISBN: 1527503011

Publication Date: 2017
U.S.-Mexico Borderlands: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives by Oscar J. Martínez (Editor)
Call Number: F 786 .U13 1995

ISBN: 9780842024464

Publication Date: 1996-12-01
New Mexico Historic Documents by Richard N. Ellis (Editor)
Call Number: KFN 4000 .N48

ISBN: 0826303862

Publication Date: 1975-07-01
The Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1696 and the Franciscan Missions in New Mexico by J. Manuel Espinosa
Call Number: E 99.P9 P86 1988

ISBN: 0806123656

Publication Date: 1991-09-15
Rebels on the Rio Grande: The Civil War Journal of A.B. Peticolas by Don E. Alberts (Editor)
Call Number: E 605 .P47 1984

ISBN: 0826307736

Publication Date: 1984-11-01
The Mexican Revolution: A Brief History with Documents by Mark Wasserman
Call Number: F 1234 .W373 2012

ISBN: 9780312535049

Publication Date: 2012-03-02

19th Century US Newspapers Digital Archive
Subjects: US History, Political Science
19th Century U.S. Newspapers provides access to primary source newspaper content from the 19th century, featuring full-text content and images from numerous newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S. The collection encompasses the entire 19th century, with an emphasis on such topics as the American Civil War, African-American culture and history, Western migration and Antebellum-era life, among other subjects.
History Reference Source
Subject: History History-related books, periodicals, documents, videos, biographies, photos, and maps; some full-text from 1917-current.
Times Digital Archive 1785-2019
Subjects: Social & Behavioral Sciences, History The (London) Times has offered readers in-depth, award-winning and objective coverage of world events since its creation 1785 and is the oldest daily newspaper in continuous publication. The Times Digital Archive is an online, full-text facsimile of more than 200 years of The Times, a valuable resource for 19th – 20th Century history detailing every complete page of every issue from 1785 onward.

Many of the documents on microfilm may now be available in digital form. You can start with the catalog to determine the title, author, and date, and then go out and search for the documents online. Microfilm and microfiche can be accessed on the 2nd floor near the map cases. Please ask at the Research Help Desk for assistance.

Microfilm and government documents with the subject: Mexico - Boundaries - United States

Special Collections and Archives may have rare publications of interest to your topic, and the William H. Nelson papers do contain documents regarding water agreements between the U.S. and Mexico that may be useful for those interested in the issues around natural resource allocations.

Special Collections and Archives at Tomlinson Library
Special Collections and Archives at Tomlinson Library contains collections related to the local area and includes hundreds of documents related to the environmental history of the Western Slope, the Colorado River watershed, the Colorado Plateau, and the western U.S.
Nelson (William H.) Colorado Water Collection
Hundreds of documents related to the management of water in the West, particularly in the Colorado River watershed, available online or in Special Collections and Archives at Tomlinson Library.

Primary Source Collections in the Wild Web

Borderlands collections at the University of Arizona Special Collections
"These collections document the region's culture and history, from the colonial period to the present. Accounts of Native Americans and their ancestors, the impact of Spanish and Mexican settlement and the influx of people into the region during the 19th century are also included."
U.S.–Mexico Border Project
"The eleven year U.S.–Mexico Border Project includes the Anti-Archive—over 867 objects, 30,000 photographic images and over 15 site-specific actions and interventions in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Field-work for the project also includes interviews with border-crossers and community members in Texas and North Carolina."
Border Studies Archive at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
"The Border Studies Archive, a part of the University Library, houses collections focused on the folklore, histories and lives of people living along the U.S.-Mexican border in South Texas."
New Mexico Digital Collections
"New Mexico Digital Collections is the central search portal for digital collections about New Mexico. A service of the University of New Mexico Libraries, we provide access to digitized photographs, manuscripts, posters, oral histories, videos, maps, and books from libraries, museums, and cultural centers across the state."
The Documented Border
"The Documented Border: An Open Access Digital Archive is an interdisciplinary effort whose goal is to advance understanding and awareness about the U.S.-Mexico borderlands and its peoples during a period of unprecedented societal change. The innovative archive focuses on untold and silenced stories and events about this transnational region. The Documented Border Archive draws from the University of Arizona Libraries Special Collections Borderlands Collections, but also acquires and makes accessible oral histories and materials that broadens our understanding of the U.S.-Mexico border."
Bracero History Archive
"The Bracero History Archive collects and makes available the oral histories and artifacts pertaining to the Bracero program, a guest worker initiative that spanned the years 1942-1964. Millions of Mexican agricultural workers crossed the border under the program to work in more than half of the states in America."
Digital Collections at Briscoe Center for American History
Different digital collections at the Briscoe Center for American History contain material relevant to the study of the U.S./Mexico borderlands.

Digital Public Library of America
The Digital Public Library of America makes millions of materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the country available to all in a one-stop discovery experience. It's one of the easiest access points for online primary source materials related to United States history.
Texas Revolution - Digital Public Library of America
A sampling of documents to get you started exploring primary sources on the topic in DPLA.

A sample of collections at the Library of Congress with material relevant to the US-Mexico borderlands. Searching for "Mexico" should help you find other collections where at least some portion of the material relates to the history US-Mexico relations and the changing border.

Library of Congress Collections
Photographs, papers, and more on all eras of American History. Includes the papers of many prominent Americans from the industrial era. While the Library of Congress does hold the papers of some individuals of interest such as Andrew Carnegie, not all collections have been digitized. And cat photos. For real.
George S. Patton Papers: Diaries, 1910 to 1945
"The diaries of U.S. army officer George S. Patton (1885-1945)...The collection documents Patton's military career, including his attendance at the United States Military Academy at West Point, 1904-1909; his service on the Mexican border as a member of John J. Pershing's Mexican Punitive Expedition, 1916-1917..."
Franklin Pierce Papers
"The papers of Franklin Pierce (1804-1869), army officer, representative and senator from New Hampshire, and fourteenth president of the United States, contain approximately 2,350 items dating from 1820 to 1869. They include correspondence, a photostatic copy of a diary kept by Pierce while serving in the Mexican War, drafts of Pierce’s messages to Congress, and an engraved portrait. Pierce’s correspondence relates chiefly to his service in the Mexican War, public affairs, and national politics."
Philip Henry Sheridan Papers
"The papers of army officer Philip Henry Sheridan (1831-1888) span the years 1853-1896, with the bulk of the material originating between 1862 and 1887. They consist of approximately 18,000 items digitally reproduced from 104 microfilm reels. Relating chiefly to the Civil War, Reconstruction, Mexican border disputes, Indian wars, and military administration, the collection includes correspondence, reports, orders, memorabilia, scrapbooks, commissions, financial records, and speeches."

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
"Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present."
Arizona Historical Digital Newspapers
"Arizona's first newspaper, The Weekly Arizonian out of Tubac, started publication in 1859. During 1859-1922, newspapers documented the many significant historical events that had an enormous impact on the state and are central to the development and identity of Arizona."
California Digital Newspaper Collection
"The California Digital Newspaper Collection contains over 1,500,000 pages of significant historical California newspapers published from 1846-present, including the first California newspaper, the Californian, and the first daily California newspaper, the Daily Alta California. It also contains issues of several current California newspapers that are part of a project to preserve and provide access to contemporary papers."
New Mexico Historical Newspapers
"From 2010 to 2015, New Mexico participated in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). Over 200,000 pages of newspapers from around the state have been digitized. Hosted by the University Libraries at the University of New Mexico, funding for these projects came from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the University of New Mexico Center for Regional Studies."
Texas Digital Newspaper Program
"The Texas Digital Newspaper Program (TDNP) partners with communities, publishers, and institutions to promote standards-based digitization of Texas newspapers and to make them freely accessible via The Portal to Texas History."

United States National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Be sure to select either "Available Online" or "Archival Descriptions with Digital Objects" to see documents that are available online.

Hathi-Trust Digital Library
Subjects: Biological Sciences, Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Business,
Education, Literature Open Access Resource HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world. Titles out of copyright and in public domain are viewable.

How to find primary sources online

The tools you use to find primary sources will be individual to your topic. You can ask questions like where, when, why, how to brainstorm digital collections that may exist for your topic. Keep these especially in mind:

Is your topic associated with a particular place (state, house, university, town, etc.)? Does that place have an archive or history museum?
- An example is the Sierra Club archives, which are held at the Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley because the Sierra Club's roots are in San Francisco, California.
Is your topic a particular movement or ideology? Does that movement have a digital collection or museum? Is the movement associated with a place (state, university, town, etc.)? Does that place have an archive or history museum?
- Take Quakerism as an example. Haverford College in Pennsylvania has an extensive digital collection of documents that document Quaker life and theology.
Do a quick Google or other web search for a person's name plus "papers" or "collection" or "archives." This can sometimes lead you to the institution that holds the materials, but beware that the materials might not be digitized and readily available to you.
If it's an organization or institution that you're researching to find more about the context of your subject's life, search for the name of the organization plus "records."

You can also use your secondary sources to get an idea of where primary sources might exist. Take a look at the references in the bibliography and see where the author(s) found their primary sources.

Want to know more?

Advanced Primary Source Search Strategies
by Amber D'Ambrosio Last Updated Jun 26, 2025 39 views this year

HIST 396: Topic: US/Mexico Borderlands

Finding Primary Sources at the Library!

Online archival research tips

Primary sources at Tomlinson Library

Primary Source Collections in the Wild Web

How to find primary sources online