Guides: History of Higher Education: Home

Welcome to the History of Higher Education Research Guide

"Allensworth Classroom" by JOE-3PO is marked with CC BY 2.0.

The History of Higher Education Research LibGuide seeks to dive into the topic of the evolution of higher education in the United States, allowing the audience to fully comprehend the history of higher education, with a particular focus on post-World War II through modern-day higher education populations. Higher education changed rapidly and drastically during this specific time frame, transforming from our forefathers' original ideas and principles. The audience will understand the driving forces behind the higher education boom by introducing the GI Bill in post-World War II America. In addition, the LibGuide will include several topics and issues affecting equity in and access to higher education today, including but not limited to-socioeconomic status and financial aid practices that affect students all over the United States. It will also cover the booming business it has become and the student debt crisis it is creating. This LibGuide is targeted at an educated adult population.

History of Higher Education Resources

America History and Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Covers 1,700 journals on the literature and history of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to present day.
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Historical Abstracts covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more.
Legal Collection This link opens in a new window
250 full-text, scholarly law journals. Authoritative source for current issues, studies, thoughts and trends of the legal world.
U.S. Federal Legislative History Library This link opens in a new window
Full-text legislative history on some of the most important US legislation, as well as related materials.

Hein Online

ERIC This link opens in a new window
Provides access to information from journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to the highest-quality academic journals, books, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
Education Source This link opens in a new window
Education Source is the most authoritative resource for the study of education, covering over 1,700 journals, books, and over 4 million articles.
Educational Administration Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Over 60 thousand records on education administrations and related research areas.

Higher Education in the United States: An Encyclopedia

Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Historic London Times Newspaper collection, 1785 to 2014.
Historic New York Times This link opens in a new window
Historic New York Times Newspaper collection, 1851 to 2010.
Historic Washington Post This link opens in a new window
Historic Washington Post Newspaper collection, 1877 to 1997.
Historic Wall Street Journal This link opens in a new window
Historic Wall Street Journal Newspaper collection, 1889 to 1996.
Historic Baltimore African American This link opens in a new window
Historic Baltimore African American Newspaper collection, 1893 to 1988.
Dallas Morning News Current and Historical Collection This link opens in a new window
A unique historical digital image collection accessible by keyword and date searching. It documents major events in Texas, the United States, and the world, providing valuable primary source information. Classified and display advertising, photos and graphics are also included.
Historic Chicago Tribune This link opens in a new window
Historic Chicago Tribune Newspaper collection, 1849 to 1990.
Early American Newspapers Series 10 This link opens in a new window
Provides more than 440 titles from all 50 present states. Included are more than 60 18th-century newspapers, and many more of the earliest 19th-century newspapers.
Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window
Selected full text coverage for 245 newspapers, newswires and other sources.
19th Century US Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Provides access to approximately 500 U.S. newspapers (1800-1900), many published in what were, at the time, only territories.

Association for the Study of Higher Education - This source supports the ASHE Reader Series on the history of higher education. The Reader Series is a considerable collection of primary sources related to American higher education generally with specific documents organized chronologically. It also offers some general overviews of the history of higher education in the United States.
American Association of Community Colleges - This site offers a historical background of community colleges in the U.S.
History and Archival Resources in Higher Education -
History of Education: Selected Moments of the 20th Century - Daniel Schugurensky, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Penn State: An Illustrated History -
The History of the California Master Plan for Higher Education - a project of the Center for Studies in Higher Education
Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities - Morrill Act Sesquicentennial, 1862-2012

125th Anniversary of Johns Hopkins University -
Brown v. Board of Education -
Five College Archives - This is a digital archive for the Five Colleges - Amherst, Smith, Mount Holyoke, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Hampshire. The collection emphasizes the history of women's education at these institutions.
Junior College History Sources, 1900-1940 -
National Student Affairs Archive - Hosted by Bowling Green State University
Our Documents - This site has 100 significant documents in U.S. history, including the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
Oyez: US Supreme Court Cases -
Student Affairs History Project -
The Morrill Act of 1862 - Full text of the Morrill Act, hosted by the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library
Library of Congress Digital Collection
A large collection of spoken and written words, written and spoken words, images, maps, and other documents on American history including immigration, cities and towns, Native American and African American history, etc.
National Archives
The Making of America
Primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. Separate collections at Cornell and the University of Michigan.
Discovering American Women's History Online
Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project
Library Journal says: "...full-text access to over 3500 historical documents from Lincoln's Illinois years (1830-1861), including writings and speeches..."
Documenting the American South
The American Civil War: A collection of free online primary sources
From College and Research News, vol.75. no. 5
The American Civil War: A collection of free online primary sources
Susan Birkenseer 269-273
Africans in America
World War II Primary Source Document Collection
The Avalon Project
Primary source documents -- treaties, agreements, etc -- dating back to ancient Greece, with a focus on US and European history.
Repositories of Primary Sources
A listing of over 5000 websites with manuscripts, archives, photographs and other primary source materials.
Early Advertising Collection
According to the project website, "the Early Advertising Collection contains European and American printed advertisements dating from 1790 to 1910."

A Brief History of Affirmative Action in California - This site gives a good overview of the laws, regulations and policies affecting affirmative action in the state of California.
American Association of University Professors
Important Events in Higher Education - James Forest & Kevin Kinser. 2002. Higher Education in the United States: An Encyclopedia. New York: ABC-CLIO Publishers.