Unlock key Primary Sources and provide a first-hand look at pivotal moments in history

ProQuest History Vault is an award-winning, continuously growing digitized collection of unique manuscript and archival materials, curated in alignment with the curriculum and research trends. Spanning organizational records, declassified government documents, diaries, official correspondence, personal letters, business ledgers and much more, these materials allow students to examine both widely studied topics and lesser known events through the lens of primary sources. History Vault collections are available in partnership with museums and institutions who entrust ProQuest to digitize their valuable assets with the highest quality and care.

Major archival collections allow researchers to investigate a wide range of primary sources, opening new avenues for discovery and insights, while students examine the important collections to develop research and critical thinking skills.

At a glance

Aligned to Curriculum

Aligned to Curriculum

History Vault primary resource collections are curated in alignment with curriculum and emerging trends in research

Partnerships

Partnerships

Rare documents selected in partnership with prestigious archives and organizations – such as the NAACP, Chicago History Museum and government records and more – many which are digitally available only from ProQuest

Rich Discovery

Rich Discovery

Detailed indexing and rich metadata mean relevant information is easily discovered and accessed by all users

Making Silent Voices Heard

Making Silent Voices Heard

Inspire deeper research and learning about historical figures and events, including critical social movements like the Black freedom struggle and women’s suffrage, through the perspectives of people who were there

Customer Resources

Short Description

Why ProQuest?
67 modules

And growing

23M+

Digitized pages

1636-2009

Coverage

9

Subject themes

ProQuest History Vault impressed me deeply. I use a lot of historical databases, but this one stands out as one of the best and most user-friendly I've encountered. There are still so many hidden histories that await the light of day, and the curious eyes of young historians.

Andrew E. Hunt, Professor of History, University of Waterloo and author of The Turning: A History of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (NYU Press, 2001)

History Vault Collections

Southern Life, Slavery, and the Civil War

Features Petitions concerning race and slavery, Southern Plantation records, records on industrial slavery and Civil War and Reconstruction Era records.

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Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century

This category consists of the NAACP Papers and Federal Government Records, Organizational Records and Personal Papers regarding the Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century.

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Workers, Labor Unions, Progressives, and Radicals

Features collections on American workers and labor from the late 19th through 20th Century, and records of the Socialist Party of America.

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Latino History

History Vault's coverage of social movements and issues of race and ethnicity expands in this category with coverage of Latino History. This category opens with one module, Latino Civil Rights during the Carter Administration: Records of the White House Office of Hispanic Affairs.

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Women’s Studies

The Women's Studies modules in History Vault consist of records of suffrage organizations and other women's rights organizations; personal papers of women's rights advocates, many of whom were involved in the suffrage movement; and records on women at work during World War II.

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Native American History

American Indians and the American West consists of one module on American Indians and the American West from 1809-1971. This module contains several collections focusing on the interaction between American Indians and the U.S. government in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

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Revolutionary War and Early America

This category consists of one module featuring collections from the Massachusetts Historical Society. The module contains 26 collections focused on the Colonial era, the Revolutionary War, and the early national period. Highlights of the Revolutionary War era are the Artemas Ward Papers, Hancock Family Papers, and the Revere Family Papers.

American Politics and Society

American Politics and Society consists of a wide range of 19th and 20th-century material.

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International Relations and Military Conflicts

Collections in the International Relations and Military Conflicts category span from 1911-1975, offering a detailed view of U.S. foreign relations during the period from the years immediately before the outbreak of World War I through to the end of the Vietnam War.

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One of [History Vault’s] best features is the ability to search across the entire database. I would not have known to search for materials within the A. Philip Randolph Papers, for example, for Randolph was uninvolved in the VEP. And yet, through my keywords search, VEP related materials popped up in his collection.

Evan Faulkenbury, Assistant Professor of History, SUNY Cortland

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Trace the Revolutionary War rebel cause or discover Reconstruction after the Civil War. Learn about a break-through medical discovery, the inauguration of a world leader, the world wars or the Civil Rights Movement. All from one source.

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The most comprehensive multi-format collection for research and learning about Women's and Gender Studies. Explore primary sources, video, historical periodicals and more.

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ProQuest Black Studies

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ProQuest Black Studies brings together award-winning Black Studies content into one destination, combining primary and secondary sources, including leading historical Black newspapers, archival documents, key government materials, videos, writings by Black intellectuals and leaders, journals and essays by top Black Studies scholars.

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