HarpWeek Features

Access: Publicly available resource

Description: Contains illustrations and the full text of specialized collections from Harpers Weekly and other sources chronicling American social, political, and economic history of the 19th century. Includes the following sites:

• Russian American Relations: Contains news, feature stories, editorials, illustrations, and cartoons showcasing Russian-American relations over the 43-year period from 1863 through 1905.
• Presidential Elections - a look at how the seven presidential elections of 1860-1884 were depicted in the political cartoons and prints of the nineteenth century.
• Political Prints and Cartoons, 1766 - 1876: The Library of Congress unmatched collection of American political prints catalogued and extensively annotated by Bernard F. Reilly, Jr.
• The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: Harper's Weekly coverage of the historic 1868 Andrew Johnson Impeachment containing over 200 excerpts from 1865-1869.
• The Electoral College Controversy of 1876-1877: Allows users to follow events day by day, to acquire a more in-depth understanding by reading the overview, and to gain insight into the press’s coverage by looking at the numerous period cartoons (most by Thomas Nast), along with corresponding explanations of their historical meaning.
• Nast and Literature: Robinson Crusoe, Don Quixote, Aesop's Fables, and other literary works find new expression in nineteenth-century America through the Harper's Weekly 117 cartoons of Thomas Nast.
• Nast and Shakespeare: Explore how William Shakespeare sparked the creative genius of Thomas Nast, America's best-known political cartoonist (contains 119 cartoons).
• The World of Thomas Nast: Provides examples of the political views of the cartoonist of Harper’s Weekly.
• A Sampler of Civil War Literature: Contains 15 Civil War stories from the pages of Harper's Weekly - Experience military and civilian life during the Civil War as the 500,000 readers of Harper's Weekly did…and view the related news articles, illustrations, cartoons, and commentary.
• Business Machines, 1857 - 1912: A look via illustrations and histories at the business machines that have enabled instantaneous, worldwide communication and facilitated truly multinational corporations and global enterprises.
• The Tobacco Controversy: A compilation of the 50-plus year history of tobacco controversy and criticism as shown in the editorials, articles, news briefs, cartoons, illustrations, poetry, and advertisements of Harper’s Weekly.
• The American West: Provides a look into some of the stories and pictures which kept 19th-century readers informed and entertained, thus preserving a unique documentation of life west of the Mississippi.
• Black America, 1857 - 1874: Provides a perspective on the multifaceted history of black Americans.
• Immigrant and Ethnic America: Detailed look at the various immigrant and ethnic groups that were a vital part of American culture during the second half of the 19th century.
• 19th Century Advertising History: From the advertising pages in Harper's Weekly, over 40,000 advertisements appeared in the publication from 1857 to 1871.

Subject(s):
Gender, Minority Studies & Anthropology
History, Genealogy & Archives
Politics & Government
Publicly Available Resources

Related Databases
America : History and Life
American Periodicals Series
HarpWeek
Nineteenth Century Masterfile
PERSI Index
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Readers' Guide Retrospective

Related Links
American Memory
Brooklyn Daily Eagle 1841 - 1902 ** http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/eagle/ **
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