Navigating the vast archives of historical newspapers can feel like an overwhelming task. Resources like Chronicling America, a digital database born from the partnership of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program, offer millions of digitized newspaper pages, presenting a treasure trove for researchers. Launched in 2005, Chronicling America aggregates content from partners across 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, currently holding nearly 20 million pages.
To aid in this immense information landscape, Chronicling America provides sophisticated search functions. These tools enable researchers to employ keywords, effectively sifting through the full text of newspaper pages. While keyword searching offers a powerful method to explore this wealth of historical content, achieving precise and relevant results isn’t always straightforward. The key lies in understanding the nuances of historical language and employing search terms that resonate with the period under investigation, rather than relying solely on contemporary vocabulary.
This is especially crucial when researching topics related to race and ethnicity. The language used to describe these communities has undergone significant transformations over time. Meanings of terms can be fluid, shaped by the speaker and the societal context. A Thesaurus Serving historical research becomes invaluable in this scenario. Often, terms used by “insiders” – those within a racial, ethnic, or social group – and “outsiders” – those external to the group – may differ, or carry different connotations. A dedicated thesaurus aims to capture these distinctions, offering a nuanced approach to keyword selection.
The Race and Ethnicity Keyword Thesaurus is designed to guide researchers in effectively searching Chronicling America for topics concerning race and ethnicity. It functions as a thesaurus serving as a bridge to the past, providing lists of historical terms that can unlock more pertinent search results. Furthermore, it offers strategic advice on navigating the database itself, ensuring researchers can maximize their search efficiency.
It’s important to remember that historical newspapers, as primary sources, reflect the linguistic norms of their time. This means researchers may encounter language that is considered offensive by modern standards. While Chronicling America strives to include diverse voices, particularly through the ethnic press, the majority of its current holdings are English-language publications produced by white publishers and editors. Therefore, this initial version of the Thesaurus primarily focuses on assisting researchers in identifying relevant terms related to race and ethnicity within the English-language press. However, the resource is evolving, with ongoing efforts to incorporate Spanish terms, as evidenced by entries like “Indígena” and “Negro/a.”
Researchers should also consider the intersectionality of race and ethnicity with other societal factors such as community size, class, and gender, for a more comprehensive understanding. Moreover, recognizing that Chronicling America is not an exhaustive compilation of all U.S. historical newspapers is crucial for setting realistic research expectations. To gain a better understanding of the scope of Chronicling America‘s collections, explore their interactive map and timeline interface and additional data visualizations.
For those researching immigration and citizenship, EDSITEment offers a complementary thesaurus: keywords related to immigration and citizenship, expanding the thesaurus serving concept to related fields of historical inquiry.
By utilizing these thesaurus serving resources, researchers can move beyond contemporary language barriers and delve deeper into the rich historical narratives contained within Chronicling America, ensuring more effective and nuanced explorations of race, ethnicity, and related topics in American history.
