Menlo School Library: American Economic History: Home

Online resources

American Commercial Banking: A History
Online full text of a 1990 book - the book can be borrowed for one hour.
American Presidency Project
If your topic relates to the US economy, a president has probably had something to say about it. This site provides access to all of the public papers, speeches, executive orders etc. of every US president.
The Economic History of the United States
A very in-depth site developed by an economics professor for a 2008 course at SJSU.
National Bureau of Economic Research
Data and nonpartisan analysis of economic issues.
Outline of the US Economy
The 2012 edition of a textbook published by the US State Department.
Primary sources
A research guide located on the Menlo library site.
Tracking the Post-Great Recession Economy
Economic analysis from a progressive think tank.

Data sites

Federal Reserve Economic Data
An extensive collection of current and historical economic data.
FRASER
A digital library of U.S. economic, financial, and banking history.
National Bureau of Economic Research
Nonpartisan data and working papers on a variety of topics.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis
A good source of current US economic data.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Current and historical US economic data.

Tools

Google advanced search
Brief instructions for limiting your Google search to relevant pages.
Journal search in a Menlo database
If you want to read a particular journal, follow these instructions.
JSTOR Instructions
A quick how-to-use guide for advanced search in JSTOR.

Read a book!

Yes you can check out a book!

Click here to search the library catalog.

Click here to request a book. Drive by circulation is scheduled every two weeks, or we can make special arrangements.

You can also use our large collection of research ebooks:

EBSCO Ebook Collection
Full text of thousands of research titles.

Free ebooks can be found at the Internet Archive. Some of these are available with no restriction, others have a one-hour checkout period.

Internet Archive

Subscription databases

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)
- This link opens in a new window
- Why search here?
  This is an excellent source for secondary source articles.
- What's included?
  Over 2000 full-text journals and magazines that are not available on the open internet, 80% of which are peer-reviewed.
America's Historical Newspapers (Newsbank)
- Why search here?
  Look here for newspaper articles from many cities across the US.
- What’s included?
  350 years of newspapers and broadsheets.
Historical Newspapers (ProQuest)
- Why search here?
  Find news reporting from major United States newspapers on a variety of historical events.
- What’s included?
  Archived newspaper articles from past issues of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor.
History Reference Center (EBSCO)
- Why search here?
  This history database is both a useful research starting point and a good place to find sources to fill research gaps.
- What’s included?
  This is a very large collection of tertiary, secondary and primary sources. Use the Advanced Search screen to narrow your search to a particular type of source.
History Study Center (ProQuest)
- Why search here?
  This database is both a useful research starting point and a good place to find sources to fill in research gaps.
- What’s included?
  This is a very large collection of tertiary and primary sources and a smaller selection of secondary sources. Use Advanced Search, or select a tab on the right side of the landing page to choose the type of source you need.
JSTOR
- Why search here?
  This database provides quick access to authoritative secondary source material.
- What’s included?
  Look here for a very large collection of peer-reviewed journal articles, plus a smaller collection of e-books and technical reports. Use Advanced Search to select articles from a particular topical area.
MAS Ultra (EBSCO)
- Why search here?
  This very large database is a good place to begin a research project.
- What’s included?
  Tertiary and secondary source articles, images, historical documents, and popular magazines.
RAND State Stats
- Why search here?
  Look here for statistical information on a variety of topics.
- What’s included?
  This is a collection of state – level data from 300 RAND databases. Information is updated frequently.

Think tanks focusing on the US economy

Conservative

American Enterprise Institute

Centrist/Nonpartisan

The Brookings Institution
Economic Policy Institute
Conducts research on economic issues, from a liberal viewpoint.

Progressive/Liberal

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities