LibGuides: Spark 001: The Border and Chicanx Texts (Contreras): Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Mexico's history and culture are forever interconnected with the United States. This page focuses on providing access to our library and archival resources, and other online resources that will help you do research on this important country!

More information about this map and the history surrounding the Mexican Cession of lands to the U.S. can be found at:

Information on The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (The National Archives)

Online Resources

Bracero History Archive
Oral histories and artifacts associated with Bracero program (1942-1964), where millions of Mexican agricultural workers worked in the United States.

Calisphere This link opens in a new window
Calisphere aggregates digital materials from all UCs, and libraries, archives, and museums across the state. A great resource to find images and other digital resources related to the Caribbean. You can search across all collections, search for specific collections, or search within any of the UC campuses sites. Try search by country or a topic such as the "Cuban Revolution". Tip: Use quotation marks to search for phrases!

Digitized Benson Collections at UT-Austin
This site offers a selection of collections digitized from The Benson's Latin American Collections, including many materials from Mexico and the borderlands.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
You can search the rich collection of digitized materials that document the life and history of the United States. You can search by topic such as "Mexican American War" or ethnic groups such as Mexican American or Chicano and see what type of materials are available.

Library Subscription Databases

Civil Rights Digital Library (CRDL) This link opens in a new window
1950s - 1960. Browse or search this digital archive of historical new film, digital collections, reference materials, editorial cartoons, transcripts, and diaries that document the civil rights movement. Provided by the University of Georgia.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Combines access to and cross-searches all Gale Primary Source holdings (like Sabin Americana, Making of the Modern World, Archives Unbound and more), covering over 500 years of world history. Also can be narrowed to specific combinations of archives.

5200 N. Lake Road
Merced, CA 95343
library@ucmerced.edu
(209) 228-4444