American Social and Political History

Special Collections has many materials related to American social and political history, many of them related to news and journalism. The collection is particularly strong in the 1960s and 1970s: in addition to mimeographed political pamphlets by New Left and radical organizations, the collections also include campus and national newspapers from the alternative press. More broadly, Special Collections also holds a newspaper teaching collection donated by journalism professor Betty Winfield through the Journalism Library that contains notable first pages from the nineteenth century to the present as well as worldwide publications responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

How to Use the Collection

With a few exceptions, the collections can be accessed and requested through the library catalog. Finding aids for individual collections are linked on this website. Materials are available for use in the Special Collections Reading Room (room 401) during regular hours. Materials do not circulate.

Finding Aids for American Social and Political History

Betty Winfield Newspaper Collection.

Biographical Note [information from the School of Journalism] Betty Houchin Winfield, PhD, is a specialist in political communication and mass media…

Confederate Currency Collection.

Historical Note In 1912, the United States Treasury department gifted the University of Missouri Libraries a collection of bills from the Confederate…

Council of National Defense Collection.

Historical Note The Council of National Defense was created in 1916 to coordinate the U.S. war effort during World War I. Members consisted of the…

Daniel Webster Speeches Collection, 1806-1932.

Scope and Contents The Daniel Webster Speeches Collection contains pamphlets of speeches made by and about Daniel Webster, for the most part…

Fourth of July Orations Collection.

The Fourth of July Orations Collection contains published pamphlets of addresses made on Independence Day from 1791-1925. The speeches explore topics…

Historic Textbook Collection.

Scope and Contents The books are useful today as a survey of pedagogical methods and contents as well as a portrayal of the American popular mind of…

John G. Neihardt Collection.

Biographical Sketch John Gneisenau Neihardt (1881-1973) accepted a position at the University of Missouri-Columbia's Department of English in 1949…

John Tinney McCutcheon Collection of Editorial Cartoons.

Scope and Contents The majority of the items in this collection are original pen and ink cartoons drawn for theChicago Tribunefrom 1903 to 1944.…

Plat Books of Missouri Counties Collection.

Documenting the ownership and locations of plots of land in Missouri counties, the 111 items in the collection are an invaluable research tool for…

Poster Collection.

Scope and Contents The collection consists of posters from both World War I and World War II with a tourist and other miscellaneous posters from the…

Rare Books

The Rare Books Collection is the default designation for materials in Special Collections that are acquired as individual items. Like Special…

Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection.

History The Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Company, established in 1867, compiled and published maps of U.S. cities and towns for the fire…

September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack Collection.

Scope and Contents The collection consists of domestic and international magazines and newspapers that show how the September 11th…

Twentieth-Century Political Pamphlet Collection.

Scope and Contents The collection consists of ephemeral political materials distributed by and for members of national organizations and…

Underground Newspaper Collection.

Scope and Content Note The Underground Newspaper collection contains independent publications produced by community and student associations…

Walter Williams Library.

Historical Note Walter Williams (1864-1935) was President of the University of Missouri from 1930 – 1935 and served as Dean of the School of…

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