Learn More

Established in 1982 under the same ownership as, but editorially separate from, the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday has been one of the top UK Sunday newspapers for four decades. Generally conservative in its stance, journalists have included Piers Morgan, Peter Hitchens and conservative politician Norman Tebbit. It has covered British politics on the domestic and international stage through sometimes contentious or sensationalist tabloid journalism, from its launch during the Falklands War and the sweeping economic reforms of the Thatcher years to the controversial conflicts in the Middle East under the Blair premiership and the News International phone hacking scandal and subsequent Leveson inquiry in the 2000s.

Key Facts
Date range: 1982–2011
Document type: weekly newspaper
Source: Mail on Sunday

Learn More

Digitized primarily from the records of British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO 40), this collection continues where Hong Kong, Britain, and China, Part I: 1841–1951 left off, and documents the process of Hong Kong maneuvering, surviving, thriving, and transforming into a modern international metropolis and financial center in the wider context of the Cold War.

Key Facts
Date range: 1965–1993
Document types: Manuscripts, including telegrams, letters, reports, memoranda; maps and newspaper clippings
Sources: The National Archives, United Kingdom

Conflicts today rage across the globe over fossil fuel usage, nuclear power,  the endangerment and extinction of species, and much more. A long history lies behind these contests that join advocacy to action, and pit public policy against human behavior, giving rise to local legislation and international trade rules—a history framed by the rise of the modern conservation movement. Starting in the late nineteenth century, in direct response to the late Industrial Revolution, forces in social and political spheres struggled to balance the good of the public and the planet against the economic exploitation of resources. Environmental History: Conservation and Public Policy in America, 1870–1980 chronicles various responses in the United States to this struggle through key primary sources from individual activists, advocacy organizations, and government agencies.

Key Facts
Date range: 1870–1980
Document types: Correspondence, grey literature, manuscripts and personal papers, organizational records, letters and newsletters, pamphlets and ephemera, legal briefs
Sources: Denver Public Library; Institute of Government Studies Library, University of California at Berkeley; New York City Bar Association Library; Yale University; National Archives Records Administration; and more

These British Colonial Office files document two hundred years of British engagement with the people and resources of Singapore, Brunei, Labuan, Sarawak, and British North Borneo (now Sabah). Researchers will find insight into Britain’s administration and governance of these countries, their international relations across the period, and the changing demographics and daily life of inhabitants. The documents also showcase how colonial history continues to influence these now-independent countries through chosen strategic alliances, manners of conduct, and institutional structures and how they deal with the repercussions of their colonial legacies today.

Key Facts
Date range: 1759–1967
Document types: Handwritten, typed, and printed documents, including confidential correspondence, as well as maps and photographs
Sources: The National Archives, United Kingdom

Power to the People showcases a range of ideas, initiatives, and social movements devoted to people-powered politics and organizing from the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries. Ranging beyond a few specific movements, the archive paints a broad picture of the counterculture and many disparate organizations that represent this moment in modern Western history. Although the archive concentrates mainly on the United States and the United Kingdom, it also covers events and topics from around the globe.

Key Facts
Date range: Approximately 1800–2020
Document types: Pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, newspapers, leaflets, broadsides, manuscripts, posters, and other printed pieces
Sources: University of Bradford; The Robert P. J. Cooney, Jr. Pacific Coast Counterculture Collection; Dennis Publishing; Senate House, University of London; and more

This eighth collection in the China and the Modern World series provides a primary source collection vital to understanding and researching the social, political, and economic history of not just the British-dominated yet highly globalized International Settlement in Shanghai but the history of modern China.

Key Facts
Date range: 1836–1955
Document types: General correspondence, letter books, registers, insurance records, ordinances, dispatches, reports, notebooks, maps and plans, and photographs
Sources: The National Archives, United Kingdom

United States Courts of Appeals are battlegrounds for some of the most hotly debated issues in American politics and culture. Complementing the 11th and 12th installment to The Making of Modern Law, this 13th installment reproduces records and briefs of selected cases filed with the United States Courts of Appeals throughout the twentieth century. Covering over 500 cases, this collection concentrates on key issues that continue to occupy the American social and political landscape, such as reproductive rights, immigration policy, incarceration and the rights of prisoners, environmental policy, voting rights, and the civil rights of women and people of color. The cases are handpicked based on their critical importance to modern social, cultural, and economic issues that regularly occupy newspaper headlines in today’s heated political climate.

Key Facts
Date range: 1891–1980
Document types: Legal briefs, amicus briefs, court transcripts, testimonies
Sources: Law Library, Library of Congress; Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale University Law Library; New York City Bar Library

The second part of the new Environmental History series presents twentieth-century British government material relating to environmental issues and the history of human–environment interaction. Access files from three departments of the UK's The National Archives, focusing on themes such as colonialism, land use and exploitation, exploration, agriculture, the technological revolution, industrial change and urbanization, conservation, pollution, climate, development programs and sustainability, natural resources, and industries such as forestry and mining.

Key Facts
Date range: 1896–1993
Document types: Manuscripts; government documents, including correspondence, reports, conference minutes, surveys
Source: The National Archives, United Kingdom

Disabilities in Society demonstrates how society has presented and treated individuals with disabilities historically. Materials in this collection include records of treatments, methods of education, forms of remediation, and more. Reports and proceedings of organizations and institutions that sought to help or heal those with disabilities are included, as well as records of policies and programs. Through this collection, researchers will grasp the many forms of institutional discrimination, political exclusion, and social control under which disabled individuals struggled. Materials chronicle how individuals were classified and treated and how some overcame physical or mental challenges to defy perceptions of being disabled.

Key Facts
Date range: 17th through 20th centuries
Document types: Rare books and pamphlets, as well as periodicals and professional papers, including speeches, manuscripts, articles, notes, photographs, and more
Source: The New York Academy of Medicine

This second installment in the Refugees, Relief, and Resettlement series opens a window onto the history of refugees and forced migration, expanding the possibilities of research for scholars and students who are studying the history of—and who may possibly come to work with—refugee populations. Topical coverage includes the causes of refugee crises following World War II, from the onset of the Cold War to the decolonization of, and rise of independence movements within, the nations of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Key Facts
Date range: 1947–1979
Document types: Correspondence, agency reports, personal papers, organizational records, pamphlets and ephemera, and legal briefs
Sources: The National Archives, United Kingdom; Rutgers University; New York City Bar Association Library

The sixth collection in the award-winning Archives of Sexuality and Gender series, Community and Identity in North America is a twentieth-century compendium that offers perspectives on society, sexual identity, community building, and gender issues. This archive focuses on the breadth of North America, providing a social history that casts a spotlight on diversity, equity, and inclusion with materials that cover activism and social justice issues, highlight disabilities in Queer society, offer information around alternative sexualities, document interactions between sexuality and religion, and represent diverse ethnic communities across North America.

Key Facts
Date range: Twentieth century
Document types: Manuscripts, monographs, periodicals
Sources: The ArQuives; GLBT Historical Society; Biblioteca Daniel Cosío Villegas, Colegio de México