Newspapers

History 251

Newspapers at Lied Library

Newspapers provide accounts of events as they occur. While they are reliable sources of factual information and they can be excellent starting points for research, they can also be subject to geographical, political, and cultural influences.. UNLV Libraries' collection of newspapers is available in two formats: physical (paper, microform) and digital (online databases).

Several short screencast tutorials for locating newspapers are available:

Exercise #1

Return to the Newspapers Databases & Resources page referenced in the screencast tutorials. Of databases listed, which might you use to begin researching the 1954 operations? Select one and enter "Operation Wetback" in the search box. Read several of the articles you find.

Exercise #2

While newspapers can be excellent sources of historical information, they are not without limitations. They are subject to geographical, political, and cultural influences. The coverage of the 1954 forced deportations in two major national newspapers illustrates such limitations. Complete this exercise:

  1. Print this sheet (.pdf).
  2. Search the Historical New York Times database and the Historical Los Angeles Times database (available here). In both cases, type the term "migrant worker" into the search box and restrict the date range to 06/01/1954 and 01/01/1955. How many search results do you get? Do any of them pertain to our topic? Now try refining your search terms. Since we know that the official name of the 1954 mass deportation was Operation Wetback, search both databases with the term "wetback".
  3. From the New York Times, read Gladwin Hill's "'Wetback' Stream Stemmed in Part" from June 20, 1954, pg. 75. From the Los Angeles Times, read Bill Dredge's "Wetbacks Herded at Nogales Camp" on pg. 1A, also from June 20, 1954. Answer the questions on the sheet and return here when you are finished.

Take the Newspaper Quiz.

Finished? Continue to the Census Materials page >>

 

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