Take the time to think about your topic and find resources to help you better define it. Searching for "the Civil War" is too broad, but it can be your starting point to finding a specific person, battle, or group of people you want to learn more about. When you do this background information searching it will be easier to create your research questions.
Use a timeline to get a perspective on your topic:
You can use on of the library's databases of Reference Sources to find some helpful background information for your general topic:
Online collection of reference works about the U.S. Congress.
An invaluable resource for research and study of the U.S. Congress, with coverage from 1945 to 2008.
Online encyclopedia of African-American history.
Features thousands of cross-referenced entries, covering the entire spectrum of African-American history over the past 500 years.
Online encyclopedia of the history of women in the United States.
Covers the important people, events, legislation, and issues relevant to the study of women's history in the United States. Includes biographies, events and topics, primary sources, time-lines, images and videos, maps and charts. All full text.