Critical Analysis:

Web Databases:
 

Literary Reference Center

(password required for remote access)
 

Critical Companions to Popular Contemporary Authors
On-campus Access
Off-Campus Access (password required)

LION (Literature Online)

(password required for remote access)

Web Sites:

American Authors

American Cultural History - the Twentieth Century

Internet Public Library
US Holocaust Memorial Museum 
Walt Whitman Hypertext Archive

Print Reference Sets:
Authors and Artists for Young Adults
Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults
Beacham's Guide to Popular Literature
Library of Literary Criticism
Magill's Surverys
Novels for Students
Poetry for Students
Short Stories for Students
St James Guides to Literature

Historical biography and timeline:

About.com Timeline of the 20th Century

Lives, the Biography Resource
A&E Biography Online

History Channel

Information Please Timeline by Decade

Timeline of American Lit & Events Pre-1620 to 1920

My History is America's History Timeline

Library of Congress - America's Story

Native American History

Events in African-American History