# loc.gov API: Search historic newspapers

> Searches historic U.S. newspaper pages (Chronicling America) by text, with optional state and issue-year filters. Returns relevance-ranked page records with snippets and image links; newspaper OCR may contain transcription errors.

Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by loc.gov.

- Page: https://fous.com/methods/loc.gov/search-historic-newspapers
- Method: `loc.gov/search_historic_newspapers`, version 1
- Website: loc.gov
- Returns: newspaper title, city, state, issue date, page number, snippet, page image link, page link
- Effect: read (it gets data and changes nothing)
- Sign-in: none needed
- Cost: 1 credit per completed run (1¢ with pay as you go); failed runs are free

## Inputs

| Field | Type | Required | In the run below | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `page` | integer | no | `1` | Result page to retrieve, for example 2. Default 1. |
| `query` | string | yes | `"Titanic"` | Words to find in newspaper text, for example Titanic. |
| `state` | string | no | `"Montana"` | US state name to limit results, for example Montana. Leave blank for all states. Default "". |
| `end_year` | integer | no | `1912` | Latest issue year, for example 1913. |
| `start_year` | integer | no | `1912` | Earliest issue year, for example 1912. |
| `max_results` | integer | no | `3` | Number of page results to return, for example 20. Default 20. |

## Output

From a run on Oct 31, 2026. Its input:

```json
{
  "page": 1,
  "query": "Titanic",
  "state": "Montana",
  "end_year": 1912,
  "start_year": 1912,
  "max_results": 3
}
```

Its output:

```json
{
  "newspaper_pages": [
    {
      "city": "Roundup",
      "state": "Montana",
      "snippet": "Titanic Meets Terrible Disaster1350 Lives Lost World Largest Ship Goes Down Strikes IcebergDis tinguished Men Die in Tragedy of Deep 7 Survivors Go Insane I I i Sinking…",
      "page_link": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86075094/1912-04-19/ed-1/?sp=2&q=titanic",
      "issue_date": "1912-04-19",
      "page_number": 2,
      "newspaper_title": "The roundup record",
      "page_image_link": "https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:ndnp:mthi:batch_mthi_graywolf_ver01:data:sn86075094:00295860935:1912041901:0135/full/pct:12.5/0/default.jpg"
    },
    {
      "city": "Wibaux",
      "state": "Montana",
      "snippet": "TITANIC THE TITON OF THE OCEAN 3 FINDS WATERY GRAVE ON FIRST TRIP OVER 1400 PEOPLE ARE DROWNED WHITE STAR LINER STRIKES AN ICEBERG WHILE GOING AT FULL SPEED AT 125…",
      "page_link": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85053308/1912-04-19/ed-1/?sp=3&q=titanic",
      "issue_date": "1912-04-19",
      "page_number": 3,
      "newspaper_title": "The wibaux pioneer",
      "page_image_link": "https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:ndnp:mthi:batch_mthi_egret_ver02:data:sn85053308:00295860960:1912041901:0092/full/pct:12.5/0/default.jpg"
    },
    {
      "city": "Fort Benton",
      "state": "Montana",
      "snippet": "... searching the vicinity of the Titanic disaster, according to The River Press. a report that reached this city tonight. It is said a number of bodies which were recovered were sunk again as they were…",
      "page_link": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85053157/1912-04-24/ed-1/?sp=1&q=titanic",
      "issue_date": "1912-04-24",
      "page_number": 1,
      "newspaper_title": "The river press",
      "page_image_link": "https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:ndnp:mthi:batch_mthi_crane_ver01:data:sn85053157:00295860893:1912042401:0558/full/pct:12.5/0/default.jpg"
    }
  ]
}
```

## Run it

From code, with a Fous API key in `FOUS_API_KEY`; the answer's `data` holds the output:

```bash
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"method":"loc.gov/search_historic_newspapers","input":{"page":1,"query":"Titanic","state":"Montana","end_year":1912,"start_year":1912,"max_results":3}}'
```

From an AI agent connected to the Fous MCP server: its `run` with the same method and input. To connect one, give it `set up https://fous.com/SKILL.md`.

## Ask your agent

- Find old newspaper pages from Ohio that mention the Wright brothers between 1903 and 1909
- I'm researching the 1918 flu pandemic — pull up historic newspaper coverage of "Spanish influenza" in Pennsylvania papers from 1918 to 1919, about 50 results
- Search the Library of Congress Chronicling America collection for articles about the San Francisco earthquake published in 1906
- Show me the second page of results for 'women's suffrage' in Tennessee newspapers from 1919-1920
- On loc.gov, look for digitized newspaper pages mentioning "Klondike gold" in Washington state between 1896 and 1899, and give me snippets and links to the page images

## Input schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "query"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "page": {
      "type": "integer",
      "default": 1,
      "minimum": 1,
      "description": "Result page to retrieve, for example 2."
    },
    "query": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "description": "Words to find in newspaper text, for example Titanic."
    },
    "state": {
      "type": "string",
      "default": "",
      "description": "US state name to limit results, for example Montana. Leave blank for all states."
    },
    "end_year": {
      "type": "integer",
      "maximum": 2100,
      "minimum": 1600,
      "description": "Latest issue year, for example 1913."
    },
    "start_year": {
      "type": "integer",
      "maximum": 2100,
      "minimum": 1600,
      "description": "Earliest issue year, for example 1912."
    },
    "max_results": {
      "type": "integer",
      "default": 20,
      "maximum": 100,
      "minimum": 1,
      "description": "Number of page results to return, for example 20."
    }
  }
}
```

## Output schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "newspaper_pages"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "newspaper_pages": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "required": [
          "newspaper_title",
          "city",
          "state",
          "issue_date",
          "page_number",
          "snippet",
          "page_image_link",
          "page_link"
        ],
        "properties": {
          "city": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "City of publication."
          },
          "state": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "State of publication."
          },
          "snippet": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Short excerpt of newspaper text around the search words."
          },
          "page_link": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Newspaper page link."
          },
          "issue_date": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "format": "date",
            "description": "Issue date (YYYY-MM-DD)."
          },
          "page_number": {
            "type": [
              "integer",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Printed issue page number when known."
          },
          "newspaper_title": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Newspaper name."
          },
          "page_image_link": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Page image link."
          }
        },
        "additionalProperties": false
      },
      "description": "Historic newspaper pages in search relevance order."
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false
}
```

## See more

- [loc.gov API: Search Library of Congress collections](https://fous.com/methods/loc.gov/search-collections.md): Searches Library of Congress digital collections by keywords, material format and date range, in Library search relevance order. Rights notes may be unavailable for some records.
- [The New York Times API: Search articles](https://fous.com/methods/nytimes.com/search-news.md): Searches New York Times article headlines and summaries by keyword, optionally within a date range, and returns matching articles with dates, authors, sections and links, newest or most relevant first.
- [National Archives API: Search records](https://fous.com/methods/catalog.archives.gov/search-records.md): Searches public National Archives Catalog records by keywords, year range, material type and online availability, in catalog relevance order.
- [NPR API: Search news](https://fous.com/methods/npr.org/search-news.md): Searches NPR-published articles by keyword, newest first or by best match, with optional publication dates, and returns each article's date, authors, section and summary.
- [Yahoo API: Search Yahoo News](https://fous.com/methods/yahoo.com/search-news.md): Searches Yahoo News articles by keyword, newest first or by relevance, with optional publication dates and pages; returns only articles hosted on Yahoo News, with authors, original publisher and section.
- [CNN API: Search news](https://fous.com/methods/cnn.com/search-news.md): Searches CNN articles by keyword, with optional publication date range, sort order and pagination.
- [BBC News API: Search articles](https://fous.com/methods/bbc.com/search-news.md): Finds BBC News articles matching search words, newest first or by relevance, with publication time, authors, section and summary, optionally limited to a date range. Date filters and newest order apply to the first 180 search matches; older or less relevant matches may be missed.
- [Reuters API: Search news](https://fous.com/methods/reuters.com/search-news.md): Searches Reuters articles by keyword through Google News, with optional publication date range, order and page. Summaries and bylines are filled in when Reuters serves the article page.
- [All loc.gov methods](https://fous.com/methods/loc.gov.md)