Historic Federal Documents
- American State Papers, 1789-1838 This link opens in a new window
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Legislative and executive documents, many originating from the important period between 1789 and the beginning of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set in 1817 - American Founding Era Collection This link opens in a new window
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Papers of many of the founders: including John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Dolley Madison, James Madison, and the documentary history of the ratification of the Constitution.
- Avalon Project - The American Constitution - A Documentary RecordPrimary source documents gathered and posted by Yale Law School, from The Magna Carta to the Mayflower Compact to Ratification of the Constitution by the States.
- ConSource: The Constitutional Sources ProjectDigitized primary sources related to the creation, ratification, and amendment of the Constitution. Fully searchable but also browsable by theme, section, amendment, and clause.
- The Federalist PapersHamilton, Jay, and Madison ("Publius") explain and advocate for the Constitution. Digitized version from Project Gutenberg.
- The Founders' Constitution byCall Number: CC Ref KF4502 .F68 1987 v. 1-5ISBN: 0226463877Availability and more information from Catalyst...
Political theory, legal, and historical documents influencing the Constitutional framers, and those they produced.
- The free online version does not have complete content but is useful for index, overview of content, search.
- Guide to Law Online - Law Library of CongressA collection of documents relevant to the U.S. Constitution.
- Primary Documents in American HistoryA variety of documents collated by the Library of Congress about the Constitution, including but not limited to:
- Farrand's Records
- Elliot's Debates
- links to the papers of Madison, Washington, and Jefferson. - Documents from the Continental Congress and Constitutional ConventionDocuments collection from the Library of Congress.
- U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994 This link opens in a new window
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(Searches through citations and the full text)
One of the core U.S. government publications, with Congressional records from 1817-1994. Also *the* primary source for executive branch reports, treaties, statements, maps and more from the 1800s.
- Transcripts and Recordings of Oral ArgumentsThe Supreme Court's guide to locating oral argument transcripts and recordings. It includes print and electronic sources available from subscription databases, internet sources, and document retrieval services.
- Info on pre-1955 transcriptsIn this blog post, Zvi Rosen provides information on accessing transcripts of oral arguments from before OT 1955 (i.e. before Oyez coverage).
State Documents
- The NBER State Constitutions ProjectA portal to the texts of state constitutions.
