Research Guides: U.S. History: Primary Resources: Government, Law & Radicalism

Founding and Executive Branch

Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Good for tracing the development and progress towards ratification through the thirteen states' conventions of the United States Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Content type: Primary sources, correspondence, government documents, personal notes
Coverage dates: 1776-1791
Users can search the complete contents by date, title, author, recipient, or state affiliation.
Language: English
Keywords: Rotunda

National Security Archives
Collection of historical and contemporary documents, hosted at George Washington University.
American Presidency Project Public Papers of the Presidents
Includes Public Papers of the Presidents by month and year

Rotunda: American History Collection This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Explore the papers and letters of some founders as well as other important U.S. figures to learn more about the early development of the United States.
Content type: Primary sources, correspondence, diaries, legal papers
Coverage dates: 1734-1895
Includes the following collections: Adams Papers Digital Edition; Dolley Madison Digital Edition; Papers of Alexander Hamilton Digital Edition; Papers of Andrew Jackson; Papers of Eliza Lucas Pinckney and Harriott Pinckney Horry; Papers of George Washington Digital Edition; Papers of James Madison; Papers of John Marshall; Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition; Selected Papers of John Jay.
Language: English
Bush Presidency and Development and Debate Over Civil Rights Policy and Legislation This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Great for discovering primary sources dealing with the development of civil rights policies during George H.W. Bush's vice-presidency and presidency.
Content type: Primary sources, government documents, presidential records
Coverage dates: 1981-1991
Language: English
Keywords: Archives Unbound
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Race Relations, 1933-1945 This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Search here for materials from FDR's Official File to learn more about the early development of the Civil Right's Movement including texts on segregation, race riots, and employment discrimination.
Content type: Primary sources, government documents
Coverage dates: 1933-1945
Language: English
Keywords: Archives Unbound
Mafia in Florida and Cuba: FBI Surveillance of Meyer Lansky and Santo Trafficante, Jr. This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Search here for FBI surveillance, informant reports, and correspondence related to investigations on members of the mafia in Florida and Cuba.
Content type: Primary sources, government reports, correspondence, newspaper articles, transcripts
Coverage dates: 1946-1977
Also includes Justice Department memoranda, correspondence, and analysis; news clippings and articles; domestic intelligence section reports; transcriptions of wiretaps, typewriter tapes, and coded messages; memoranda of conversations.
Language: English
Keywords: Archives Unbound
Immigration: Records of the INS, 1880-1930 This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Explore records of the investigations made by the Immigration and Naturalization Service during a large immigration wave to the U.S. from Asia, Mexico, and Europe.
Content type: Primary sources, government documents, memoranda, correspondence
Coverage dates: 1880-1930
This database also contains files on the INS’s regulation of prostitution and white slavery, and on suppression of individuals deemed to hold radical views.
Language: English
Keywords: History Vault

Executive Office of the Historian
A wealth of documents from different departments and agencies, from Lincoln to Clinton -- includes "Foreign Relations of the US," and other links and publications

Congressional

Proquest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Good for providing a unique perspective on all aspects of U.S. History through this large collection of congressional documents., which includes abstracts to Congressional hearings, committee reports, bill files, and more.
Content type: Primary sources, abstracts, government documents, committee reports, bill files, witness testimony, transcripts
Coverage dates: 1789-present
Full-text is available through 2010, later for some titles. Full-Text Hearings 1824-2010; (CRS) Reports 1916-present, committee prints from 1830-current; Serials Set documents from 1789; the Congressional Record (1969-1994 in print); and Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations, 1789-2017.
Language: English

Congress.gov
Bills and laws from Congress (formerly Thomas.gov)

HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Good for legal research with access to articles from a large collection of law journals and legal sources.
Content type: Scholarly articles, government reports, primary sources, case studies
Coverage dates: 1776-present
HeinOnline includes access to law journals (back to the 19th century), international and US treaties (back to 1776), out-of-copyright legal classics, the federal register (back to 1936), and Supreme Court slip opinions from 2002. All material is fully searchable and in PDF format, including all charts, graphs, pictures, photographs, and footnotes.
Language: English
Keywords: Hein Online

Judiciary and Legal

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Search here for comprehensive coverage of news and current events, government, business, medical, and legal topics, as well as general reference information.
Content type: Newspaper articles, trade journal articles, broadcast transcripts, financial reports, federal and state case law, medical abstracts, corporate profiles
Coverage dates: 1980-present
Language: English, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Portuguese
Keywords: Lexis Nexis
Westlaw Campus This link opens in a new window
Current. Scroll down to Code of Federal Regulations under "Statutes and Regulations."
Language: English
Keywords: West law Thomson Reuters
American Civil Liberties Union Papers This link opens in a new window
Why search here? To access a wide range of archival materials related to civil rights and civil liberties in the U.S.
Content type: Primary sources, correspondence, case files, legal briefs, news clippings
Coverage dates: 1912-1990
Includes documents such as legal briefs, depositions, affidavits, court transcripts, and newspaper clippings surrounding ACLU cases on issues such as racial discrimination, labor, and objection to military service, as well as letters written to the ACLU in support of these causes. The Library has access to Part I: 1912-1990.
Language: English
Gun Regulation and Legislation in America This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Find scholarly sources, legislative histories, congressional hearings, reports, and other resources related to gun regulation in the U.S.
Content type: Scholarly articles, government reports, primary sources, case studies
Language: English
Keywords: Hein Online HeinOnline
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Good for legal research with access to articles from a large collection of law journals and legal sources.
Content type: Scholarly articles, government reports, primary sources, case studies
Coverage dates: 1776-present
HeinOnline includes access to law journals (back to the 19th century), international and US treaties (back to 1776), out-of-copyright legal classics, the federal register (back to 1936), and Supreme Court slip opinions from 2002. All material is fully searchable and in PDF format, including all charts, graphs, pictures, photographs, and footnotes.
Language: English
Keywords: Hein Online

Avalon Project
s a very rich resource hosted by the Yale University Law School with special emphasis on law and diplomacy from ancient to modern

Radicalism

Political Extremism and Radicalism This link opens in a new window
Why search here? Explore and compare documents from both far-right and far-left groups in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Content type: Primary sources, government reports, books, newspaper articles, magazine articles, interviews, correspondence, pamphlets, images
Coverage dates: 1800-2010
This database does not provide a precise methodology for how it identifies a political movement to be on the extremities of the right or left wing.
Language: English

General Documents

US Milestone Historic Documents at the National Archives