LibGuides: Guide to Online Primary Sources: General Collections

General Collections

Archives of Women's Political Communication
Speeches and political ads for more than 300 women candidates that are easily accessible through the online archives. All include a transcript of the text and many also feature video.
Avalon Project
Digital documents relevant to the fields of law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy and government from ancient times to the 21st century.
Bracton Online
Bracton "attempts to describe rationally the whole of English law." The work is remarkable both for its wealth of detail and for its attempts to make sense out of English law largely in terms of the ius commune, the combination of Roman and canon law that was taught in the universities in Bracton's time.
Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series
Digital archive of 38 volume collection of state papers from 15th-early 18th centuries. Most vols on North America and the West Indies; also some on Asia and the Middle East. From the Public Records office of Great Britain. Display of volumes not in order.
Communist Manifesto
Text of the founding document of communism.
Constitution, U.S.
The text of the U.S. constitution, along with analysis and interpretation.
Constitution, U.S. (CRS Annotated)
Presents the text of the United States Constitution, along with explanatory annotations by Congressional Research Service (CRS).

Digital National Security Archive
Nearly 40,000 declassified government documents from 1945 to present, organized into collections, each focused on a single topic.

Documenting the American South
Search or browse full text sources on Southern history, literature and culture from the colonial period through the early 20th century: slave narratives, other first person narratives, literature, life during the Civil War and African American churches.
Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project
Dedicated to bringing Roosevelt's writings (and radio and TV appearances) on democracy and human rights before an audience as diverse as the ones she addressed.
Election 2000
Site from the Stanford University Law School Library provides links to the legal documents (PDF format) concerning the Florida, New Mexico, Texas, and Supreme Court decisions (opinions, briefs, etc.) as well links to Web sites with related resources.
FBI Records: The Vault
FBI files on people, organizations, events, from early 20th century to 1990s (Albert Einstein, Al Capone, Eleanor Roosevelt, Marilyn Monroe, Cesar Chavez, POW/MIAs, PETA, SNCC, ESP,Roswell, much more). Released under Freedom of Information Act requests.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports
1941-1996. Translations by U.S. government of international magazine, newspaper, and news wire stories; transcripts from speeches and radio and television. Scanned from print Daily Report issues covering the Middle East & Africa, Middle East & North Africa, Near East & South Asia Africa (Sub-Sahara), South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa China, People's Republic of China Asia & Pacific, East Asia Latin America Eastern Europe, East Europe Soviet Union, Central Eurasia.
Foreign Relations of the United States
Official documentary record of major US foreign policy decisions, archived as digital facsimile by the University of Wisconsin. Incomplete run with years added as available. Precedes the modern version maintained and archived by the US State Department at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/index.htm
Founders' Constitution
Compilation of documents important to the development of constitutional government in the U.S.
Government, Law & Politics
Several collections from the Library of Congress, ranging from 17th century broadsides to 9/11 documents.
Govinfo.gov
Provides access to federal government information submitted by Congress and federal agencies. Includes the Congressional Record, Federal Register, congressional bills and hearings and other material generally dating back to the early 1990s. (Replaces the FDsys system.)
HeinOnline
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Offers access to a vast number of publications from all three branches of the federal government. Search across collections from this main page, or click on a collection link to browse titles.

Databases available:
American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Brennan Center for Justice Publications at NYU School of Law
Cataloging Legal Literature
Code of Federal Regulations
COVID-19 in America: Response, Issues, and Law
Criminal Justice & Criminology
Executive Privilege
Federal Register Library
Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS)
GAO Reports and Comptroller General Decisions
Gun Regulation and Legislation in America
History of International Law
History of Supreme Court Nominations
John F. Kennedy Assassination Collection
Law Journal Library
Legal Classics
National Survey of State Laws
Pentagon Papers
Prestatehood Legal Materials
Preview of United States Supreme Court Cases
Religion and the Law
Reports of U.S. Presidential Commissions and Other Advisory Bodies
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
Subject Compilations of State Laws
U.S. Code
U.S. Congressional Documents
U.S. Congressional Serial Set
U.S. Federal Agency Documents, Decisions, and Appeals
U.S. Federal Legislative History Library
U.S. Presidential Library
U.S. Presidential Impeachment Library
U.S. Statutes at Large
U.S. Supreme Court Library
U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library
Women and the Law (Peggy)
World Constitutions Illustrated
World Treaty Library
History and Politics Out Loud
Database of "politically significant" audio recordings. Majority of material is from John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.
History Vault - Government Documents
Collection of historical government publications, dating back to 1695.
Homeland Security Digital Library
Provides access to important U.S. policy documents, presidential directives, and national strategy documents as well as other specialized resources realted to homeland security policy and strategy.
Kappler's Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties
Kappler's Indian Affairs is an historically significant, seven volume compilation of U.S. treaties, laws and executive orders pertaining to Native American Indian tribes. The volumes cover U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders concerning Native Americans from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII).
Liberty Library of Constitutional Classics
Multiple-format books and other works on constitutional government, covering all time periods.
Marx and Engels Internet Archive
The collected works and correspondence of Marx and Engels.
Milestone Documents
Includes documents that chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965.
National Security Archive
Selected declassified documents of the US government on a wide range of subjects: Nuclear History, Middle East, Latin America, Asia, Intelligence and Secrecy, September 11, etc. A valuable collection of primary sources.
NSA Documents
On June 5, 2013, The Guardian released the first in a series of documents provided by Edward Snowden detailing the NSA's unlawful spying activities. All of the documents released since that day -- both by the media and the government -- are housed in this database.
Papers of Jefferson Davis
Includes several speeches and letters of the Confederacy's president.
Papers of John Jay
Page images of 13,000 documents. Search by name or subject and retrieve documents for viewing.
Proquest History Vault: Vietnam War and Foreign Policy
Covers U.S. involvement in the region from the early days of the Kennedy administration, through the escalation of the war during the Johnson administration, to the final resolution of the war at the Paris Peace Talks and the evacuation of U.S. troops
State Constitutions
A portal to the texts of the state constitutions of the United States. There have been almost 150 state constitutions: they have been amended roughly 12,000 times and the text of the constitutions and their amendments comprises about 15,000 pages of text.

U.S. Declassified Documents Online
Full text of documents from various government agencies: the White House, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department and others, declassified by the U.S. government, and obtained from Presidential Libraries.

Vital Speeches of the Day
Text of speeches given 1934-present on a wide range of political topics. Browse by year or search for topics.
Women and the Law (Peggy)
Notable works included in this library are History of Woman Suffrage (1881-1922), the complete Feminism and Legal Theory Project, and the Documentary History of the Legal Aspects of Abortion series. Also featured are other works on abortion, biographies of famous women, works pertaining to legal rights and suffrage, and books and journals that pertain to the role of women in education and employment.

World News Connection
1994-2013. Translations and summaries by U.S. government of international magazine, newspaper, and newswire stories, transcripts from speeches and radio and television broadcasts, and nonclassified technical reports. Successor to FBIS.