Henry Buhl Library: POLS 204 -- Online edition: Find Primary Documents

Documentary Sources by Topic

The Federalist Papers
Provides access to all of the Federalist Papers (from Congress.gov).
Letters from the Federal Farmer
Access to 18 essays outlining "the most compelling contemporary anti-federalist argument against the proposed Federal Constitution."

An Additional Number of Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican ...
Call Number: JK 146 .A37 1962
Includes facsimiles of Federal Farmer letters published between Dec. 25, 1787 and Jan. 25, 1788.
Defining Documents in American History : The American Revolution
Call Number: E 203 .A5727 2013 v.1-2
The American Revolution (1754-1805) chronicles key documents during the revolutionary era. Included are founding documents, speeches and political tracts, political sermons, and letters. Also included are Native American and African slave narratives.

Milestone Documents in American History
Includes important primary sources related to American history from 1763 to 2003, including texts related to the Bank of the U.S.
The Papers of Alexander Hamilton
Call Number: E 302 .H2 1961 v.1-27
Includes writings of Alexander Hamilton from 1768 - 1802. An index to the volumes is in v.27.

Congressional Record This link opens in a new window
Provides users with the ability to search and access the full-text of the Congressional Record (1873 to date), as well as its forerunners, the Annals of Congress (1789-1824), the Register of Debates (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873). It is an indispensable resource for political science, American history, and legal studies. Coverage: 1789 -- Present

For Records on the Continental Congress & the Constitutional Convention:

Elliot's Debates The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution is a five-volume collection compiled by Jonathan Elliot in the mid-nineteenth century. The volumes remain the best source for materials about the national government's transitional period between the closing of the Constitutional Convention in September 1787 and the opening of the First Federal Congress in March 1789.
Farrand's Records One of the great scholarly works of the early twentieth century was Max Farrand's The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Published in 1911, Farrand's work gathered the documentary records of the Constitutional Convention into four volumes--three of which are included in this online collection--containing the materials necessary to study the workings of the Constitutional Convention.
Journals of the Continental Congress The First Continental Congress met from September 5 to October 26, 1774. The Second Continental Congress ran from May 10, 1775, to March 2, 1789. The Journals of the Continental Congress are the records of the daily proceedings of the Congress as kept by the office of its secretary, Charles Thomson.
Letters of Delegates to Congress The twenty-six volumes of the Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789 aims to make available all the documents written by delegates that bear directly upon their work during their years of actual service in the First and Second Continental Congresses, 1774-1789.

Friends of the Constitution
Call Number: KF 4515 .F75 1998
Included are the original texts of pamphlets, speeches, and other pro-ratification writings of George Washington, Benjamin Rush, Nicholas Collin, John Dickinson, James Wilson, Tench Coxe, Benjamin Franklin, Noah Webster, Roger Sherman, Fisher Ames, Peletiah Webster, Samuel Tenny, Stephen Hopkins, Oliver Ellsworth, and David Ramsay.

Letters from the Federal Farmer
Access to 18 essays outlining "the most compelling contemporary anti-federalist argument against the proposed Federal Constitution."

An Additional Number of Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican ...
Call Number: JK 146 .A37 1962
Includes facsimiles of Federal Farmer letters published between Dec. 25, 1787 and Jan. 25, 1788.
Pamphlets on the Constitution of the United States
Call Number: JK 171 .F71 1968
Includes the text of statements, speeches, letters, and observations published during the discussion regarding the Constitution from 1787-1788.

American Presidency Project
Search the papers of the presidents from George Washington through Joe Biden. Users can search by president, date, keyword, document type, and more.