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American on-line sources This page contains some primary sources and some bibliographic materials for the study of American legal history. Although these on-line sources are not a substitute for printed materials, it is hoped that they will be useful. Charters and constitutions Confederations and Unions Resolutions of the Stamp Act (Oct. 19, 1765) Articles of Confederation (Nov. 15, 1777) The Constitution of the United States: Analysis and Interpretation (S. Doc. 103-6) The Constitution of the United States: plain text Native American Nations Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project Constitution of the Iroquois Nations The following references are to state constitutional information available in digital format. The information given for any particular state may not be complete, if all constitutions were not available in digital form. For complete information on state constitutions, the comprehensive sources are still print sources, the two most recommended being: Francis Newton Thorpe,The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the State, Territories, and Colonies Now or Hertofore Forming the United States of America (1909) and Benjamin Perley Poore, The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the United States ... (1878). Alabama An Overview of Alabama's Six Constitutions with links to each document Alaska The Alaska State Constitution Jan. 3, 1959 Minutes of the Constitutional Convention 1955-6 Arizona Arizona State Constitution and Enabling Act Arkansas Constitution of the State of Arkansas of 1874 California Colorado Colorado Constitution adopted March 14, 1876 Connecticut The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639) The Connecticut Colony Charter (1662) Constitution of the State of Connecticut 1818 Constitution of the State of Connecticut 1965 Delaware Constitution of Delaware, June 4, 1987 Florida Constitution of the State of Florida as revised in 1968 and subsequently amended Georgia Georgia Rules and Regulations of 1776 Constitution of 1777 Hawaii The Constitution of the State of Hawaii Idaho Constitution of the State of Idaho (1890) Illinois Constitution of the State of Illinois (1970) Indiana Indiana State Constitution (found at 2 different urls) 1816 Constitution of the State of Indiana Iowa 1857 Constitution of the State of Iowa, Codified Kansas Constitution of the State of Kansas Adopted at Wyandotte, July 29, 1859 Kentucky Kentucky Constitution of 1891, as amended through 9-13-99 Louisiana The Louisiana Constitution of 1974 Maine Constitution of the State of Maine 1993 Maryland Bacon's Laws of Maryland: Charter of the Province of Maryland (latin and english) Conventions of 1774-1776 Massachusetts The 1629 Charter of Massachusetts Bay The Charter of Massachusetts Bay 1691 The Massachusetts Body of Liberties 1641 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts Constitution 1780 Michigan Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1835 Minnesota Constitution of the State of Minnesota 1857 Mississippi The Mississippi Constitution of 1817 1832 Constitution of the State of Mississippi The 1868 Constitution of the State of Mississippi 1890 Constitution of Mississippi, as originally adopted Constitution of Mississippi 1890, as amended Missouri Montana Nebraska The Organic Act of 1854 (creating Nebraska Territory) State of Nebraska Constitution Nevada The Constitution of the State of Nevada of 1864 as amended to 1999 New Hampshire Constitution of New Hampshire, Jan. 5, 1776 New Hampshire State Constitution 1783, as amended through 1990 New Jersey The Charter or Fundamental Laws, of West New Jersey, Agreed Upon - 1676 Constitution of New Jersey 1776 New Jersey State Constitution 1947 as amended 2000 New Mexico Laws for the Government of the Territory of New Mexico; September 22, 1846 Constitution of the State of New Mexico Adopted Jan. 21, 1911 (as amended through 1974) New York New York Charter of Liberties and Privileges 1683 Constitution of New York April 20, 1777 Constitution of New York as amended Nov. 11, 1821 North Carolina 1663 - Charter of Carolina : March 24 1663 - A Declaration and Proposals of the Lord Proprietor of Carolina, Aug. 25-Sept. 4 1665 - Concessions and Agreements of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina 1665 - Charter of Carolina; June 30 1669 - The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina : March 1 1775 - The Mecklenburgh Resolutions : May 20 Constitution of North Carolina : December 18, 1776 Constitution of North Carolina 1971 North Dakota Ohio Constitution of the State of Ohio--1802. Ratified by the Constitutional Convention on 29 November 1802 Oklahoma Oregon Constitution of Oregon 2000 edition Pennsylvania 1681 - Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania : February 28 1681 - Concessions to the Province of Pennsylvania - July 11 1682 - Penn's Charter of Libertie - April 25 1682 - Frame of Government of Pennsylvania - May 5 1683 - Frame of Government of Pennsylvania - February 2 1696 - Frame of Government of Pennsylvania 1701 - Charter of Privileges Granted by William Penn, esq. to the Inhabitants of Pennsylvania and Territories, October 28 Constitution of Pennsylvania
Rhode Island Rhode Island Royal Charter July 8, 1663 Renunciation of Allegiance May 4, 1776 (Rhode Island) Plantation Agreement at Providence August 27 - September 6, 1640 (1) Government of Rhode Island-March 16-19, 1641 (1) Patent for Providence Plantations - March 14, 1643 1986 Rhode Island Constitution Rhode Island Constitution of 1843 South Carolina 1663 - Charter of Carolina : March 24 1663 - A Declaration and Proposals of the Lord Proprietor of Carolina, Aug. 25-Sept. 4 1665 - Concessions and Agreements of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina 1665 - Charter of Carolina; June 30 1669 - The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina : March 1 1775 - The Mecklenburgh Resolutions : May 20 Constitution of South Carolina 1776 Constitution of South Carolina 1778 South Carolina Constitution amended through 1999 South Dakota Tennessee Constitution of the State of Tennessee of 1870, as amended through 1998 The Constitution of Tennessee 1796 Texas Texas Constitutions Digitization Project Utah Constitution of the State of Utah 1896 Vermont Constitution of Vermont, July 8, 1777 Constitution of Vermont, July 4, 1786 Admission of the State of Vermont February 18, 1791 Vermont Constitution of 1793 as amended as of 2001 Virginia The First Charter of Virginia; April 10, 1606 (1) The Second Charter of Virginia; May 23, 1609 The Third Charter of Virginia; March 12, 1611 Ordinances for Virginia; July 24-August 3, 1621 (1) The Virginia Declaration of Rights (June 12, 1776) Virginia Constitution 29 June 1776 Excerpts from the 1902 Constitution of Virginia Washington West Virginia Constitution of West Virginia 1872 Wisconsin Wisconsin Constitution of 1848 as amended through 1998 Wyoming Constitution of the State of Wyoming of 1889 as amended through 1998 Legislature Continental Congress The Continental Congress Broadside Collection The Continental Congress Broadside Collection (253 titles) on the Library of Congress webpage includes material relating to the work of Congress, dating from 1774 to 1788. Items are predominantly extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, committee reports, proclamations, treaties, and other proceedings of Congress. These broadsides provide a significant supplement to the Journals of the Continental Congress . Some trace the evolution of congressional measures at specific stages of consideration, and differ significantly from the modified resolutions finally adopted by Congress. Some items contain manuscript annotations not recorded elsewhere that offer insight into the delicate process of creating consensus. Not every major topic considered by Congress is represented by this collection; the bulk of the pieces date from 1781 to 1788. Most of the items in the collections are composed of a single-sheet, meeting the classic definition of a broadside. Some items, however, range in length to twenty-eight pages. All of these broadsides, many of which were acquired in 1867 from Peter Force, are in the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division, with the exception of one broadside, which is in the Manuscript Division. 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. The Journals were printed contemporaneously in different editions and in several subsequent reprint editions. None of these, however, include the "Secret Journals," confidential sections of the records, which were not published until 1821. The edition presented at the Library of Congress website is the complete one published by the Library of Congress from 1904-1937, based on the manuscript Journals and other manuscript records of the Continental Congress in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Continental Congress Thanksgiving Proclamation 1782 Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress October 14, 1774 A Declaration by the Representatives of the United Colonies of North-America, Now Met in Congress at Philadelphia, Setting Forth the Causes and Necessity of Their Taking Up Arms. July 6, 1775 Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789 * October 20, 1774 - Articles of Association Washington's Resignation Address to the Continental Congress Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789 from the Library of Congress Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-Present Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) Declaration of Arms (July 6, 1775) United States Congress Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States from 1789 to 1873 Journal of the Senate of the United States from 1789 to 1873 Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States
In addition to its legislative journal, the Senate maintains a separate record of executive proceedings relating to its functions of confirming presidential nominees and consenting to the making of treaties. This collection offers the full run of the Senate Executive Journal from 1789 to 1873. Journal of William Maclay, United States Senator from Pennsylvania, 1789-1791
This edition of William Maclay's journal was published in 1891, edited by Edgar S. Maclay, a descendant of William Maclay. Mr. Maclay served as one of the first two senators from Pennsylvania. Early in his term, he began keeping a diary, which he continued for three sessions of the 1st Congress. Senate sessions were closed to the public until 1795. Mr. Maclay's diary is a valuable historical record of Senate floor activity in the early congresses. Bills and Resolutions of the House of Representatives and the Senate
The Bills and Resolutions are available for selected sessions of Congress, beginning with the 13th Congress in the House of Representatives and the 16th Congress in the Senate. A proposed law may be introduced into either chamber of the Congress as a bill or a joint resolution. When a bill or a resolution is introduced, it is ordered to be printed and referred to one or more committees for review. Multiple versions of the same bill are not uncommon since each time a bill is successfully amended, or when it is introduced into the other house after passage in the first, a new version of the bill is required to be printed. The sequential numbering of bills for each session of Congress began in the House with the 15th Congress and in the Senate with the 30th Congress. For these bills, the researcher may consult the bill's number in the index of the appropriate journal (House or Senate) to determine the ultimate fate of the proposed legislation. Resolutions are also legislation, but unlike bills they may be limited in effect to the Congress or one of its chambers. Simple resolutions relate to the operations of a single chamber or express the collective opinion of that chamber on public policy issues. Concurrent resolutions relate to the operations of Congress, including both chambers, or express the collective opinion of both chambers on public policy issues. Unlike simple and concurrent resolutions, joint resolutions are considered to have the same effect as bills and require the approval of the President. However, only joint resolutions may be used to propose amendments to the Constitution, and in this instance do not require the approval of the President. Thus, the Bill of Rights was introduced as a joint resolution in the 1st Congress and did not require the approval of the President, while the legislation annexing Texas and granting it statehood was also introduced as a joint resolution but did require Presidential approval. The bills in this group are a largely complete collection from both the House and Senate, beginning with the 18th Congress (1823) and continuing through the 42nd Congress (1873). In addition, a small number of bills are included from the 13th to the 17th Congresses. Bills for sessions of Congress prior to the 18th are not generally available in bound form. They are available in microfilm or microfiche from selected Federal Depository Libraries across the country, including the Library of Congress. A guide to locating Federal Depository Libraries is maintained by the Government Printing Office. United States Statutes at Large
The United States Statutes at Large is the official source for the laws and resolutions passed by Congress. Publication began in 1845. In 1874 Congress transferred the authority to publish the title to the Government Printing Office, which has been responsible for producing the set since that time. Every law, public and private, ever enacted by the Congress is published in the Statutes at Large in order of the date of passage. In addition, the Statutes at Large publishes the text of amendments to the Constitution and of presidential proclamations. The seventeen volumes presented in this online collection cover the laws of the first forty-two Congresses, 1789-1873. United States Congressional Serial Set
The United States Congressional Serial Set, commonly referred to as the Serial Set or Congressional Series or (before 1907) the Sheep-bound set, began publication with the 15th Congress, 1st session (1817). Documents of the first fourteen Congresses were published as the American State Papers. The Serial Set contains the House and Senate Documents and the House and Senate Reports. The reports are usually from congressional committees dealing with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. Hearings are generally published separately. The documents include all other papers ordered printed by the House or Senate. Documents cover a wide variety of topics and may include reports of executive departments and independent organizations, reports of special investigations made for Congress, and annual reports of non-governmental organizations. This collection includes selected volumes printed during the 23rd (1834-35), 56th (1899), and 58th Congresses (1904-05). Annals of Congress
The Annals of Congress, formally known as The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, cover the 1st Congress through the first session of the 18th Congress, from 1789 to 1824. The Annals were not published contemporaneously, but were compiled between 1834 and 1856, using the best records available, primarily newspaper accounts. Speeches are paraphrased rather than given verbatim, but the record of debate is nonetheless fuller than that available from the House Journal and Senate Journal. Register of Debates
The Register of Debates is a record of the congressional debates of the 18th Congress, 2nd session through the 25th Congress, 1st session (1824-37). It was preceded by the Annals of Congress and succeeded by The Congressional Globe. There are fourteen numbered volumes in the Register of Debates series. Each volume covers a session but is arbitrarily divided into parts, resulting in a total of twenty-nine books in the series. Each volume contains a separate index for Senate and House debates and for Senate and House speakers in the debates. These indexes are repeated at the end of each printed part. More complete access to the information may be obtained indirectly by using the indexes of the House and Senate Journals during the relevant session of Congress, which provide the dates on which action was taken. These dates can then be consulted in the Register of Debates. The last volume in each session of Congress contains Presidential messages, select committee reports, and the text of laws. Each page has two columns, and each column is numbered. The Register of Debates is not a verbatim account of the proceedings, but rather a summary of the "leading debates and incidents" of the session. It was published contemporaneously with the proceedings by a commercial printer, Gales and Seaton of Washington, D.C. The copies were purchased for the use of the government and were thus considered government publications. The Register of Debates and its successor, The Congressional Globe, overlapped publication for a brief period of time (23rd Congress, 1st Session through 25th Congress, 1st session; 1833-1837). The Congressional Globe
The Congressional Globe, commonly referred to as the Globe , contains the debates of Congress from the 23rd Congress, 1st Session through the 42nd Congress (1833-73). There are 46 volumes in the series, printed as 110 books. The volume-numbering scheme is not consistent throughout the entire series, and for that reason citations to the Globe should refer to the Congress and session number. There are separate indexes for the Senate and House proceedings for each session of Congress. The indexes often appear in the front of the book and may be repeated in each part. The first five volumes of the Globe (23rd Congress, 1st Session through 25th Congress, 1st Session, 1833-37) overlap with the Register of Debates. Initially the Globe contained a "condensed report" or abstract rather than a verbatim report of Congress's debates and proceedings. With the 32nd Congress (1851), however, the Globe began to provide something approaching verbatim transcription. The contents of the appendix of each Globe volume vary from Congress to Congress, but appendices typically contain presidential messages, reports of the heads of departments and cabinet officers, texts of laws, and statements of appropriations. Speeches not indexed or referenced on the pages reprinting the debates also appear in the appendix. Each appendix has an index. The Globe was issued by a commercial printer, Blair and Rives of Washington, D.C. The copies were purchased for use by the government and were thus considered government publications. Supplement to The Congressional Globe Containing the Proceedings of the Senate Sitting for the Trial of Andrew Johnson
The Congressional Globe, the predecessor to the Congressional Record, was published from 1833 to 1873. After the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868 the Globe published a supplementary volume that provides a record of the documents and debates from the Senate trial. Library of Congress online resources related to the impeachment of President Johnson include the following Today in History Web pages: A Chronological List of United States Senators 1789-2001 (*PDF format) 1789-1890 1891-2001 Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress 1774-present Northwest Ordinance (July 13, 1787) The Annapolis Convention (Sept. 14, 1786) Individual States [under construction] Executive United States [under construction] Individual States [under construction] Judiciary United States [under construction] Individual States [under construction] [ top] Books The Making of America Project: A joint undertaking of the University of Michigan and Cornell University, MoA is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction, currently containing approximately 1,600 books with 19th Century imprints. The Nineteenth Century in Print: Books (1850-1877) Newspapers The Historical Index to the New York Times, covering from 1851-1923 New York Times Index (1863-1905) New York Daily Tribune Index (1875-1906) Periodicals The Making of America Project: A joint undertaking of the University of Michigan and Cornell University, MoA is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction, currently containing approximately 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. The Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals (1850-1877) Index to Periodical Literature (1802-1906) Index to Periodicals (1890-1902) Harper's Magazine Index (1876-1897) Library Journal Cumulative Index (1876-1897) (PP) 19th Century Serials Masterfile Miscellaneous Broadsides and Printed Ephemera c. 1600-2000 (AM) Shaping the Values of Youth: Sunday School Books in 19th Century America [ top ] SECONDARY SOURCES AND FINDING AIDS Journals full-text JSTOR: Full text of leading historical journals Lexis and Westlaw: These include files of all leading law reviews, including the Journal of Legal History. They are available by subscription and password only, although Lexis has a related database, Academic Universe, which is available at many academic institutions. Journal indices Historical Abstracts Abstracts and indexes articles and reviews appearing in 2,000 journals covering world history since 1450. The electronic database covers citations from 1971. Earlier citations available in the print version. America: History and Life Abstracts and indexes articles and reviews from more than 2,000 journals as well as citations to abstracts of dissertations since 1964. ArticleFirst on FirstSearch Indexes over 2,000 periodicals from fields including the humanities and the social sciences from 1990 to the present. Dissertation Abstracts (ProQuest Digital Dissertations) Abstracts of dissertations and masters theses submitted since 1861, with PDF copies of University of Chicago dissertations from 1997 to present. Web of Science Contains three databases, two of which are the Arts & Humanities Index and the Social Sciences Index. Indexes thousands of journals from 1982 to present, with a cited reference search feature. ATLA Religion Database This database contains thousands of citations from over 1,430 sources in the field of religion, spanning over 50 years with selected records going back to 1818. Bibliographies: Cohen, Morris L., Bibliography of Early American Law, 6 vols. 1998 While this guide is directed primarily at online sources, it would be a serious loss to omit mention of Morris Cohen's Bibliography of Early American Law, popularly known as BEAL. It lists and describes the monographic and trial literature of American law from its beginnings to the end of 1860. It also includes works on foreign, comparative and international law is published in this country. The Bibliography is divided into four sections: Monographs, Civil Trials, Criminal Trials and Special Proceedings. Special Proceedings includes selected legislative and administrative proceedings of an adjudicatory nature and arbitrations. Manuscript finding aids Archival Resources (Research Libraries Group) 500,000 bibliographic records for archival and manuscript collections at research libraries worldwide, plus Encoded Archival Description online digital finding aids. These are made available through RLIN's Eureka searching interface to institutions participating in the project. Includes a directory of manuscript repositories, collection records from the National Union Catalogue of Manuscript Collections, names and subject indexing of 42,000 collections whose finding aids are published separately in the microfiche series, National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States. National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration holds extensive collections of historical documents together with lists of finding aids searchable from their website. Comprehensive coverage of NARA's holdings of federal records, i.e., records that originated in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the federal government, is provided by a web version of the Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Only a small fraction of NARA's holdings has been digitized. Examples of digitized files include: Title: Declaration by President of Senate of the results of the election for President and Vice President of the United States Dates 02/08/1837 Title: Telegram from Henry Ford of Detroit, Michigan, concerning the contested 1918 election of Truman H. Newberry Dates 04/08/1920 Title: Certification of the electors of the state of Delaware Dates 03/06/1789 [ top ] [under construction] |
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