Government History Resources

Pardon Our Noise

We wish to apologize for construction noise on the north side of the building. Our Large Group Study Rooms and study tables near the first floor Loan collection may be affected. This construction will start Monday, 10/14/24, and be ongoing through November. Please see our staff at the Access Desk for assistance reserving an appropriate study room.

United States

Primary Sources

Cornerstone Documents: The GPO (Government Publishing Office) has some unique items online such as the Articles of Confederation and the Gettysburg Address. Also included are the Proclamations and Executive Orders of Presidents from 1945-1989, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates - 1774-1875: This site contains the Journals of the Continental Congress, the Statutes at Large, the House and Senate Journal, the Annals of Congress, the Register of Debates, the Congressional Globe, and much more.
Primary Documents in American History: From the Library of Congress. Points to guides with links to primary sources. Some highlights include the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and the Constitution of the United States. Documents range from the 1770s to the early 1900s.
Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy: The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School breaks documents down into the categories of Ancient Documents (4000 B.C.E.-399 C.E.), Medieval Documents, and 15th through 21st Century Documents. Can search by Author, Subject, or Title. It also has the common names of Diplomatic Documents.
Words and Deeds in American History - Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division's First 100 Years: From the Library of Congress. Search by keyword or browse by name, subject, or time period.
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: From the Government Publishing Office. May browse the 1991-1992 papers of George H.W. Bush, the complete papers of William J. Clinton, the complete papers of George W. Bush, and the 2009-2010 papers of Barack H. Obama. To search, go to the advanced search page, type your search, and add the title "Public Papers" to the Selected Collections box.
Public Papers of the Presidents - The American Presidency Project: From the University of California, Santa Barbara. Has text of public papers from Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama. Can search by keyword or browse year and/or month.
Presidential Audio/Video Archive - The American Presidency Project: From the University of California, Santa Barbara. Has selected addresses, remarks, etc. from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush.
Document Collections - Department of State: Declassified documents. Limited number of collections ranging from Amelia Earhart to the 2006 Mexican Presidential Election.
National Security Archive: An independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Has Electronic Briefing Books on subjects such as Europe and Nuclear History. The Special Exhibits listed on the NSA home page include The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 and Nixon Meets Elvis.
CIA Electronic Reading Room: You may search all the available declassified documents from the main page. Or browse a list of Historical Collections such as the Bay of Pigs, Atomic Spies: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, the National Intelligence Council (NIC)Vietnam Collection, or the 25-Year Program Archive. Since some of the documents are not in one of the collections, you may find some items only by searching.
Historical Advertising - Ad*Access: The Ad*Access Project, funded by the Duke Endowment "Library 2000" Fund, has images of over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines; covering five product categories - Beauty and Hygiene, Radio, Television, Transportation, and World War II propaganda - dated between 1911 and 1955.

Secondary Sources

Digital Collections - Library of Congress: Over 500 historical collections. May browse or limit by topic. May also search within the collections. Includes sound recordings, videos, photographs, books, maps, and sheet music. Some collections are still pending migration and only available at the American Memory: Remaining Collections website.
U.S. Army Center of Military History: This site by the U.S. Army contains historical publications, artwork, and photographs. Posters are included in the American Propaganda during World War I collection.

Texas

Primary Sources

Texas Treasures: This site features images of artifacts and historic documents held by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Includes the Texas Declaration of Independence, Travis' Letter from the Alamo, and voting results for annexation.
Narrative History of Texas Annexation: This summary also includes links to relevant documents such as the 1845 Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas to the United States.
Narrative History of Texas Secession and Readmission to the Union: Has summary and links to relevant documents such as the 1861 Ordinance of Secession.

Secondary Sources

The Handbook of Texas Online: This online version of The Handbook of Texas by the Texas State Historical Association is an excellent multi-disciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture. It has more than 25,000 articles on people, places, events, historical themes, institutions, and many other topics.
Texas Historical Commission: The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the state agency for historic preservation. THC staff works with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas' architectural, archaeological, and cultural landmarks; has Rules and Regulations about preservation. The site includes an archive of The Medallion magazine. For issues older than 2011, please visit the Cornette Library Government Documents Unit.

U. S. Government Agencies

State Department - Office of the Historian: The Historian's Office publishes the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy in the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series. Volumes of the FRUS covering 1945-1980 may be searched or browsed. The site has overviews of key milestones in U.S. history. The department history includes information such as lists of which countries a president visited and for what purpose.
Department of Energy History: Has DOE timeline and a list of history publications. The interactive history of the Manhattan Project is of special interest. Additional Resources include a "Cold War History" and historical photographs.
EPA History: Contains EPA historical publications and numerous historic press releases on topics such as pollution prevention and natural disasters.
NASA's History Office: The NASA History Program was first established in 1959 (a year after NASA itself was formed) to document and preserve the agency's remarkable history.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) Mission and History: This site describes the Federal Election Commission's Federal Election Campaign Act laws and history.