Primary Documents in American History

The Library of Congress is home to many of the most important documents in American history. This Web site provides links to materials digitized from the collections of the Library of Congress that supplement and enhance the study of these crucial documents.

The links at right highlight eras of American History. Each of these sections link to a list of important documents from that era. For each item on these lists there is a page with background information about the document, a list of links to digital materials concerning that document from the Library's site and elsewhere, and bibliographies both for general readers and for younger readers.

The initial release of this Web site contains documents from the years 1763 to 1877. Updates will be made on a regular basis, including the addition of documents from the 20th Century.

Created by Kenneth Drexler and Mark F. Hall,
Digital Reference Specialists