Research Guides: Finding Primary Sources: Digitized Government Documents Offering Primary-Source Content

Digitized Government Documents Offering Primary-Source Content

Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online
A collection of state papers, chronicles, accounts, and correspondence from the archives of Britain, Ireland and continental Europe which offers resources for the study of Britain and its place in the world during the medieval and early modern period (c. 1100-1800). Addresses political, ecclesiastical, social, economic, and cultural issues.
Parliament Rolls of Medieval England
Contains the full text and translations of records of the meetings of the English Parliament from Edward I to Henry VII, covering the years 1272 to 1504. The Parliament rolls themselves are transcribed from the original documents, and accompanying transcripts provide information about the text in the documents (e.g., deleted and unreadable text).
America and Great Britain: Diplomatic Relations, 1775-1815, British Government Documents
40 years of official diplomatic correspondence between America and Britain. Documents cover the discontents and ultimate rebellion of “Colonies and Plantations in North America;” recognition of the independent United States of America in 1782; the new nation’s political maturation; grievances that led to the War of 1812; the negotiation of a lasting Anglo-American peace in 1815; and the rise of the United States as a global power.
British Online Archives - African Blue Books, 1821 – 1953
Part of the British Online Archives, this collection of primary source materials includes statistics for 13 African colonies from 1821-1953, data describing the business of governing colonial Africa.
British Online Archives - Annual Departmental Reports relating to Kenya, 1907-1964
Part of the British Online Archives, this collection of primary source materials includes reports of government departments of Kenya when it was an East African Colony, covering 1907 until Independence in 1964.

Central Intelligence (CIA) Library
"The CIA releases millions of pages of documents each year and frequently releases items of public interest on this website. The Library contains a wealth of information, from unclassified current publications to basic references, reports and maps."
CIA Records Search Tool (CREST)
"Since 2000, CIA has installed and maintained an electronic full-text searchable system ... at NARA II in College Park, Maryland. The CREST system is the publicly accessible repository of the subset of CIA records reviewed under the 25-year program in electronic format (manually reviewed and released records are accessioned directly into the National Archives in their original format)."

Digital National Security Archive
"Declassified government documents covering U.S. policy toward critical world events – including their military, intelligence, diplomatic and human rights dimensions – from 1945 to the present."

National Security Archive (at George Washington University)
"Combines a unique range of functions: investigative journalism center, research institute on international affairs, library and archive of declassified U.S. documents ..., leading non-profit user of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, public interest law firm defending and expanding public access to government information, global advocate of open government, and indexer and publisher of former secrets."

Cold War Intelligence: The Secret War between the U.S. and the USSR, 1945-1991
A collection of formerly classified U.S. government documents illustrating successes and failures of the U.S. intelligence community in its efforts to spy on the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Covers the period from the end of World War II in 1945 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but also includes a number of formerly classified reports and articles written by U.S. intelligence historians since the end of the Cold War.
US Intelligence on the Middle East: 1945-2009
Document set that sheds light on the U.S. intelligence community's surveillance and analytic efforts in the Middle East, the Near East, and North Africa since the end of World War II. Includes material on the 2002-2003 Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) assessments, the Global War on Terror, the Iraq War, and Iran's nuclear program.
Homeland Security Digital Library
A collection of documents related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA, and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Includes material produced by Federal, state, and local governments; international governments and institutions; nonprofit organizations and private sector entities; and think tanks, research centers, and colleges and universities.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set
Includes the numbered House and Senate Documents and House and Senate Reports by session of Congress, a vast collection of documents and reports containing comprehensive and often detailed information on an extremely wide range of subjects. Provides searchable pdfs for American State Papers 1789-1838 and for the Serial Set for the 15th-91st Congress/1817-1969. Note: To access, use the "Advanced Search" option on "Congressional Publications" and select "Serial Set."
ProQuest Congressional
Publications related to or from the United State Congress and the Executive branch from 1789 to the present that include laws, legislative histories, House and Senate hearings, bills and reports, the Congressional Record, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, plus Executive Orders, Proclamations and other documents related to the presidency.

C-SPAN (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network) Video Library
C-SPAN is a private, non-profit American cable television network that was created by the cable television industry in 1979 as a public service. It offers television broadcasting of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming. "C-SPAN Archives records, indexes, and archives all C-SPAN programming for historical, educational, research, and archival uses. Every C-SPAN program aired since 1987 ... is contained in the C-SPAN Archives and immediately accessible through the database and electronic archival systems developed and maintained by the C-SPAN Archives."

NREL Publications
Provides access to National Renewable Energy Laboratory publications on sustainable energy technologies issued from 1977 to the present.
USPTO Patent Database
Covers U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) patent issues and applications, offering images of documentation produced since 1790 and full text of documentation produced since 1976. Includes over two million searchable patents.
Google Patent Search
Covers the entire collection of issued patents and millions of patent applications made available by the USPTO, from patents issued in the 1790s through those most recently issued in the past few months.
United Nations Treaty Collection
Contains full text of the United Nations Treaty Series and the League of Nations Treaty Series, the current status of the multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, and texts of recently deposited multilateral treaties.
Archives of the Chinese Government
Archives and publications of the Chinese central government, its ministries and subsidiaries, and regional authorities. This material has been drawn from the official sources of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Note: Content is available in simplified Chinese only.
Archives of the Communist Party of China
Archives and publications of the Communist Party of China since its establishment in 1921. Includes material from official sources such as the People's Daily Press, the Party Literature Research Office of the CPC Central Committee, the National People's Congress, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Note: Content is available in simplified Chinese only.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Includes U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790, along with extensive offerings of current and historical U.S. state and federal statutes, published court decisions, and regulations.