InfoGuides: American History Sources 1600s-1820s: Access Selected Specialized Archival Collections

Collected Primary Sources By Topic

American Founding Era This link opens in a new window
Gateway to the prepared digital editions of the papers of many of the major figures of the early republic, such as John Adams, John Jay, Dolley Madison and George Washington; as well as scholarship tracing the Constitution's progress through each of the thirteen states' conventions.

Founders Online
Freely available access to the Papers of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton,Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.
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The National Archives, through its National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), has entered into a cooperative agreement with The University of Virginia Press to create this site and make freely available online the historical documents of the Founders of the United States of America.
Through this website, you will be able to read and search through thousands of records from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison and see firsthand the growth of democracy and the birth of the Republic.
For the past 50 years, the NHPRC has invested in these detailed collections of all of the documents authored and received by, or related to, individual leaders of the period. Scholars have collected—from archives across the country and around the world—copies of the original 18th- and 19th-century documents, transcribed them, provided annotations, and produced hundreds of books. You can see a complete list of titles of these printed volumes along with links to the documents.

Founders Online also includes transcriptions of thousands of documents that have not yet appeared in the published volumes, provided via the Early Access program.

Papers of Alexander Hamilton This link opens in a new window
Encompasses all 27 volumes of the print edition. Search on full text and by date, author, or recipient.
Papers of Dolley Madison Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Complete collection of letters through 1845, plus documents pertaining to the sale of Montpelier. Access through a chronological list of documents named using date, author and recipient, or search to locate letters by text, names, dates, topics, and places.
Papers of George Washington Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Encompasses five separate series and the complete diaries. Search on full text and by date, author, or recipient across all volumes and series.
Papers of James Madison Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Contains all of the content of the print edition. Search on full text and by date, author, or recipient across all volumes and series.
Papers of John Adams Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Comprises John Adams’ complete diaries, selected legal papers, and the ongoing series of family correspondence and state papers.
Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition This link opens in a new window
Brings together 47 volumes covering Thomas Jefferson's public and private life into one searchable online resource. Includes all illustrations and biographical content of the print edition.

ProQuest History Vault: Revolutionary War and Early America This link opens in a new window
One of the most-studied periods in American history, this resource consists of 26 collections from the holdings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the first North American historical society and the first library to devote its primary attention to collecting Americana. The collections digitized by ProQuest from the holdings of the Massachusetts Historical Society focus on the Colonial Era, the Revolutionary War and the Early National Period, with some collections extending into the Civil War era.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Provides access to full-text North American women's diaries and letters from the Colonial period to 1990s; includes biographies and an annotated bibliography of database sources.

Cabell Family Papers
The history of Virginia and that of the Cabell family are inextricably linked; indeed, since about 1726, the Cabells have been one of the Commonwealth’s most interesting and influential families. This site offers a broad introduction to the Cabell family and to the extraordinary archival material that Cabells in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries left behind.
Ann Cary Randolph Morris Papers
Letters, 1805, from Ann Cary Randolph [Nancy Randolph] of "Bizarre," Cumberland County, Va. alluding to her sister Judith Randolph and to the Bizarre Scandal of 1792-1793. The collection includes typescripts of correspondence, 1814-1815, between Ann Cary (Randolph) Morris and her cousin John Randolph (1773-1833); magazine article, 1926, from Liberty magazine; and newspaper clipping, 1962 abstracting an article by Francis Biddle which appeared in American Heritage. Letters, 1805 and n.d

The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family by Charles W. Peale; Lillian B. Miller (Editor); Sidney Hart (Editor)
ISBN: 0300025769
Publication Date: 1983-09-10
The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family cover the period from 1740 to 1885. In their entirety, they present a picture of a renowned American family participating in and contributing to the development of the cultural life of the nation through its first century of existence.
The Papers of George Mason by George Mason; Robert A. Rutland (Editor)
ISBN: 9780807811344
Publication Date: 1970-01-01
George Mercer Papers by Lois Mulkearn (Editor)
ISBN: 1322068496
Publication Date: 1954-01-01
George Mercer was a lieutenant and later captain of the First Virginia Regiment during the French and Indian War, and a land surveyor. He served as agent for the Ohio Company in England. In this book, Lois Mulkearn interprets George Mercer's documents on the activities of the Ohio Company.Through the eyes of Indians, French, and English we see the political and military efforts to control the vast area of the Ohio frontier, and witness treaties signed at Logstown, and those between Pennsylvania and the Weas and Piankashaws in 1740. Among Mercer's other papers are directions for laying out the first British town to be called Saltsburg at present day McKees Rocks, outside Pittsburgh. With this extensive collection, Mulkearn enlightens our knowledge of colonial history and the western frontier."
Official Papers of Francis Fauquier, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, 1758-68 by Francis Fauquier; George Henkle Reese; George Reese (Editor)
ISBN: 0813908566
Publication Date: 1980-01-01
Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789-1791 by United States Congress Staff; Charlene Bangs Bickford (Editor); Kenneth R. Bowling (Editor); Helen E. Veit (Editor); William Charles diGiacomantonio (Editor)
ISBN: 080189445X
Publication Date: 2011-12-15
Through decades of searching, the First Federal Congress Project has collected primary material documenting the debates, decisions, and thoughts of the members of the First Federal Congress. The volumes of the Documentary History of the First Federal Congress permit Congress and its staff, historians, political scientists, jurists, educators, students, and others to understand the most important and productive Congress in United States history. Three new volumes present letters written by and to members of the First Federal Congress during its Second Session, as well as communications from other informed individuals at the seat of government in New York City during late 1789 and 1790. The correspondence brings the official record to life by providing details about the often informal political means by which Congress accomplished its agenda. During this session, the Congress addressed the two most divisive issues facing the young nation: funding the debts from the Revolutionary War (particularly the debts incurred by the individual states) and determining locations for both the temporary and permanent seats of the federal government. It resolved these difficult issues through the Compromise of 1790, silencing sectional threats of disunion for the immediate future. A rich source of information about the members of Congress, their lives in New York, their concerns about their families, and the services they performed for their constituents, the documents from these three new volumes will also be incorporated into The Early Republic, an innovative online reference hosted by the Johns Hopkins University Press.

Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents covering the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in the European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia. Through an array of digitized primary source materials it documents the creation of new states, trade networks, and movements of people in these regions alongside the marginalization and decline of indigenous peoples. Material ranges across four centuries, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.
Global Commodities: Trade, Exploration and Cultural Exchange This link opens in a new window
Contains primary source materials for the study of global commodities in world history. It focuses on the history of 15 major commodities, and examines the ways that they have changed the world. In addition to historical documents, collection provides users with visual resources, such as thematic galleries, data and maps, and a searchable chronology.
Virginia Company Archives This link opens in a new window
Documents the founding and economic development of Virginia as seen through the papers of the Virginia Company of London, 1606-1624, and the Ferrar family in the settlement of North America from Jamestown to the Bermudas. Includes evidence on the ethnic and gender composition of Virginia, and of tensions among the colonists and of early relations with Native Americans.

History Commons This link opens in a new window
Formerly Accessible Archives. Full text, searchable collections of American 18th and 19th century primary sources with bibliographic citations. Access eyewitness accounts of historical events, descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements and genealogical records.
Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Brings together essential historical and current material for researching the past, present and future of African-Americans, the wider African Diaspora, and Africa itself. Includes the Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, the historical backfiles of the Chicago Defender newspaper, and full-text coverage of core Black Studies journals. Also includes the International Index to Black Periodicals and the Black Literature Index.
Black Thought & Culture This link opens in a new window
Provides access to full-text documents of major black leaders in North America from the 19th & 20th centuries to 1975. Currently includes approximately 100,000 pages of primary source materials.
ProQuest History Vault: Southern Life and African American History, 1775–1915, Plantations Records, Part 1 This link opens in a new window
Documents the far-reaching impact of plantations on both the American South and the nation. As business owners, the commodities produced by plantation owners—rice, cotton, sugar, tobacco, hemp, and others— accounted for more than half of the nation’s exports. The plantation, therefore, played a key role in the development of a nationwide market economy. Plantation records also document the personal lives of plantation owners and their families.
ProQuest History Vault: Southern Life and African American History, 1775-1915, Plantation Records, Part 2 This link opens in a new window
In the second set of Plantation Records in History Vault, the records presented in this module come from the University of Virginia and Duke University. Major collections from the holdings of the University of Virginia include the Tayloe Family Papers, Ambler Family Papers, Cocke Family Papers, Gilliam Family Papers, Barbour Family Papers, and Randolph Family Papers. Major collections from the Duke University holdings document plantation life in the Alabama, as well as South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.

Race and Slavery Petitions Project
The Project offers a searchable database of detailed personal information about slaves, slaveholders, and free people of color. Designed as a tool for scholars, historians, teachers, students, genealogists, and interested citizens, the site provides access to information gathered and analyzed over an eighteen-year period from petitions to southern legislatures and country courts filed between 1775 and 1867 in the fifteen slaveholding states in the United States and the District of Columbia.
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Information in the petitions can be accessed in three ways. To search the petitions by keyword, select geographic and date criteria then enter a search term or phrase below. To search the database for specific named individuals, select the Search By Name tab. To see petitions associated with particular historical, legal, or cultural topics, select the Browse Subjects tab.

ProQuest History Vault: Slavery and the Law This link opens in a new window
Slavery and the Law features petitions on race, slavery, and free blacks that were submitted to state legislatures and county courthouses between 1775 and 1867. These petitions were collected by Loren Schweninger over a four year period from hundreds of courthouses and historical societies in 10states and the District of Columbia. The petitions document the realities of slavery at the most immediate local level and with amazing candor. Slavery and the Law also includes theimportant State Slavery Statutes collection, a comprehensive record of the laws governing American slavery from 1789-1865.

Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative
Some of the rich collections from the Library of Virginia which document the lives of African Americans. There is a variety of records including Freedom Suits, Legislative Petitions, Public Claims, and Free Black Registrations and Tax Records to name a few.
Virginia Legistative Petitions
Petitions to the General Assembly were the primary catalyst for legislation in the Commonwealth from 1776 until 1865. Public improvements, military claims, divorce, manumission of slaves, division of counties, incorporation of towns, religious freedom, and taxation were just some of the concerns expressed in these petitions. The petitions often contain hundreds of signatures and are a useful tool in genealogical research. Frequently, the petitions contain supplementary support documents useful in research, including maps, wills, naturalizations, deeds, resolutions, affidavits, judgments, and other items.

Witchcraft in Europe and America This link opens in a new window
Collection offering a wide range of writings on the subject of witchcraft. Supplies texts in Latin, English and German, although there are also selected items in French, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch and Spanish.

Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America This link opens in a new window
Supports the study of American Indian history from the early colonial period to the civil rights movement of the twentieth century. Features a wide range of materials including manuscripts, artwork, American Indian newspapers covering the 1960s to 1990s, rare printed books, photographs, and maps.
American West This link opens in a new window
Original manuscripts, maps, ephemeral material, and rare printed sources from the Graff Collection about the American West, including tales of frontier life, Native Americans, vigilantes, and outlaws, and the growth of urban centers and environmental impact of westward expansion and of life in the borderlands.
Early Encounters in North America This link opens in a new window
Documents the relationships among peoples in North America from 1534 to 1850. The collection focuses on personal accounts and provides unique perspectives from all of the protagonists, including traders, slaves, missionaries, explorers, soldiers, native peoples, and officials, both men and women. The project brings coherence to a wide range of published and unpublished accounts, including narratives, diaries, journals, and letters.
Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents covering the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in the European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia. Through an array of digitized primary source materials it documents the creation of new states, trade networks, and movements of people in these regions alongside the marginalization and decline of indigenous peoples. Material ranges across four centuries, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.
Indian Trade in the Southeastern Spanish Borderlands: Papers of Panton, Leslie & Company This link opens in a new window
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Focuses on the ethnographic study of the American Indians of the Southeast through the papers of the Panton, Leslie & Co., a trading firm. More than 8,000 legal, political and diplomatic documents recording the company’s operations for over half a century have been selected and organized for this collection.
ProQuest Indian Claims Insight This link opens in a new window
U.S. Indian claims from 1789-present. Trace by Indian Nation and/or geographic location. For legal, U.S. history, Native American Studies and more.
War Department and Indian Affairs This link opens in a new window
Collects letters to and from the War Department during the period 1800-1824, including many sent to the superintendent of Indian trade, Treasury Department officials, and persons having commercial dealings with the War Department. Some letters were signed by department clerks or by the president.

American Journeys
This is an edited collection of documents selected to provide a wide range of geographical, cultural, and chronological information about the exploration of North America by Europeans and, later, Americans. Roughly equal numbers of pages are devoted to each of six regions: the Northeast, Southeast, Great Lakes and Mississippi Valley, Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, Southwest and California, and Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. Culturally, works by Spanish, French and English writers necessarily predominate but Russian, Dutch, German, Italian, and Native American authors are also well represented (the last usually embedded within documents produced by whites).
American Memory
American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity from the Library of Congress.

American West This link opens in a new window
Original manuscripts, maps, ephemeral material, and rare printed sources from the Graff Collection about the American West, including tales of frontier life, Native Americans, vigilantes, and outlaws, and the growth of urban centers and environmental impact of westward expansion and of life in the borderlands.
China, America and the Pacific This link opens in a new window
Provides primary source materials for the study of the history of North American trade and cultural exchange with China during the 18th and 19th centuries. Additionally covers China's economic dealings with the whole of East Asia and the Pacific.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980 This link opens in a new window
Provides variety of original source material detailing China's interaction with the West, beginning with Macartney's first Embassy to China in 1793, and relating to the activities and observations of British and American diplomats, missionaries, business people and tourists in China between 1793 and 1980, together with rare periodicals, color paintings, maps, photographs and drawings.

Documenting the American South
Provides access to digitized primary materials that offer Southern perspectives on American history and culture.

Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents covering the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in the European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia. Through an array of digitized primary source materials it documents the creation of new states, trade networks, and movements of people in these regions alongside the marginalization and decline of indigenous peoples. Material ranges across four centuries, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.
Mountain People: Life and Culture in Appalachia This link opens in a new window
Consists of the diaries, journals, and narratives of explorers, emigrants, military men, Native Americans, and travelers; as well as accounts on the development of farming and mining communities, family histories, and folklore. Covers the social, political, economic, scientific, religious and agricultural characteristics of the region between Lexington, Kentucky and Winchester, Virginia, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Birmingham, Alabama, from 1700-1950.
Witchcraft in Europe and America This link opens in a new window
Collection offering a wide range of writings on the subject of witchcraft. Supplies texts in Latin, English and German, although there are also selected items in French, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch and Spanish.

History Commons This link opens in a new window
Formerly Accessible Archives. Full text, searchable collections of American 18th and 19th century primary sources with bibliographic citations. Access eyewitness accounts of historical events, descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements and genealogical records.
Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents covering the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in the European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia. Through an array of digitized primary source materials it documents the creation of new states, trade networks, and movements of people in these regions alongside the marginalization and decline of indigenous peoples. Material ranges across four centuries, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Provides access to full-text North American women's diaries and letters from the Colonial period to 1990s; includes biographies and an annotated bibliography of database sources.
Women & Social Movements in the U.S. This link opens in a new window
Includes primary documents, images, scholarly essays, and bibliographies documenting women's reform efforts in the United States between 1600 and 2000.
Witchcraft in Europe and America This link opens in a new window
Collection offering a wide range of writings on the subject of witchcraft. Supplies texts in Latin, English and German, although there are also selected items in French, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch and Spanish.

Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection
This vast digital collection of military artwork from the 16th through 20th centuries, vividly documents all aspects of military and naval history, with emphasis on the history and illustration of world military and naval uniforms from the 17th century to the present. In addition to the material on military and naval dress, the collection contains thousands of battle and campaign scenes, portraits, caricatures, wartime posters, original photographs, material pertaining to military decorations and insignia, heraldic ornaments, armor, weaponry, equitation, flags, knightly orders, court and ceremonial dress, architecture, and the general history of costume.

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Contains over a million images documenting artistic traditions across many cultures and time periods. Updated frequently, please check back often for updated searches & collections. Note: ARTstor users must create a free account to save and share images. Users must turn off the popup blocker.

American History, 1493-1945 This link opens in a new window
Collection of digitized primary sources depicting the history of the United States of America from the earliest settlers to World War II. It contains over 50,000 digitized primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, including correspondence, diaries, government documents, business records, books, pamphlets, newspapers, broadsides, photographs, artwork, and maps. Coverage: 1493-1945. Includes Module I: Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859; and Module II: Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945.

Selected Archival Sources

American History, 1493-1945 This link opens in a new window
Collection of digitized primary sources depicting the history of the United States of America from the earliest settlers to World War II. It contains over 50,000 digitized primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, including correspondence, diaries, government documents, business records, books, pamphlets, newspapers, broadsides, photographs, artwork, and maps. Coverage: 1493-1945. Includes Module I: Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859; and Module II: Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945.
Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America This link opens in a new window
Supports the study of American Indian history from the early colonial period to the civil rights movement of the twentieth century. Features a wide range of materials including manuscripts, artwork, American Indian newspapers covering the 1960s to 1990s, rare printed books, photographs, and maps.
American West This link opens in a new window
Original manuscripts, maps, ephemeral material, and rare printed sources from the Graff Collection about the American West, including tales of frontier life, Native Americans, vigilantes, and outlaws, and the growth of urban centers and environmental impact of westward expansion and of life in the borderlands.
Making of Modern Law: Trials This link opens in a new window
Offers online access to the collections of the law libraries of Harvard and Yale, and the Library of the Bar of the City of New York.
China, America and the Pacific This link opens in a new window
Provides primary source materials for the study of the history of North American trade and cultural exchange with China during the 18th and 19th centuries. Additionally covers China's economic dealings with the whole of East Asia and the Pacific.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980 This link opens in a new window
Provides variety of original source material detailing China's interaction with the West, beginning with Macartney's first Embassy to China in 1793, and relating to the activities and observations of British and American diplomats, missionaries, business people and tourists in China between 1793 and 1980, together with rare periodicals, color paintings, maps, photographs and drawings.
Colonial America This link opens in a new window
Collection of manuscript and printed material from the archive of the British government in London. Covering the period 1606 to 1822, this digital resource consists of the complete series of Colonial Office (CO) 5 files – the original correspondence between London and the American colonial governments. The documents shed light on political, economic, military, cultural and social aspects of life in colonial America. Modules I-III covering 1606-1799 are available.
Eighteenth Century Drama: Censorship and the Stage This link opens in a new window
Features the John Larpent Archival Collection from the Huntington Library which includes over 2,500 digital facsimile of almost every play submitted for license in England between 1737 and 1824. The collection also includes two major reference sources, The London Stage, 1660-1800 and A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800.
Eighteenth Century Journals This link opens in a new window
Collection of unique and rare periodicals representing the wide range of English language print culture in the 18th century. Journals from the United Kingdom and its then-colonies, including United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and India are represented. A wide variety of subjects are addressed in these periodicals. Coverage: 1685-1835. Note: Includes: Modules I-V.
Everyday Life & Women in America, c.1800-1920 This link opens in a new window
Collection of digitized primary sources that illuminate the daily lives of women in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Conduct of life manuals and domestic management literature are major highlights of the collection. The collection includes monographs, pamphlets, periodicals, and broadsides. Materials in this collection provide insight into a wide variety of topics, including political, social and gender issues, religion, race, education, employment, marriage, sexuality, home and family life, health, pastimes, and regional, urban, and rural cultures. Coverage: 1800-1920.
Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement and Colonial Encounters This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents covering the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in the European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia. Through an array of digitized primary source materials it documents the creation of new states, trade networks, and movements of people in these regions alongside the marginalization and decline of indigenous peoples. Material ranges across four centuries, from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century.
Global Commodities: Trade, Exploration and Cultural Exchange This link opens in a new window
Contains primary source materials for the study of global commodities in world history. It focuses on the history of 15 major commodities, and examines the ways that they have changed the world. In addition to historical documents, collection provides users with visual resources, such as thematic galleries, data and maps, and a searchable chronology.
Grand Tour This link opens in a new window
Collection of primary and secondary resources, including writings, artworks, photographs, and maps for the study of travel. Coverage: 1550-1850.
India, Raj and Empire This link opens in a new window
Primary source materials depicting, from a British colonial perspective, the history of South Asia (primarily India) between the foundation of the East India Company in 1615 and the granting of independence to India and Pakistan in 1947. Material types include diaries and journals, official and private papers, letters, sketches, paintings, histories, and literary works.
Jewish Life in America, c.1654-1954 This link opens in a new window
Covers the history of Jewish communities in America from the arrival of the first Jewish people in the 17th century right through to the mid-20th century. Coverage: 1654-1954.
Popular Medicine in America, 1800-1900 This link opens in a new window
Collection showcases the development of 'popular' medicine in America during the 19th century, through an extensive range of material that was aimed at the general public rather than medical professionals. It contains printed sources, including rare books, pamphlets, trade cards, and visually-rich advertising ephemera. Coverage: 1800 – 1900.
Slavery, Abolition & Social Justice This link opens in a new window
Designed as a portal for slavery and abolition studies, this resource provides access to documents and collections covering 1490-2007, from libraries and archives across the Atlantic world. Close attention is given to the varieties of slavery, the legacy of slavery, the social-justice perspective and the continued existence of slavery today. Coverage: 1940 – 2007.
Virginia Company Archives This link opens in a new window
Documents the founding and economic development of Virginia as seen through the papers of the Virginia Company of London, 1606-1624, and the Ferrar family in the settlement of North America from Jamestown to the Bermudas. Includes evidence on the ethnic and gender composition of Virginia, and of tensions among the colonists and of early relations with Native Americans.