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Primary Source Documents

Browse more than 600 annotated documents from the Collection written by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and many others dealing with American politics, diplomacy, and social history.

To view the document, click on the title below.

First Encounters

First Encounters
The Meaning of America , 1493 , by Christopher Columbus
Utilizing the Native Labor Force , 1492 , by Christopher Columbus
New World Fantasies , 1516 , by Thomas More
Labor Needs , 1518 , by Alonso de Zuazo
The Black Legend , 1542 , by Bartolomé de las Casas
A Critique of the Slave Trade , 1587 , by Fray Tomas de Mercado

European Colonization North of Mexico
European Colonization North of Mexico
no title on file , 1584 , by Richard Hakluyt
A Rationale for New World Colonization , 1584 , by Richard Hakluyt
England's First Enduring North American Settlement , by John Smith
Life in Early Virginia , 1622 , by Sebastian Brandt
Race War in Virginia , 1622 , by Edward Waterhouse
Indentured Servitude , 1656 , by John Hammond
Virginia Slave Laws
Regional Contrasts , 1680 , by Thomas Culpepper
The Pilgrims Arrive in Plymouth , by William Bradford
Reasons for Puritan Migration , 1629 , by John Winthrop
The Idea of the Covenant , 1630 , by John Winthrop
Servitude in New England , 1639 , by John Winter
Mounting Conflict with Native Americans , 1634 , by John Winthrop
Native Americans as Active Agents , 1640 , by Roger Williams
Puritan Economics , 1640 , by John Winthrop
King Philip's War , 1675 , by Edward Randolph
Struggles for Power , 1689 , by Thomas Danforth
An Indian Slave Woman Confesses to Witchcraft , 1691 , by Salem Village
The Wonders of the Invisible World , 1693 , by Cotton Mather
The Sin of Slaveholding , 1700 , by Samuel Sewall
English Liberties , 1721 , by Henry Care

A Land of Contrasts
A Land of Contrasts
Mercantilist Ideas , 1664 , by Thomas Mun
no title on file , 1650 , by Adriaen Van Der Donck
New Netherlands Becomes New York , 1674
Indian Affairs , 1679 , by William Kendall
Indian Affairs , 1679 , by The Oneydas
Indian Affairs , 1685 , by The Sinnekes
The Schenectady Massacre , 1689/90 , by Robert Livingston
The Schenectady Massacre , 1709 , by Richard Ingoldsby
Persecution of the Quakers , 1702
The Quaker Ideal of Religious Tolerance , 1675 , by William Penn
James Moore to Edward Randolph , 1698/9 , by James Moore
no title on file , 1733 , by James Oglethorpe
English Liberties and Deference , 1705 , by Joseph Dudley
Queen Anne's War , 1708 , by Thomas Oliver
Immigration and Ethnic Diversity , 1750 , by Gottlieb Mittelberger
Indentured Servitude , 1747 , by Javin Toby
Suspicion of Arbitrary Power , 1733 , by John P. Zenger
The Great Awakening , 1743
Fear of Slave Revolts , 1744 , by Daniel Horsmanden
America as a Land of Opportunity , 1751 , by Benjamin Franklin

The Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War
British North America in 1755 , 1755
A Soldier's Diary , 1755 , by Robert Moses
Fasting and Repentance , 1756 , by Stephen Hopkins
The Capture of Québec , 1763 , by John Knox
no title on file , 1757 , by John Woolman
The Fate of Native Americans , 1761 , by Richard Peters

The Age of Revolutions, 1765-1825
The Age of Revolution, 1765-1825
The Proclamation of 1763 , 1763 , by George III
The Stamp Act Crisis , 1765 , by Archibald Hinschelwood
no title on file , 1766 , by Benjamin Franklin
The Townshend Acts , 1768 , by John Hancock
James Otis to Catharine Macaulay , 1769 , by James Otis
Charles Thomson to Benjamin Franklin , 1769 , by Charles Thomson
The Boston Massacre , 1770 , by Deacon John Tudor
no title on file , 1770 , by Brutus
John Dickinson to Catharine Macaulay , 1770 , by John Dickinson
Benjamin Franklin to his sister Jane Mecom , 1770 , by Benjamin Franklin
The Regulators , 1771 , by Richard Henry Lee
Samuel Adams to Colonel James Warren , 1772 , by Samuel Adams
John Adams to Catharine Macaulay , 1773 , by John Adams
The Boston Tea Party , 1773 , by John Adams
John Easson to David Easson , 1773 , by John Easson
no title on file , 1774 , by George Read
no title on file , 1774 , by Caesar Rodney
no title on file , 1774
no title on file , 1774
no title on file , 1774
John Adams to Catharine Macaulay , 1774 , by John Adams
A Summary View of the Rights of British America , 1774 , by Thomas Jefferson
Ezra Stiles to Catharine Macaulay , 1775 , by Ezra Stiles
The Battles of Lexington and Concord , 1775 , by Isaac Merrill
no title on file , 1775 , by Thomas Gage
Mercy Otis Warren to Catharine Macaulay , 1775 , by Mercy Otis Warren
Common Sense , 1776 , by Thomas Paine
no title on file , 1775 , by John Adams
Richard H. Lee to Landon Carter , 1776 , by Richard H. Lee
John Hancock to the Convention of Maryland , 1776 , by John Hancock
The Declaration of Independence
Declaring Independence , 1776 , by Thomas Jefferson
Slavery and the American Revolution
no title on file , 1806 , by Peter Kiteridge
no title on file , 1776
no title on file , 1776 , by Adam Smith
no title on file , 1776 , by John Jay
Josiah Bartlett to William Whipple , 1777 , by Josiah Bartlett
Lucy Knox to her husband General Henry Knox , 1777 , by Lucy Knox
George Washington to the President of Congress , 1777 , by George Washington
George Washington to the State of New Hampshire , 1777 , by George Washington
no title on file , 1778 , by Henry Clinton
Benedict Arnold's Treason , 1780 , by Edmund Pendleton
The War in the South , 1780 , by Henry Laurens
no title on file , 1780 , by Thomas Jefferson
no title on file , 1781 , by Charles Cornwallis
George Mason to George Mason, Jr. , 1781 , by George Mason
Edmund Pendleton to James Madison , 1781 , by Edmund Pendleton
Edmund Pendleton to James Madison , 1782 , by Edmund Pendleton
The Articles of Confederation , 1780 , by Edmund Pendleton

Creating a New Nation
Creating a New Nation
Brooks Watson to Joshua Mauger , 1783 , by Brooks Watson
Native Americans and the American Revolution , 1780 , by Thomas Jefferson
The Newburgh Conspiracy , 1783 , by Edmund Pendleton
Slavery in Post-Revolutionary America , 1784 , by James Pemberton
John Adams to Elbridge Gerry , 1785 , by John Adams
no title on file , 1786 , by George Washington
White Slavery , 1785 , by John Adams
Relations with Britain , 1785 , by John Adams
Thomas Jefferson to John Page , 1786 , by Thomas Jefferson
The Critical Period and Shays' Rebellion , 1786 , by James Bowdoin
Benjamin Lincoln to George Washington , 1786 , by Benjamin Lincoln
no title on file , 1786 , by George Washington
no title on file , 1786 , by Henry Knox
Northwest Ordinance
Creating Republican Governments , 1779
The U.S. Constitution , 1787 , by James Madison
George Washington to Henry Knox , by George Washington
Debates Within the Constitutional Convention , by Pierce Butler
The Three-Fifth Compromise
no title on file , 1787 , by Edmund Randolph
Fugitive Slaves and the Constitution , by Pierce Butler
A Pro-Slavery Document?
Ratification Debates , 1787 , by Edmund Pendleton
no title on file , 1787 , by William Blount
no title on file , 1787 , by Daniel Adams
no title on file , 1788 , by John Hancock
Henry Knox to George Washington , 1788 , by Henry Knox
no title on file , 1788 , by Walter Stewart
George Washington to Henry Knox , 1788 , by George Washington
The New Republic , 1789 , by George Washington
Mercy Otis Warren to Catharine Macaulay , 1789 , by Mercy Otis Warren
George Clymer to Dr. Benjamin Rush , 1789 , by George Clymer
On the Equality of the Sexes , 1790 , by Judith Sargent Stevens Murray
Postmaster's First Report , 1790 , by Samuel Osgood
Roger Sherman to Governor Samuel Huntington , 1790 , by Roger Sherman
The Birth of Political Parties
Thomas Jefferson to Gouverneur Morris , 1790 , by Thomas Jefferson
Report on Manufactures , 1791 , by Alexander Hamilton
George Washington to Gouverneur Morris , 1793 , by George Washington
The Haitian Revolution , 1793 , by Thomas Jefferson
no title on file , 1802 , by Charles Victor Emmanuel LeClerc
The Citizen Genet Affair , 1796 , by Thomas Jefferson
The Whiskey Rebellion , 1794 , by U.S. Congress
no title on file , 1795 , by William Paterson
John Jay to Sally Jay , 1794 , by John Jay
James Monroe to John Jay , 1795 , by James Monroe
Washington's Farewell Address , 1796 , by George Washington
Charles Carroll to James McHenry , 1796 , by Charles Carroll
no title on file , 1798 , by Robert Fulton
The Quasi-War with France and the XYZ Affair , 1798 , by John Jay
no title on file , 1798 , by George Washington
no title on file , 1799 , by Alexander Addison
Thomas Jefferson to John Eppes , 1799 , by Thomas Jefferson
George Washington , 1799 , by George Washington
Alexander Hamilton to Harrison Gray Otis , 1800 , by Alexander Hamilton
Elizur Goodrich to Stephen Twining , 1801 , by Elizur Goodrich
no title on file , 1805 , by John Adams
no title on file , 1811 , by Thomas Jefferson
The Jeffersonians in Power , 1801 , by Elias Boudinot
Judicial Review , 1823 , by John Marshall
Louisiana, Expansion, and Disunionist Conspiracies , 1803 , by Thomas Jefferson
no title on file , 1804 , by Pierre Derbigney
no title on file , 1805 , by Meriwether Lewis
John Adams to Dr. Benjamin Rush , 1807 , by John Adams
Slavery and Race in Jeffersonian America , 1801 , by John Adams
Thomas Jefferson to Rufus King , 1802 , by Thomas Jefferson
no title on file , 1803 , by James Madison
William Few to Edward Telfair , 1804 , by William Few
John Quincy Adams to Uriah Tracy , 1804 , by John Quincy Adams
no title on file , 1800 , by John Marshall
James Madison to David M. Erskine , 1807 , by James Madison
John Adams to Dr. Benjamin Rush , 1807 , by John Adams
The Dambargo of 1807 , 1808? , by Thomas Jefferson
John Adams to Benjamin Rush , 1809 , by John Adams
The Road to War , 1812 , by William Shaler
The "War Hawks" , 1812 , by J.C. Jones
no title on file , 1812 , by Columbian Centinel
Benjamin Tallmadge to James McHenry , 1812 , by Benjamin Tallmadge
Ephraim Hubbard Foster to William Graham , 1814 , by Ephraim Hubbard Foster
James Monroe to an unknown recipient , 1815 , by James Monroe
no title on file , 1815
James Monroe to Charles Everett , 1815 , by James Monroe
no title on file , 1815 , by John Quincy Adams
Clearing the Land of Indians , 1803 , by Henry Dearborn
Thomas Jefferson to Baron Alexander von Humboldt , 1813 , by Thomas Jefferson
no title on file , 1818 , by Andrew Jackson
Missionary Work and Indian Policy , 1834 , by William Dickson
John Ross to Martin Van Buren , 1840 , by John Ross
no title on file , 1838 , by Zachary Taylor

Antebellum America
Texas: Our Galveston Correspondent , 1861
Antebellum America
Origins of American Reform Tradition
The Underground Railroad , 1825 , by Edward Lawton
The Rise of the Second Party System , 1822 , by Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson to Gilbert du Motier , 1822 , by Thomas Jefferson
Henry Clay to Thomas J. Wharton , 1823 , by Henry Clay
The Election of 1824 , 1824 , by Henry Clay
John Quincy Adams to John McLean , 1824 , by John Quincy Adams
Power and Ideology in Jackson's America
Nullification and the Bank War , 1831
no title on file , 1832 , by Andrew Jackson
no title on file , 1832
Andrew Jackson to James A. Hamilton , 1833 , by Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson to Moses Dawson , 1834 , by Andrew Jackson
David Crockett to John Drurey , 1834 , by David Crockett
David Crockett to Charles Schultz , 1834 , by David Crockett
Political Democratization and The Dorr War , 1834 , by Thomas W. Dorr
Party Competition and the Rise of the Whigs , 1840 , by James Buchanan
Antebellum Reform: The Shift to Immediatism , 1830
no title on file , 1829 , by J. Kitredge
no title on file , 1830 , by Edward Hitchcock
Abolition and Slavery , 1830 , by William Lloyd Garrison
Henry Clay to John Switzer , 1831 , by Henry Clay
Nat Turner's Insurrection , 1831
no title on file , 1831
no title on file , 1831 , by Samuel Warner
The Insurrection , 1831
no title on file , 1832 , by Thomas R. Dew
Elijah P. Lovejoy to Elijah Peck , 1835 , by Elijah P. Lovejoy
no title on file , 1839 , by Theodore Dwight Weld
Narrative and Testimony of Sarah M. Grimké , 1839 , by Weld
American Slavery As It Is , 1839 , by Weld
Testimony of Angelina Grimké , 1839 , by Weld
American Slavery As It Is , 1839 , by Weld
Slave Letter by an unidentified slave , 1859
A Pro-Slavery New Yorker , 1837 , by E.W. Taylor
From Antislavery to Women's Rights , 1838 , by Angelina Grimké
Abigail Kelley Foster to Harriet Robinson , 1881 , by Abigail Kelley Foster
no title on file , 1848 , by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
no title on file , 1844
Manifest Destiny
Gone to Texas , 1836 , by Stephen F. Austin
no title on file , 1836
E.G. Fisk to his sister , 1836 , by E.G. Fisk
Texas Annexation , 1842-1843 , by John Quincy Adams
James Buchanan to Edward D. Gazzam , 1844 , by James Buchanan
no title on file , 1845 , by Abiel Abbot
Brigham Young to Thomas Kane , 1854 , by Brigham Young
Mounting Sectional Antagonisms , 1837 , by John Quincy Adams
Franklin Pierce to Reverend D.W. Burroughs , 1838 , by Franklin Pierce
John C. Calhoun to David Hubbard , 1838 , by John C. Calhoun
William H. Harrison to John B. Dillon , 1838 , by William H. Harrison
To the Editor of the Quincy Patriot , 1838 , by John Quincy Adams
The Amistad Affair , 1839 , by W.S. Holabird
no title on file , 1839 , by John Forsyth
no title on file , 1841 , by John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams to Arthur Tappan , 1845 , by John Quincy Adams
Political Antislavery , 1840 , by Gerrit Smith
Gerrit Smith to William H. Seward , 1845 , by Gerrit Smith
The Free Soil Party , 1848 , by Gerrit Smith
The Mexican War , 1847 , by Zachary Taylor
General Persifor Smith to Judge R.W. Nichols , 1847 , by Persifor Smith
no title on file , 1847 , by Zachary Taylor
Wellington G. Burnett to his parents , 1848 , by Wellington G. Burnett
Abraham Lincoln to David B. Campbell , 1848 , by Abraham Lincoln
The Compromise of 1850 , 1850 , by David Atkinson
Senator James Shields of Illinois to John Chathen , 1850 , by James Shields
Read and Ponder the Fugitive Slave Law!, , 1850
no title on file , 1850
no title on file , 1850
Anti-Fugitive Slave Law Meeting , 1851
no title on file , 1852