HIST 302: American Revolution (Slater): Find Primary Sources

The papers of army officer and first U.S. president George Washington (1732-1799) held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress constitute the largest collection of original Washington papers in the world. They consist of approximately 77,000 items accumulated by Washington between 1745 and 1799, including correspondence, diaries, and financial and military records. The collection documents Washington’s childhood education, his first career as a surveyor, his experiences as a militia colonel during the French and Indian War, his election as a Virginia delegate to the first and second Continental Congresses, his role as general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, his presidency of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, his two terms as president (1789-1797), and his retirement. Also documented is his management of Mount Vernon, his plantation home in Virginia, and the lives of his family, servants, and slaves. Notable correspondents include John Adams, Benedict Arnold, Edward Braddock, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Because of the wide range of Washington's interests, activities, and correspondents, which include ordinary citizens as well as celebrated figures, his papers are a rich source for almost every aspect of colonial and early American life.

Primary Source documents from the American Antiquarian Society on the spread of news and information prior to the Revolution, a snapshot of news after Lexington & Concord, and subsequent spreading of news during and after the war.

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.

Revolutionary-era maps from leading cartographic collections around the world, ranging from the French and Indian War (1754-1763) to the early days of the new republic. The collection focuses on maps of European colonies in North America and the Atlantic world. Users can download them for research or classroom use. Levanthal Map Center, Boston Public Library

Full-text of documents and essays on events leading up the American Revolution.

A collection of primary source documents hosted by Yale's Lillian Goldman Law Library. Includes documents from the British Parliament, Virginia Convention, and more.

The "Avalon Project" from the Yale University Law Library reproduces transcribed copies of dozens of legal documents from 1700s America, including Proclamations and Addresses of George Washington, Statutes of the United States Concerning Native Americans, and a vast number of other diplomatic, political and legal papers related to the Revolutionary War period.

George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. Over 185,000 searchable documents, fully annotated, from the authoritative Founding Fathers Papers projects.

The Project Gutenberg E-Book of "The Federalist Papers", by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison

Includes an introductory essay on Franklin by Edmund S. Morgan as well as options to browse Franklin's correspondence by date or name of recipient and search for key words or phrases.

Open access full-text from the reigns of British kings from George III to William IV. Includes personal letters, diaries, account books and records of the Royal Household.

HathiTrust Digital Library is a digital preservation repository and highly functional access platform. HathiTrust provides long-term preservation and access services to digitized content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house member institution initiatives. Items in the public domain are in full-view for everyone and items held in copyright are searchable.

Presents the full text of Peter Force's American Archives. Force, printer and document collector, intended to publish rare pamphlets, correspondence, and proceedings relating to the "Origin, Settlement, and Progress of the Colonies in North America" that covered the time period 1763-1789.

Smithsonian Open Access includes the ability to download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images—right now, without asking. With new platforms and tools, you have easier access to more than 3 million 2D and 3D digital items from our collections—with many more to come. This includes images and data from across the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives, and the National Zoo.

Provides access to digitized collections of archives, museums, libraries, and special collections in America.