Many of the United States' most important historical documents come from this early time period. They set a precedent, forming the basis for a new "American experiment." Read the original versions of these documents and interpret for yourself their meaning. View what these parchments look like to get a sense of how they would have originally appeared to people living at that time.
These are the documents that became the foundation for our nation. Take advantage of the opportunity to read and study them first-hand to see what our Founding Fathers wrote.
This collection will continue to add new documents. If you know of others to be included, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Also view our Original Document Database related specifically to Alexander Hamilton.
TeachingAmericanHistory.org Document Library
| Founding Era |
| General Readings on the Founding Database |
| Annapolis Convention (September 11-14, 1786) |
| Shay's Rebellion (1786) |
Archiving Early America - Documents from 18th century America
| Declaration of Independence (1776) |
| Articles of Confederation (November 15, 1777) |
| U.S. Constitution (1787) |
| Proclamation of Neutrality (April 22, 1793) |
| Washington's Proclamation of the Whiskey Rebellion (1794) |
| Washington's Farewell Address (1796) |
Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy
| Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents |
| Annual Messages from Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson |
| The Paris Peace Treaty (1783) and Related Documents |
| The Virginia Plan for the Constitutional Convention (1787) |
| Madison's Notes on the Debates in the Federal [Constitutional] Convention (1787) |
| The Jay Treaty (1794) and Related Documents |
University of Oklahoma College of Law - A Chronology of US Historical Documents
| The Federalist Papers (1787-1788) |
| First Inaugural Address by George Washington (April 30, 1789) |
| First State of Union Address by George Washingtion (January 8, 1790) |
The Gilder Lehrman Collections - 60,000 documents from 15th to 20th century America
| Collection - American Revolution, 1763-1783 |
| Collection - The New Nation, 1784-1800 |
Founders' Papers
| George Washington Papers - Library of Congress |
| Adams Family Papers - An Electronic Archive |
| The Diaries of John Quincy Adams - Online Collection |
| John Jay Papers - Columbia University Libraries |
| The Papers of Benjamin Franklin - Digital Edition |
| The Thomas Jefferson Papers - Library of Congress |
Online Collections
| From Revolution to Reconstruction: Documents |
| The American Colonists' Library - A Treasury of Primary Source Documents |
| The American Revolution and its Era - Maps and Charts |
| A Century of Lawmaking for a New US - US Congressional Documents and Debates |
Other Sources of Online Historical Documents
| Constitution.org - Ratification of the Constitution by the State of New York (July 26, 1788) |
| PBS - The Code Duello: Rules of Dueling |