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Historical Documents

American State Papers & the Serial Set

The American State Papers and the U.S. Serial Set contain congressional reports and documents, and selected material from the executive branch and nongovernmental organizations.

The Library of Congress' A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation collection has the American State Papers and selected reports and documents from the early U.S. Serial Set
      •  American State Papers 1789 - 1838
      •  U.S. Serial Set 1833-1917. Selected documents & reports from the 23rd - 63rd Congresses.

American State Papers in the library: Special Collections/Colver  f J33  38 volumes

American State Papers [Readex] 1789 to 1838 (Fresno State access only)

U.S. Congressional Serial Set via govinfo.gov  from 1995-96  (104th Congress) on.

U.S. Congressional Serial Set 1817-1994 [Readex] (Fresno State access only)

Congressional Record (CR) & Its Predecessors

The Congressional Record and its predecessors are the official record of the proceedings and debates of Congress.

It contains:
    ♦  a verbatim record of what is said on the floor of the House and Senate
        (however, members can revise and “extend” their remarks, i.e., submit additional material).
    ♦  a record of votes reprints of major bills and some committee reports (including all conference committee reports)
    ♦  veto messages
    ♦  a Daily Digest of floor action and committee meetings.
It does not have committee hearings or deliberations.

The Congressional Record is published every day Congress is in session and the daily issues are cumulated into annual volumes. Pagination changes when the daily issues are cumulated. An index to the daily Congressional Record is issued every two weeks, and the annual Congressional Record has its own cumulative index.

The Congressional Record has been published since 1873 (43rd Congress, 2nd session). Predecessors of the Congressional Record were the Congressional Globe (1833 ­ -1873), the Register of Debates (1824 -­ 1837), and the Annals of Congress (1789 -­ 1824).

Congressional Record via govinfo.gov
      •  Congressional Record (Daily) 1994 on  (103rd Congress, 2nd Session-    )
      •  History of Bills 1983-1984 on  (98th Congress, 1st Session-   )
      •  Congressional Record Index (Daily) 1983 on  (98th Congress, 1st Session-   )
      •  Congressional Record (Bound), March 1873 on  (43rd Congress, Special Session-   )
         "At the end of each session of Congress, all of the daily editions are collected, re-paginated, and re-indexed into a permanent, bound edition."

Congressional Record 1917-1919 on (56th Congress, 1st Session- ) via Congress.gov  Library of Congress

The full-text of the predecessors to the Congressional Record is available through the Library of Congress' A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation collection.
      •  Annals of Congress 1774-1824  (1st Congress - 18th Congress, 1st Session)
      •  Register of Debates 1824-1837  (18th Congress, 2nd Session - 25th Congress, 1st Session )
      •  Congressional Globe 1833-1873  (23rd - 42nd Congresses)

Congressional Record

1873 – 1911  Annual cumulated volumes are on microfilm.
1st floor, Government Information, media cabinets
Microfilm reels include indexes for each volume.

1911 ­-- 1992  Annual cumulated volumes are on microfiche
1st floor, Government Information, media cabinets
Annual print indexes: 1st floor, Government Information Reference KF 35 .C6
and on microfiche, filed by year with the corresponding CR volumes

1993 ­--  Daily Congressional Record issues are on microfiche
Biweekly indexes are filed by year with the corresponding Daily Congressional Record.

Daily Digest
March 1947- (80th Congress-  )
Cumulated volumes are issued with the annual and biweekly indexes.
1st floor, Government Information Reference KF35.C6.   Also on microfiche (Government Information media cabinets)
 

Predecessors to the Congressional Record

The Library has a complete set of each of these titles on microfilm.
1st floor, Government Information, media cabinets.
Microfilm reels include indexes for each volume.
  •  Annals of Congress 1774-1824  (1st Congress - 18th Congress, 1st Session)
  •  Register of Debates 1824-1837  (18th Congress, 2nd Session - 25th Congress, 1st Session )
  •  Congressional Globe 1833-1873  (23rd - 42nd Congresses)

Arrangement of the Congressional Record Index

Indexes have a subject and name section, and a “History of Bills and Resolutions” section which is arranged by bill number.

Elements in brackets (e.g., [15DE] ) after the page number refer to the date of the Congressional Record on which the pages may be found.

From 1978 on, a black dot ( ) next to an item in the index indicates material not actually spoken on the floor.

Pagination in the Congressional Record changes when the daily issues are cumulated. Page numbers in the biweekly indexes correspond to the daily issues, and page numbers in the annual index correspond to the annual cumulation.

     Biweekly Index   The daily Congressional Record is divided into sections, so the biweekly index gives the section
     (H=­House, S­=Senate, E­=Extensions of Remarks, D=­Daily Digest) and page number (e.g., H4962).
     Annual Cumulative Index    Leads to page numbers in the annual Congressional Record. Page numbers beginning with "A" are in the Appendix.

Cumulated Daily Digest volumes are published with biweekly and annual index cumulations from 1947 on

Foreign Relations of the United States

Foreign Relations of the United States.  U.S. Department of State
This series "presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity."
About the FRUS

Online    
      •  Search or Browse by Administration, (Lincoln, 1861--    )
      •  1861-1996 University of Wisconsin Digitized Collection

In the library: most volumes are shelved in Lower Level JX 233 .A3
Some have microfiche supplements shelved in First Floor, Government Information US  S 1.11:  Check OneSearch for details
Some volumes have other call numbers, such as:
      •  Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1914-1918: Supplement. The world war.
         Lower Level D753 .U58
      •  The Paris Peace Conference, 1919.
          Lower Level   D642 .U6
      •  Foreign relations of the United States Diplomatic papers:the Conferences at Cairo and Tehran. 1943.
         Lower Level   D734.A1 U53  
      •  Foreign Relations of the United States, Japan, 1931-1941.
         Lower Level   E183.8.J3 U6
      •  Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, China 1942-1943.
          Lower Level   JX1428.C6 A54
      •  The Conferences at Washington and Quebec, 1943.
         Lower Level  D734.A1 U57
      •  The Conference at Quebec, 1944. 
          Lower Level  D734 .Q4 1944z
      •  The Conference of Berlin (the Potsdam Conference), 1945.
         Lower Level  D734 .B4 1945  
A few more in other places in the Library can be found via this advanced search for title "foreign relations of the united states" and author "state"

Presidential Documents

Presidential Documents
A guide to resources for presidential documents such as Weekly Compilation of Presidential Papers, Public Papers of the President, and Proclamations and Executive Orders. 

Presidential Libraries links from the National Archives

Official Records of the War of the Rebellion

Official Records of the War of the Rebellion

     •  Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Cornell University Library
         Paper volumes in the library: Lower Level E464 U6
         On cdrom: 3rd floor Music/Media CD  E464 .C585 1997

     •  Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion Cornell University Library 
         Paper volumes in the library Lower Level E591 .U58
         On cdrom in the library:  3rd floor Music/Media CD   E591 .C585 1999 disc

   •  Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
         In the library:  1st floor Maps Atlas Case 2   E464 .U61
         Digitized page images by the Library of Congress
         Digitized page images by the University of Alabama

Journals of the Continental Congress

Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789. via Library of Congress' American Memory collection.
"The Journals of the Continental Congress are the records of the daily proceedings of the Congress as kept by the office of its secretary, Charles Thomson."
In the library: Government Information Reference J 10 A5