Historical Documents

Whitney's Cotton Gin
Cotton Gin Patent
Liberator
The Liberator Comments on Nat Turner’s Insurrection
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Armistice of Cassibile
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Ernesto Miranda's mugshot
Miranda v. Arizona
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Picture of Ernesto Miranda
Miranda v. Arizona
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Frederick Douglass Address Cover Page
John Brown: An Address
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Surveying U.S. Coastal Territories
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
American Treaty on Pacific Settlement (1948)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Sioux Treaty
Sioux Treaty of 1868- Excerpts
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Sons of Liberty dumped tea in Boston Harbor
Eyewitness Account of George Hewes
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Big Stick in the Caribbean
Big Stick Diplomacy
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Tierra Amarilla Land Grant and Courthouse Raid
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
DoD News Briefing on Pentagon Attack 6:42 p.m. EDT
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Orders To Lieut. Colonel Smith, 10th Regiment ’Foot
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Luisa Moreno, one of the main organizers of the Congress
Spanish Speaking People's Congress
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Banner calling for the U.S. Navy to leave Vieques
Vieques Island Protests
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Charles A. Beard
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States: Selections
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s), ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Stamp Act
Stamp Act of 1765
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Redlining Map, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1935
Redlining (1937-)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
President Bill Clinton with Albert Gore and Janet Reno, 1993. Courtesy: Library of Congress
Legacy of the Clinton Administration
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Sam Waterson
Abraham Lincoln’s Cooper Union Address, as read by Sam Waterston May 23, 2004
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Newspaper Headline Announcing Amendment
18th Amendment
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Remarks by the President After Two Planes Crash Into World Trade Center
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Lincoln Address
Cooper Union Address
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
work at Jamestown
Letter from an Indentured Servant to His Parents, 1623
ERA 2: Colonialism and Settlement (1585–1763)
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
The document on permanent display in the Rotunda is the enrolled original Joint Resolution passed by Congress on September 25, 1789, proposing 12-not 10-amendments to the Constitution.
U.S. Bill of Rights
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Clinton Farewell Address
Clinton's Farewell Address
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference in February 1945
The Yalta Conference
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Lincoln's address at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery,
Gettysburg Address
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The Plan of San Diego
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Statement by President George W. Bush on the September 11 Attacks
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Mark Twain in 1907
War Prayer
ERA 2: Colonialism and Settlement (1585–1763)
Eisenhower's Farewell Address
Eisenhower's Farewell Address
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
Pierce v. Society of Sisters
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s), ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Lee Letter
Robert E. Lee’s Demand for the Surrender of John Brown and His Party
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
The text of the 2nd Amendment
2nd Amendment to the Constitution
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Two Treatises of Government Title Page
Chapter 2 Of the State of Nature
ERA 2: Colonialism and Settlement (1585–1763), ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Atlantic Charter
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Lincoln as They Saw Him by Herbert Mitgang- Excerpt
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
President Johnson signing the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Cover of Life Magazine 1913
Trenton State Sentinel and Capital, Editorial
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Grant Inauguration
First Inaugural Address of Ulysses S. Grant
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Original Supreme Court documentation of Brown v. Board
Brown v. Board of Education 1954
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Homestead Act
Homestead Act (1862)
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Picture of Mexican American students protesting
East Los Angeles Walkouts
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present), ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
A. Mitchell Palmer
Excerpt from Palmer's speech: "The Case Against the Reds"
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Sierra Maestra Manifesto
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Statement by Frank E. Gannett
Statement by Frank E. Gannett
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)