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Beginning with the Continental Congress in 1774, America's national
legislative bodies have kept records of their proceedings. The records of the
Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the United States
Congress make up a rich documentary history of the construction of the nation
and the development of the federal government and its role in the national life.
These documents record American history in the words of those who built our
government.
Books on the law formed a major part of the holdings of the
Library of Congress from its beginning. In 1832, Congress established the Law Library of Congress as a separate
department of the Library. It houses one of the most complete collections of
U.S. Congressional documents in their original format. In order to make these
records more easily accessible to students, scholars, and interested citizens,
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation brings together online the
records and acts of Congress from the Continental Congress and Constitutional
Convention through the 43rd Congress, including the first three volumes of the
Congressional Record, 1873-75.
The mission of the Library of Congress is to make its resources
available and useful to Congress and the American people and to sustain and
preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future
generations. The goal of the Library's National Digital Library Program is to
offer broad public access to a wide range of historical and cultural documents
as a contribution to education and lifelong learning.
The Library of Congress presents these documents as part of the record of the
past. These primary historical documents reflect the attitudes, perspectives,
and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress does not endorse the
views expressed in these collections, which may contain materials offensive to
some readers.
Special
Presentations:
The Making of
the U.S. Constitution
Timeline: American History as
Seen in Congressional Documents, 1774-1873
The Revolutionary Diplomatic
Correspondence of the United States
Indian Land Cessions in
the United States, 1784 to 1894
The Louisiana
Purchase: Legislative Timeline - 1802 to 1807
Journal of the Congress of
the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865
The Impeachment Trial of
President Andrew Johnson, 1868
Presidential Elections and
the Electoral College, 1877
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