The American Presidency Project

The Public Papers of the Presidents
The American Presidency Project is the only online resource that has consolidated, coded, and organized into a single searchable database:
• The Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Washington - Taft (1789-1913)
• The Public Papers of the Presidents:
Hoover to Bush (1929-1993)
• The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents:
Clinton - G.W. Bush (1993-2009)
• Our archives also contain thousands of other documents such as party platforms, candidates' remarks, Statements of Administration Policy, documents released by the Office of the Press Secretary, and election debates:

search our archives


Truman	1/15/1953
Eisenhower	1/17/1961
Carter	1/14/1981
Reagan	1/11/1989
Clinton	1/18/2001
Washington's Published Farewell - 9/16/1796
Jackson's Published Farewell - 3/4/1847

The Ten Most Viewed Documents
(since 12/15/08)

#1	John F. Kennedy
Inaugural Address

#2	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Inaugural Address

#3	Democratic Party Platforms
2008 Democratic Party Platform

#4	John F. Kennedy
Executive Order 11110 - Amendment of Executive Order No. 10289 as Amended, Relating to the Performance of Certain Functions Affecting the Department of the Treasury

#5	George W. Bush
Inaugural Address

#6	Abraham Lincoln
Inaugural Address

#7	Ronald Reagan
Inaugural Address

#8	George Washington
Inaugural Address

#9	Republican Party Platforms
2008 Republican Party Platform

#10	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Executive Order 6102 - Requiring Gold Coin, Gold Bullion and Gold Certificates to Be Delivered to the Government

Recent Publications with CQ Press

The Presidency A to Z, 4th Edition
The Presidency A to Z is an invaluable tool for understanding the presidency, both historically and today and for appraising how it and the executive branch have responded to the challenges facing the nation. It provides readers with quick information and in-depth background on the presidency through a comprehensive encyclopedia of over 300 easy-to-read entries.
- CQ Press

State of the Union: Presidential Rhetoric from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush
with an introduction by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley is the first comprehensive reference volume published in over four decades devoted to the president's Annual Message to Congress.
- CQ Press

The American Presidency Project (americanpresidency.org), was established in 1999 as a collaboration between John Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Our archives contain 85,391 documents related to the study of the Presidency.

Selected Inaugural Addresses
Washington	1789
Jefferson	1801
Lincoln	1865
Garfield	1881
B. Harrison	1889
F. Roosevelt	1933
Truman	1949
Kennedy	1961
Reagan	1981
G.W. Bush	2005

"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'"
-- Lincoln: March 4, 1865

"...in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis—broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe."
-- F. Roosevelt: March 4, 1933

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
-- Kennedy: January 20, 1961

"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule... Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?" -- Reagan: January 20, 1981

28 years ago

Farewell Address to the Nation
January 14, 1981

Good evening.

In a few days I will lay down my official responsibilities in this office, to take up once more the only title in our democracy superior to that of President, the title of citizen.

Of Vice President Mondale, my Cabinet, and the hundreds of others who have served with me during the last 4 years, I wish to say now publicly what I have said in private: I thank them for the dedicat ...read full document

Bush's Job Approval
Date	Approve	Disapprove
1/11	34%	61%
12/14	29%	67%
12/7	32%	61%
11/16	29%	66%
Gallup and USA Today/Gallup Poll
see complete data

The Document Archive Contains 85,391 Records
• Executive Orders	4724	• State of the Union Addresses	92
• Proclamations	5238	• State of the Union Messages	135
• Press Conferences	1906	• Inaugural Addresses	58
• Saturday Radio Addresses	1182	• Addresses to Congress (non-SOU)	42
• Fireside Chats (FDR)	27	• Addresses to Nation	238
• Veto Messages	1139	• Addresses to the United Nations	40
• Radio & TV Correspondents Dinners	31	• Addresses to Foreign Legislatures	65
• Party Convention Addresses	36	• College Commencement Addresses	139

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