Search the U.S. Congressional Serial Set Database

The bound, sequentially numbered volumes of all the Reports, Documents and Journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, constitutes an incomparably rich collection of primary source material on all aspects of American history. During much of the 19th century, especially in the pre-Civil War era, the Serial Set included materials originating not only from the U.S. Congress but also key Executive Department publications that were published only or primarily in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set.

This unique collection begins with Volume 1 in the first session of the 15th Congress (1817) and continues to this day. The Readex U.S. Congressional Serial Set (1817-1980) will contain all publications from the 15th through the 96th Congresses, together with American State Papers (a retrospective collection of materials originating from 1789 through 1838 but published in the second quarter of the 19th century). The Serial Set sequential numbering system was devised in 1895, and applied retrospectively to all previously published volumes.

The U.S. Congressional Serial Set is invaluable for research into numerous subjects, including:

• political history
• social history
• cultural history
• military history
• ethnic history
• international relations
• explorations
• genealogy
• commerce and industrial development

The U.S. Congressional Serial Set will for the first time make available digital images of all the publications in this collection, including maps and color plates.

Digitized from the original print volumes in partnerships with leading academic institutions and government organizations, the set features high-resolution full-color digital images, fully searchable OCR-generated ASCII text and full bibliographic metadata for every publication. It is cross-searchable with American State Papers, 1789-1838, which contains every legislative and executive document of the 1st through 14th Congresses.