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Cornerstone Documents
Articles of Confederation - the first constitution of the United States, adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777
The Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to the Constitution
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates - records of the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the United States Congress, 1774–1873
The Constitution of the United States of America - contains a preamble and seven articles that describe the way the government is structured and how it operates
The Declaration of Independence - states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based.
Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention - documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, 1774–1789
Emancipation Proclamation - stated that slaves in the states or parts of states still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863, would be declared free
The Federalist Papers - a series of essays published in newspapers in 1787 and 1788 by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to promote the ratification of the Constitution
The Gettysburg Address - one of the most memorable speeches in U.S. history delivered by President Lincoln at the dedication of the cemetery for the Union war dead
GPO Resources
Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government - informs students, parents, and educators about the Federal Government
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP), July 1976 to Present - finding tool for federal publications, includes direct links to the full document when available
Conference Reports of the U.S. Congress - website for agreements on legislation that are negotiated between the House and Senate via conference committees
Federal Depository Libraries Directory - locate a Federal Depository Library near you
Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) - website for the program that distributes certain classes of Government documents free of cost to designated libraries throughout the United States and its territories
Federal Depository Library Program Web Archive - to provide permanent public access to Federal Agency Web content, the Federal Depository Library Program harvests selected U.S. Government Web sites in their entirety.
Guide to House and Senate Members (Member Guide) - a single point of access for Member information from several different official sources
New Electronic Titles (NET) in the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) - an easy way to find all the latest documents added to the CGP for specific timeframes
U.S. Government Bookstore - buy Federal government publications
Usgovernmentmanual.gov - currently updated edition of the U.S. Government Manual, the official handbook of the Federal Government
Legislative Process Resources
Congress.gov - official website for U.S. federal legislative information
Docs.House.Gov - provides access to committee documents and text of legislation being considered in committee and by the House
House.gov - website of the United States House of Representatives
How Our Laws Are Made (PDF) - House Document 110-49
Overview of the Legislative Process - videos, diagrams, and transcripts prepared by Congress.gov
Senate.gov - website of the United States Senate
Uscode.house.gov - search and browse the U.S. Code
Regulatory Process Resources
A Guide to the Rulemaking Process (PDF) - prepared by the Office of the Federal Register
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) - currently updated, unofficial version of the Code of Federal Regulations
RegInfo.gov - provides reliable, transparent information about regulations under development
Regulations.gov - find, read, and comment on regulatory issues
Federal Register 2.0 - HTML edition of the Federal Register
Presidential Documents Resources
Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress
Codification of Presidential Proclamations Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders - April 13, 1945 through January 20,1989
George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress - 1741–1799
"I Do Solemnly Swear . . . ": Presidential Inaugurations
Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress
Judicial Branch Resources
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) - public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information online from federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts, and the PACER Case Locator
United States Reports - a series of bound case reporters that are the official reports of decisions for the United States Supreme Court.
Additional Resources
American FactFinder - provides access to data from several censuses and surveys about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance - contains detailed program descriptions for Federal assistance programs
CyberCemetery of Federal Government Websites - provides permanent public access to the websites and publications of defunct U.S. Government agencies and commissions (GPO Partner- University of North Texas)
Davis-Bacon Department of Labor Wage Determinations Online - provides a single location for Federal contracting officers to use in obtaining appropriate Service Contract Act (SCA) and Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) wage determinations for each official contract action (GPO Partner- Dept. of Labor)
Export Administration Regulations (current regulations only) - unofficial electronic files created by the Department of Commerce
Federal Bulletin Board (no longer updated) - select Supreme Court Opinions, legislative information, and Federal agency information
FRASER (Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) - provides easy access to economic history—particularly the history of the Federal Reserve System (GPO Partner- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
Government Information Online: Ask a Librarian - consult government information librarians who are experts at finding information from Federal Government agencies of all levels on almost any subject (GPO Partner- University of Illinois at Chicago)
Information by Topic - partnership with USA.gov
LocatorPlus - search the collections of the National Library of Medicine (GPO Partner-National Library of Medicine
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) - search the MeSH headings which are used to provide a hierarchically-organized terminology for indexing and cataloging biomedical information (GPO Partner-National Library of Medicine)
NASA Technical Reports Server - provides access to aerospace citations, full-text documents, images, and videos (GPO Partner- NASA Langley Research Center)
National Archives Records - research the records of the National Archives and Records Administration
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - provides access to NREL’s laboratory and outreach publications (GPO Partner: NREL)
Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents of American History
Publications.USA.gov (formerly Federal Citizen Information Center and Pueblo.GSA.gov) - one-stop source for answers to questions about consumer problems and government services
PubMed - search more than 26 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books (GPO Partner- National Library of Medicine)
Science.gov - searches over 60 databases and over 2200 selected websites from 15 federal agencies, offering 200 million pages of authoritative U.S. government science information including research and development results
SciTech Connect - partnership with the Department of Energy (former Energy Citations Database)
Statistical Abstract of the United States - a comprehensive collection of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States
TRAIL (Technical Report Archive & Image Library) - provides unrestricted access to U.S. Government agency technical reports (GPO Membership)
United States Commission on Civil Rights Historical Publications - provides access to historical and current publications of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (GPO Partner- Thurgood Marshall Law Library, University of Maryland)
University of North Texas Digital Library - provides access to digitized collections of U.S. Government publications, including the Congressional Globe, FCC Record, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and more (GPO Partner- University of North Texas)
USA.gov - portal to government information and services
U.S. Government Posters - provides access to a collection of over 1,500 digitized posters issued by various U.S. Government agencies (GPO Partner: University of Iowa Libraries)
Works Progress Administration (WPA) Materials - provides access to over 400 digitized publications from the WPA (GPO Partner: University of Kentucky Libraries)
World War II Historic Government Publications - provides access to over 300 digitized informational pamphlets, Government reports, regulations, and more distributed by GPO during World War II (GPO Partner-Southern Methodist University)