Government Publications: United States

"Farrand's Records remains the single best source for discussions of the Constitutional Convention. The notes taken at that time by James Madison, and later revised by him, form the largest single block of material other than the official proceedings. The three volumes also includes notes and letters by many other participants, as well as the various constitutional plans proposed during the convention."--from the Web site

"Elliot's Debates collects the documents pertinent to the discussions on ratification: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Journal of the Constitutional Convention (from a version that is earlier and less accurate than that in The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787), the text of the proposed Constitution, and the debates in the various states. The Federalist Papers also presents a vital part of the debate over the Constitution."--from the Web site

"The Federalist Papers were written and published to urge New Yorkers to ratify the proposed United States Constitution, which was drafted in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. In lobbying for adoption of the Constitution over the existing Articles of Confederation, the essays explain particular provisions of the Constitution in detail. For this reason, and because Hamilton and Madison were each members of the Constitutional Convention, the Federalist Papers are often used today to help interpret the intentions of those drafting the Constitution."--from the Web site

"Contains 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the "United States Constitution" and the "Declaration of Independence." Most broadsides are one page in length; others range from 1 to 28 pages. A number of these items contain manuscript annotations not recorded elsewhere that offer insight into the delicate process of creating consensus. In many cases, multiple copies bearing manuscript annotations are available to compare and contrast."--from the Web site

"The current twenty-five volumes of text include approximately twenty thousand entries gathered from institutions throughout the world, accompanied by a single cumulative index. Although letters from delegates comprise the preponderance of the entries, there are many diaries, public papers, essays, and other documents. Together with the Journals of the Continental Congress, previously published by the Library of Congress and available at this Web site, the volumes provide the means for a comprehensive, in-depth examination of the operations of the Continental Congress during the critical years of the founding of the United States."--from the Web site
The letters are also available in print in the SDSU Library ( LC 1.34: Government Publications/US, 3rd Floor).

"[T]he records of the daily proceedings of the Congress as kept by the office of its secretary, Charles Thomson."--from the Web site

"Contains 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the "United States Constitution" and the "Declaration of Independence." Most broadsides are one page in length; others range from 1 to 28 pages. A number of these items contain manuscript annotations not recorded elsewhere that offer insight into the delicate process of creating consensus. In many cases, multiple copies bearing manuscript annotations are available to compare and contrast."--from the Web site