Library Guides: History: America: Presidential Papers & Related Materials

George Washington (1789-1797)

George Washington Papers
Correspondence and other papers held by the Library of Congress.
George Washington Correspondence
Three volumes of Washington’s personal copybooks (20, 21, 22), which were transferred to the National Archives. They cover the years 1789-96, and include correspondence principally to and from the Secretaries of State.
The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799
Digitized version of the multi-volume collection of writings

The Papers of George Washington is a joint project of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union and the University of Virginia. It includes papers found in major repositories, but also copies of more than 140,000 gathered by conducting a comprehensive search of materials in libraries, historical societies, and public collections across the globe. The project is anticipated to publish 90 volumes, completing in 2023. The volumes are divided into six series. All are located in the Main (Gardner) Stacks; the links below provide the call numbers.

Diaries 1748-1799 (4 volumes)
Colonial Series 1744-1775 (10 volumes)
Revolutionary War Series 1775-1783 (26 volumes)
Confederation Series 1784-1788 (6 volumes)
Presidential Series 1788-1797 (20 volumes)
Retirement Series 1797-1799 (4 volumes)

John Adams (1797-1801)

Adams Family Papers
Includes correspondence of John Adams and John Quincy Adams's diary
John Adams and the Boston Massacre Trial of 1770
As a young lawyer the future president served as counsel for the defense in the trial of eight British soldiers accused of murder during a riot in Boston on March 5, 1770.

Papers of John Adams
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks E302 .A2751 1977

Adams Papers Digital Edition
Here in one, easily accessible resource you will find the content of the previously printed volumes of the Adams Papers, a long-standing documentary edition prepared at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

Thomas Jefferson Papers
Correspondence and other papers at the Library of Congress.

The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
The definitive edition of the public and private papers of Thomas Jefferson was produced by a project established at Princeton University. The papers are arranged chronologically in 45 volumes. A second series is made up of commissioned volumes containing writings or documents suited to a topical arrangement. These are cataloged individually and can be found by doing a title search in UC Library Search. Princeton also published a Retirement series of 16 volumes.

James Madison (1809-1817)

James Madison Papers
Correspondence and other papers at the Library of Congress.

The Papers of James Madison
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks ; E342 .A2 1962
The writings of James Madison: comprising his public papers and his private correspondence, including numerous letters and documents now for the first time printed
Letters and other writings of James Madison

James Monroe (1817-1825)

James Monroe Papers
The Library of Congress collection includes approximately 5,200 items dating from 1758 to 1839.

The Papers of James Monroe
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks ; E302 .M74 2003
The writings of James Monroe, including a collection of his public and private papers and correspondence now for the first time printed
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks ; E372 .A2 1898

The Papers of James Monroe
The Papers of James Monroe is a documentary editing project based at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Project is in the process of publishing a scholarly ten-volume collection of selected letters and papers documenting the life and career of the fifth president of the United States. The website includes searchable transcriptions of correspondence.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

Adams Family Papers
Includes correspondence of John Adams and John Quincy Adams's diary
The Diaries of John Quincy Adams: A Digital Collection
This website presents images of the 51 volumes of John Quincy Adams's diary in the Adams Family Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Writings of John Quincy Adams
Call Number: NRLF (UCB) ; E377 .A2 1913

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

The Papers of Andrew Jackson This link opens in a new window
Digital edition of published volumes of Andrew Jackson's papers, compiled by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Additional volumes will be added to the resource as they are published.

Andrew Jackson Papers
The Jackson archival collection at the Library of Congress contains more than 26,000 items dating from 1767 to 1874. See the accompanying index

Papers of Andrew Jackson
Call Number: NRLF (UCB) E302 .J35 1980
Correspndence of Andrew Jackson
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks ; E382 .J115

Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

Martin Van Buren Papers, 1787 to 1910
More than 6,000 items in the Library of Congress collection, dating from 1787 to circa 1910. The bulk of the material dates from the 1820s.
The Papers of Martin Van Buren, 1782-1862
A joint digital /print documentary editing project focused on the papers of the eighth president, including his letters, speeches, notes, and miscellaneous material.

William Henry Harrison (1841-1841)

William Henry Harrison Papers
This collection contains approximately 1,000 items dating from 1734 to 1939, with the bulk dated from 1812 to 1841.

Nearly all of Harrison's personal papers were destroyed in a fire in 1858.

John Tyler (1841-1845)

John Tyler Papers
The Library of Congress collection contains more than 1,400 items dating from 1691 to 1918, most of which fall between 1757 and 1918.

The Letters and Times of the Tylers

James K. Polk (1845-1849)

James K. Polk Papers
The collection at the Library of Congress includes approximately 20,500 items dating from 1775 to 1891, with the bulk falling in the period 1830-1849.

Polk; the diary of a president, 1845-1849, covering the Mexican War, the acquisition of Oregon, and the conquest of California and the Southwest by James K. Polk
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks E416 .A3
Correspondence of James K. Polk
Call Number: NRLF (UCB) E337.8 .P63

Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)

Zachary Taylor Papers
The Library of Congress collection contains approximately 650 items dating from 1814 to 1931, with the bulk from 1840 to 1861.

Most of Taylor's papers were destroyed when the Union Army burned his son's Louisiana plantation.

Letters of Zachary Taylor, from the battle-fields of the Mexican War

Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)

Millard Fillmore Papers
The Library of Congress collection consists of thirty-five items spanning the years 1839-1925, with the bulk dating from 1839 to 1870.

Millard Fillmore Papers by Frank H. Severance, editor.
A two-volume set of Millard Fillmore Papers. The volumes are numbered 10 and 11 because they are part of a series.

Millard Fillmore Papers (SUNY Oswego)
The papers consist of incoming correspondence from 1817 to 1876, relating primarily to Millard Fillmore's law practice in Buffalo, New York, his political career in New York State, and his service in both the United States legislative and executive offices.

Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

Franklin Pierce Papers
The approximately 2350 items date from 1820 to 1869 and include correspondence, a diary, and drafts of Pierce's messages to Congress.
Franklin Pierce Papers, 1820-1946
This collection is housed at the New Hampshire Historical Society and is not available online.

James Buchanan (1857-1861)

James Buchanan and Harriet Lane Johnston Papers
The papers of Buchanan and those of his niece and White House hostess Harriet Lane Johnston contain approximately 1600 items dating from 1825 to 1887.

The works of James Buchanan, comprising his speeches, state papers, and private correspondence by James Buchanan

James Buchanan Papers (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)
This is the largest collection of the Buchanan papers and the link will take you to the finding aid. The collection has been microfilmed and can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project
Focuses on Lincoln's life before he became president and includes substantial information about Illinois’s early statehood.
Abraham Lincoln Papers
Correspondence and other papers at the Library of Congress.
The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana
The collection contains more than 11,100 items. This online release presents more than 1,300 items with more than4,000 images and a date range of 1824-1931. It includes the complete collection of Stern's contemporary newspapers,Lincoln's law papers, sheet music, broadsides, prints, cartoons, maps, drawings, letters, campaign tickets, and otherephemeral items.
Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln
Digitized version of the printed set of Lincoln's correspondence, speeches, and other writings

The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln by Abraham Lincoln
Call Number: NRLF (UCB) E457.91 1905a
Available in print or online.

Herndon-Weik Collection of Lincolniana
Spanning the years circa 1824-1933, the collection contains papers representing Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), William Henry Herndon (1818-1891), and Jesse William Weik (1857-1930), records of The Weik Manuscript Corporation, and miscellaneous material collected chiefly by Herndon and Weik for use in writing Herndon's Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life (1889).
Lincoln and the Law
The Law Library of Congress's historical collection of works related to Lincoln's work as a lawyer, legal issues arising during his Presidency, and his assassination.
John G. Nicolay Papers
The papers of presidential secretary and biographer John G. Nicolay (1832-1901) span the years 1811 to 1943, with the bulk concentrated in the period 1860-1901. The collection particularly reflects Nicolay’s tenure as private secretary to Abraham Lincoln and documents his numerous literary activities.
Lincoln Assassination Papers
These records relate to the investigation of persons suspected of involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (April 14, 1865). They contain copies of correspondence received and sent by the military commission investigating the assassination; summaries of evidence of possible use in the trial; proceedings of and exhibits used in the court martial (May 9-June 29, 1865); and a record of the trial published in the newspaper Daily National Intelligencer (May 16-June 30, 1865).

Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

Andrew Johnson Papers
The papers at the Library of Congress consist of 40,000 items, spanning the years 1783-1947, with the bulk dating 1865-1869.

The Papers of Andrew Johnson
Call Number: NRLF (UCB) E415.6 .J66
V 15 is located in the Main Stacks.

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant
Call Number: NRLF (UCB) E660 .G74
Volumes 27-32 are located in the Main Stacks.

Ulysses S. Grant Papers
The Library of Congress collection consists of approximately 50,000 items dating from 1819-1974, with the bulk falling in the period 1843-1885.

Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

Rutherford B. Hayes Papers [microfilm]
Call Number: SRLF Microfilm E682
The 301-reel collection of microfilm is held at the Southern Regional Library Facility and can be requested through UC Library Search. A guide to the collection is available in the Main (Gardner) Stacks: E682 .H38 guide.

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums
Opened in 1916, this library preserves President Hayes's personal library along with archival material from his military and political career, particularly his presidency (1877-1881).

Diary and letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, nineteenth president of the United States

James A. Garfield (1881-1881)

James A. Garfield Papers
Correspondence, diaries, speeches, legal records, and much more make up the approximately 80,000 items held by the Library of Congress.

The Works of James Abram Garfield
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks E661.G23 A2 1882
Available in print and online at HathiTrust.

Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)

Chester Alan Arthur Papers
The Library of Congress collection includes of 4400 items spanning the years 1843-1960, with the bulk dating from 1870-1888.

Grover Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897)

Grover Cleveland Papers
The Library of Congress collection includes 108,200 items, spanning the years 1743 to 1945, with the bulk dating from 1885 to 1908.

Letters of Grover Cleveland
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks E697 .A43

Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

Benjamin Harrison Papers
This Library of Congress collection spans the years 1780-1948, with the bulk dating from 1853-1901.

Public papers and addresses of Benjamin Harrison, twenty-third president of the United States. March 4, 1889, to March 4, 1893. by Benjamin Harrison

William McKinley (1897-1901)

Last Days of a President: Films of McKinley and the Pan-American Exposition, 1901
The twenty-eight films of this collection are actuality motion pictures from the Paper Print Collection of the Library of Congress. They include footage of President William McKinley at his second inauguration; of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York; of President McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition; and of President McKinley's funeral.
William McKinley Papers
The papers held at the Library of Congress consist of 131,000 items, spanning the years circa 1847 to 1935, with the bulk dating from 1897 to1901.

Speeches and addresses of William McKinley, from March 1, 1897 to May 30, 1900
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks E711.6 .A2
Available in print and online at HathiTrust.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

Presidential addresses and state papers by Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Center Digital Library
A project digitizing materials located in multiple libraries, archives, and museums relating to Theodore Roosevelt. Includes correspondence to and from Roosevelt, diary entries, notes, political cartoons, scrapbooks, newspaper columns and magazine articles by and about Roosevelt, speeches, and photographs.
Theodore Roosevelt Papers
The Library of Congress collection consists of approximately 276,000 documents.
Theodore Roosevelt: His Life and Times on Film
Consisting of 104 motion pictures and four sound recordings, the majority of the motion pictures (87) are from theTheodore Roosevelt Association Collection in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (M/B/RS) atthe Library of Congress.
Theodore Roosevelt Collection (Harvard Library)
See the collection description for information about which parts of the collection have been digitized.

William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

William H. Taft Papers
This collection consists of approximately 676,000 documents dating from 1784 to 1973, with the bulk of the material dated 1880-1930.

Presidential addresses and state papers of William Howard Taft, : from March 4, 1909 to March 4, 1910

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

The messages and papers of Woodrow Wilson by Woodrow Wilson
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks E771 .A25
Available in print and online.
The Papers of Woodrow Wilson
Call Number: NRLF (UCB) E771 .A37

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum
Includes more than 5000 digitized documents dealing with Woodrow Wilson and his administration.
Woodrow Wilson Papers
The Library of Congress collection consists of approximately 280,000 documents.

Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)

Warren G. Harding-Carrie Fulton Phillips Correspondence
This correspondence (240 items; 1910-1924) consists primarily of letters written by President Harding (1865-1923),before and during his tenure as a U.S. senator, to his paramour Carrie Fulton Phillips (1873-1960), wife of a Marion,Ohio, store owner.
Warren G. Harding Collection
Digitized materials from the Warring G. Harding Papers and Warren G. Harding Photograph Collection housed at the Ohio History Connection.

Speeches and addresses of Warren G. Harding, President of the United States, delivered during the course of his tour from Washington, D.C., to Alaska and return to San Francisco, June 20 to August 2, 1923
Call Number: Main (Gardner) Stacks ; E786 .A43

Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)

Calvin Coolidge Papers
The Library of Congress collection consists of approximately 179,000 documents.
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation Virtual Library
Includes a variety of primary sources, including speeches, press conferences, letters, legislation, and writings.
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum
The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum (CCPLM) collects, preserves and makes available for research materials documenting the public and private life of Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933). Manuscripts, artifacts and exhibits cover his political career from Northampton to Boston to the White House and his post-presidential years as a Northampton resident.

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
Public Papers of the Presidents: Hoover
A collection of works digitized at HathiTrust.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

Japanese American Internment: Records of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library This link opens in a new window
Documents from the "Japanese American Internment Collections" held at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library. [1933-1998]

Public Papers of the Presidents: Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt Audio Recordings, 1920–April 13, 1945
This series includes audio recordings of President Roosevelt's speeches and addresses from throughout his political career. Also included are recordings made in President Roosevelt's office between August 23 and November 8, 1940 using an acetate recording material and an experimental machine made by the Radio Corporation of America.

Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)

Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum was established to preserve the papers, books, and other historical materials relating to former President Harry S. Truman and to make them available to the people in a place suitable for exhibit and research.
Truman Library Online Documents
Truman administration documents cover the end of WWII and the postwar period
Truman & the Marshall Plan
Documents relating to the Marshall Plan from the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum.
Public Papers of the Presidents: Truman

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)

Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
Includes a collection of online documents.
Public Papers of the Presidents: Eisenhower

John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

American Politics and Society from Kennedy to Watergate, 1960–1975 (HV)
Contains government and personal papers addressing U.S. politics during the 1960s and 1970s. Topics include civil rights, the Cold War, social movements, and the political scandals that culminated in Watergate.
John F. Kennedy Library and Museum
Collections cover Kennedy's life and presidency, as well as extensive collections on his associates and contemporaries. Many of the important collections at the Library have been digitized.
Public Papers of the Presidents: Kennedy
JFK - John Armstrong Collection
or ten years, John Armstrong conducted research for his book Harvey & Lee [Arlington, Tex. : Quasar, c2003]. His travels took him all over the country and to several foreign countries gathering materials and conducting interviews. His research resulted in 100,000+ pages of documents, dozens of reels of microfilm, many books and hundreds of photographs.
The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection
The collection consists of more than 5 million pages of assassination-related records, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings and artifacts (approximately 2,000 cubic feet of records).
The Presidential Recordings of John F. Kennedy
In the summer of 1962, President John F. Kennedy installed a secret taping system in the White House. His aim was to record meetings and conversations he considered important, probably intending to use them when he wrote the memoir of his years in office, a book he never had the chance to write. These volumes provide a unique glimpse into the real workings of the Kennedy White House, presenting perhaps the most reliable record of the Kennedy presidency ever published.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

American Politics and Society from Kennedy to Watergate, 1960–1975 (HV)
Contains government and personal papers addressing U.S. politics during the 1960s and 1970s. Topics include civil rights, the Cold War, social movements, and the political scandals that culminated in Watergate.
Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum
The papers have only been partially digitized and are available through DiscoverLBJ.
Public Papers of the Presidents: Johnson
The Presidential Recordings of Lyndon B. Johnson
The transcripts of recorded conversations are grouped into three series: eight chronological volumes of transcripts covering Johnson’s telephone conversations from 22 November 1963 through 4 July 1964; three thematic volumes of transcripts on Civil Rights, Vietnam, and the War on Poverty; and a volume of the more significant transcripts from the tumultuous year of 1968.

Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

American Politics and Society from Kennedy to Watergate, 1960–1975 (HV)
Contains government and personal papers addressing U.S. politics during the 1960s and 1970s. Topics include civil rights, the Cold War, social movements, and the political scandals that culminated in Watergate.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
Public Papers of the Presidents: Nixon
The Presidential Recordings of Richard M. Nixon
The transcripts are organized into six different series: two sets of conversations featured in books by Ken Hughes of the Miller Center; two thematic collections covering Richard Nixon’s first week of taping in office and the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks of 1971; a group of conversations featured in Assistant Professor Nicole Hemmer’s July 2016 Atlantic online essay “Why the Vice Presidency Matters,” illustrating the Nixon–Agnew relationship; a collection of telephone conversations spanning 1971; and a collection of telephone conversations from January through March 1972.
The Nixon Tapes
nixontapes.org has the most complete, digital collection of the Nixon tapes in existence, which includes approximately 2,950 hours of the nearly 3,000 hours of tapes currently declassified and released by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

The Nixon Years, 1969-1974 This link opens in a new window
The complete UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) 7 and 82 files for the entire period of Richard Nixon's presidency.
Top-level Anglo-American discussions and briefing papers dominate these papers. There is also a wealth of material on social conditions, domestic reforms, trade, culture and the environment. Includes strong primary source coverage of US policy decisions by the FCO and the British embassy in Washington; White House staff appointments and UN discussions; views on Europe; the deployment of F-111 aircraft on US airbases in the UK and Nixon's battles over funding from Congress; visits to the US by Harold Wilson and Edward Heath; and the internal situation in the US and domestic reform.

Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

Gerald R. Ford Presidential Digital Library
"Library holdings include more than 25 million pages of documents, over 450,000 photographs, and thousands of audiotapes, videotapes, and films, but only a portion has yet been digitized."
Public Papers of the Presidents: Ford

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum Digital Library
Includes papers from the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Office of Staff Secretary during the Carter Administration
Public Papers of the Presidents: Carter
Jimmy Carter C-SPAN videos

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

George H. W. Bush (1989-1993)

George H. W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum
Selected documents are available online.
Public Papers of the Presidents: Bush

William J. Clinton (1993-2001)

Clinton Presidential Library: Digital Collections
Contains over 700,000 pages of archival documents, over 400 audio recordings, photographs and many streaming video
Public Papers of the Presidents: Clinton

George W. Bush (2001-2009)

George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum
Use the finding aids and topic guides to explore the site. Many include links to digtized documents.
Public Papers of the Presidents: Bush

Barack Obama (2009-2017)

Donald Trump (2017-2021)

Donald J. Trump Presidential Library

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History: America: Presidential Papers & Related Materials

Sources for multiple presidents