United States History: Primary Sources by Type: Films & Gov't Documents

Primary source films

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Thousands of vintage television commercials dating from the 1950s to the 1980s. View in iTunes
C-Span Video, 1987-2010
These archives cover 23 years of history and five presidential administrations. Site contains a profile page for each senator and representative.
Motion Picture & Television Reading Room
A Library of Congress (LC) American Memory collection
Prelinger Archives
Digitized collection of over 1,200 advertising, educational, industrial, civil defense and amateur films produced from the 1920's through early 1980s
Presidential Campaign Commercials, 1952-2008
The Living Room Candidate, from the Museum of the Moving Image

Television News Archive This link opens in a new window
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Archive of national television news broadcasts, 1968 to present.

World Newsreels Online 1929-1966 This link opens in a new window
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American, French, Dutch & Japanese newsreels primarily covering WWII era

American State Papers This link opens in a new window
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U.S. Congressional materials covering aspects of early American history, 1789-1838.

Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation, 1774-1875
Congressional records from the Continental Congress through the 43rd Congress

Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window
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Collection of declassified US government documents. Includes primary documents, glossaries, chronologies, bibliographies, overviews, and photographs.

Foreign Relations of the United States
Compilation of state department documents covering foreign relations from Lincoln through Eisenhower
Foreign Relations of the United States, 2
Compilation of state department documents from the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford administrations
Government Comics Collection
Digitized collection of more than 150 comics; majority published by the federal government and others from the UN and state governments

Hein Online This link opens in a new window
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Digitized legal journals, reviews, U.S. government documents, regulations, laws, and treaties.

MarciveWeb DOCS This link opens in a new window
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Index to US government documents, 1976 to present
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1895-1976 This link opens in a new window
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Comprehensive index to historical information published by the U.S. federal government, 1895-1976.
ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
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Index to Congressional publications, 1789 to present; including full-text hearings from, 1824-1979 and full-text bills & laws, 1789 to the present.
Additional full-text content temporarily added: Congressional Research Digital Collection 1830-2003, and Executive Branch Documents 1789-1932. Access to additional content ends June 30, 2022.

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
Official papers and speeches from Hoover through Clinton
Thomas
Current Congressional documents includes Public Laws back to 1973 and the Congressional Record back to 1989

U.S. Congressional Serial Set This link opens in a new window
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Collection of US Congressional documents, 1817 - 1980.