Primary+Sources

=Primary Sources for United States History=

See [|100 Milestone Documents] in American History from the National Archives.

History in the Raw from the National Archives

[|Primary Documents in American History] from the Library of Congress.

[|U.S. History Primary Sources] from National History Day.

[|Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th Century] compiled by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1999.

[|Famous Speeches from History & Politics Out Loud] features important speeches by influential 20th and 21st century political leaders.


 * **SOURCE** || **DATE** || ..... **SIGNIFICANCE** ||
 * Magna Carta || 1215 || The King is not above the law; It led to the establishment of constitutional law by stating that no freeman could be punished except through the law of the land.


 * See also World History I.8** ||
 * Mayflower Compact || 1620 || First governing document by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. The accepted translation was found in the journal of William Bradford


 * See also Grade 3.4 and Grade 5.8 and 5.9** ||
 * Massachusetts Body of Liberties || 1641 || First legal code by colonists in New England; earliest source of individual rights in the colonies


 * See also Grade 5.19** ||
 * English Bill of Rights || 1689 || Limits on the power of the king; right of freedom of speech in Parliament; basis for American Bill of Rights


 * For more, see World History I.8** ||
 * Second Treatise of Government || 1690 || John Locke outlines a vision of society based on natural rights; sets the foundation for American political principles including sovereignty of the people, limitations on the power of the executive or legislature, and the idea that people can revoke the social contract if government does not meet their needs.


 * See also United States History I.2 and United States Government 2.3** ||
 * [|Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death Speech] || 1775 || Patrick Henry urged raising a militia in every Virginia county in this speech that set a tone of defiance of British rule.

See also United States History I.4 ||
 * [|Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom] || 1786 || Statement of religious freedom and separation of church and state by Thomas Jefferson; Virginia became the first state to separate church and state.


 * See also United States Government 2.2** ||
 * Suffolk Resolves || 1774 || Precursor to the Declaration of Independence; endorsed by the Continental Congress after being delivered to Philadelphia by Paul Revere


 * See also United States History I.3** ||
 * [|Massachusetts Constitution] || 1780 || Model for the federal Constitution and Bill of Rights; John Adams, the future President, was a primary writer. Oldest functioning written constitution. John Adams is the principal author.


 * See also United States History I.5 and United States Government 3.2** ||
 * [|Northwest Ordinance] || 1787 || Established the concept that the nation would expand westward by admitting new states, banned slavery in new states, establishing the Ohio River as the boundary at the time between free and slave states. Written by Nathan Dane and Rufus King. ||
 * [|Federalist No. 10] || 1787 || James Madison's argument for Constitution and against political factions.


 * See also United States History I.8** ||
 * [|Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments] || 1848 || Women's declaration of independence written by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton


 * See also United States History I.33** ||
 * [|Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address] || 1865 || Approach to Reconstruction that featured mutual forgiveness; Condemned slavery


 * See also United States History I.38** ||
 * Lincoln's [|House Divided Speech] || 1858 || Lincoln's speech against Dred Scott Decision


 * See also United States History I.36** ||
 * War Department General Order 143 || 1863 || This document ordered the creation of African American troops during the Civil War


 * For more, see United States History I.39** ||
 * [|The New Colossus] || 1883 || Emma Lazarus's account of immigrants coming to America through New York City


 * For more, see United States History II.3** ||
 * East Goes West || 1937 || Younghill Kang's novel of immigrant experience


 * For more see United States History II.3** ||
 * Roosevelt Corollary || 1905 || Roosevelt's addition to the Monroe Doctrine stated that Western Hemisphere countries are not only closed for colonization, but it was up to the US to protect them.


 * See also, United States History II.9** ||
 * [|The New Nationalism Speech] || 1910 || Theodore Roosevelt statement that human welfare supported by a strong federal government


 * For more, see United States History II.8** ||
 * [|Peace Without Victory Speech] || 1917 || Wilson Wilson's terms for ending the war without a traditional victory


 * For more, see United States History II.7** ||
 * [|Niagara Movement Declaration of Principles] || 1905 || W.E.B. Du Bois expressed his opposition to racial segregation and disenfranchisement as well as his opposition to the policies of accommodation of Booker T. Washington. The Niagara Movement was founded by Du Bois.


 * For more, see United States History II.9** ||
 * [|Atlanta Exposition Address] || 1895 || Booker T. Washington addressing racial progress through accommodation

Click here for a youtube clip of the Four Freedoms Speech
 * For more, see United States History II.9** ||
 * [|Four Freedoms Speech] || 1941 || Franklin Roosevelt's statement of the freedoms of people everywhere in the world; Freedom of speech; Freedom of religion; Freedom from war; Freedom from fear


 * For more, see United States History II.15** ||
 * [|West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette] || 1943 || Justice Robert M. Jackson's defense of freedom of speech. He wrote "[i]f there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein."


 * For more, see United States Government 2.5 ** ||
 * [|The Spirit of Liberty] || 1944 || Learned Hand defined liberty as the types of attitudes people have toward one another; urging that Americans must be open-minded and reject dogmatism


 * For more see United States Government 2.5** ||
 * [|The Truman Doctrine] || 1947 || President Truman announced that it was U.S. policy to assist any country threatened by Communism, expressing a global role for the nation and essentially ending isolationism as a foreign policy approach.


 * For more, see United States History II.18** ||
 * [|The Sources of Soviet Conduct] || 1947 || George Kennan's statement of containment as American policy in the Cold War.


 * For more, see United States History II.18** ||
 * [|John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address] || 1961 || Expressed the role of the United States in combating communism around the world; considered one of the finest inaugural speeches ever delivered

Youtube Video of Kennedy's Address

For more, **see United States History II.28** ||
 * [|Letter from Birmingham City Jail] || 1963 || Reverend Martin Luther King's statement that civil disobedience is necessary when opposing unjust laws

For more, **see United States History II.25** || Click here for MLK's I Have a Dream Speech
 * [|I Have a Dream Speech] || 1963 || Reverend Martin Luther King's call for racial justice at the March on Washington


 * For more, see United States History II.25 and United States Government 2.10** ||
 * [|Johnson's Voting Rights Speech to Congress] || 1965 || Lyndon Johnson declares that every men should have the right to vote and that civil rights problems are a national issue. He used the phrase "we shall overcome" near the end of the speech


 * For more, see United States History II.26** ||
 * Carter's Crisis of Confidence Speech || 1979 || Jimmy Carter addresses public doubt and the lack of confidence of the people toward their government and their own identities as Americans.

-Youtube video here || Click here for a clip of the speech. It also has a link to the full version.
 * [|Reagan's Speech at Moscow State University] || 1988 || Reagan discussed American freedoms he hoped Russian people will enjoy and proposed greater exchanges between the two nations


 * For more, see United States History II.29** ||