LibGuides: History 200B: Race and the City: Government Documents

Government Documents and the Library

Unpublished Federal documents are acquired, organized, and stored by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The NARA, as the name suggests, is an archive, and organizes documents, like other archives, by provenance. In the case of the NARA, provenance generally means originating agency.

To identify these unpublished government documents, use NARA's catalog. Some of the documents listed in this catalog have been digitized, and are available online through links in the NARA Catalog:

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Catalog
The most comprehensive online inventory of the U.S. National Archives. Unlike the Microfilm Catalog (see below), the scope of this catalog includes all government records under the stewardship of the NARA. Includes links to some digitized records as well, but most of the documents identified in this catalog would have to be viewed on site at the NARA in Washington, D.C., one of the twelve regional archives, or one of the other archival repositories identified in the catalog.

NARA has also microfilmed many of its most "important" (depending on how one defines "important") document collections, and these microfilmed document collections can be identified using NARA's catalog of microfilmed documents:

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Microfilm Catalog
Searchable and browsable catalog of federal government records that have been reproduced on microfilm. Record series reproduced were selected for their perceived research value. Many of these microfilmed record series are available here at University of Illinois; many others have been subsequently digitized. All can be requested through interlibrary loan.

NARA also has a printed version of their microfilm catalog, which some researchers find easier to use:

Microfilm Resources for Research: A Comprehensive Catalog by National Archives and Records Administration
Call Number: 016.973 Un318m
ISBN: 9781880875223
Publication Date: 2000
Documents listed in this catalog should be available either here at the University Library, or else through Interlibrary Loan.

Some documents of the Federal Government are published by the U.S. Government Printing Office (the largest publisher in the world), and distributed to libraries through the Federal Depository Library Program. These published government documents can be identified using the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications and also through library catalogs.

The Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications Historical Archive, 1895-1976
The official catalog, issued by the Government Printing Office, of the publications of the United States government that were available for purchase or distribution to depository libraries.
University of Illinois Library Catalog
Use the Library Catalog to identify books, journals (but not journal articles), microform collections, and digital collections owned by the University of Illinois. The Library Catalog is the primary tool for exploring the collections of the University of Illinois Library, the second largest academic library collection in the United States. In the Library Catalog you can search for books by subject, and you identify the location within the Library of a particular book or journal. Books and journals are organized in the library by subject. Each item is assigned one or more subject headings and a unique call number. Subject headings are standardized terms from the Library of Congress. The call number is based on the Dewey Decimal Classification or Library of Congress Classification. Boolean operators must be capitalized if used: AND, OR, NOT. Interface automatically truncates some search terms unless Boolean operators are used within the same query line. You can also browse catalog records by call number, creating a "virtual shelf browsing" experience.

For more help finding government documents, contact the Government Documents Librarian, Sanga Sung: ssung@illinois.edu .

Below are digital collections of both published and unpublished government documents:

Executive Branch Documents

Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1939
Issued in two modules, the first module covers United States Executive Branch publications from 1789 to 1932 (not already printed in the U.S. Serial Set). The second module extends coverage to 1939. Part of ProQuest Congressional. Navigate to "Advanced Search" and select file "Executive Branch".
more...less...
Module 1 includes publications issued by the following Executive Branch departments: Agriculture Department; American Republics Bureau; Civil Service Commission; District of Columbia; Fish Commission; Freedman's Savings and Trust Company; Geographic Board; Government Printing Office; General Supply Committee; Navy Department; War Department; Interior Department; Justice Department; Labor Department; Interstate Commerce Commission; Library of Congress; State Department; National Academy of Sciences; National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers; Post Office Department; President of United States; Smithsonian Institution; Treasury Department; Commerce and Labor Department; and Labor Department. Module 2 includes publications from Treasury Department; Smithsonian Institution; Tariff Commission; Veterans Administration; Veterans Bureau; Vocational Education Board; Commerce Department; War Department; War Trade Board; Interior Department; Justice Department; Labor Department; General Accounting Office; Government Printing Office; Interstate Commerce Commission; Agriculture Department; American Republics Bureau; Civil Service Commission; Navy Department; Library of Congress; Mediation Board; National Academy of Sciences; National Capital Park and Planning Commission; National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers; Post Office Department; State Department; Pan American Union; Pan American Sanitary Bureau; Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital; Personnel Classification Board; Philippine Government; President of United States; Postal Savings System; Reserve Bank Organization Committee; Radio Commission; Railroad Labor Board; and Shipping Board. All documents are indexed and are searchable by publication title, issuing agency, subject heading, and SuDoc classification code. A PDF facsimile of each document accompanies its index record, and users can also search these PDFs, though search precision and recall are lower for the PDFs than for the index records. Access the database through the ProQuest Congressional Advanced Search.
Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations, 1789-present
Executive orders and proclamations are legal instruments, and as such carry the force of law. Part of ProQuest Congressional. Navigate to "Advanced Search" and select file "Presidential Materials".
Black Liberation Army and the Program of Armed Struggle
TRIAL. FBI records on the Black Liberation Army (BLA), from the period 1970-1983. Part of Archives Unbound.
FBI Surveillance of James Forman and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), 1961-1976
TRIAL. Part of Archives Unbound.
Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s
TRIAL. Digitized from the following microfilm sets: COINTELPRO: The Counterintelligence Program of the FBI; FBI File on Abbie Hoffman; FBI file on the Black Panther Party, North Carolina; FBI File on Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers; FBI File on the Fire Bombing and Shooting at Kent State University; FBI Files on Malcolm X; FBI File: MIBURN (Mississippi Burning); FBI File on Muslim Mosque, Inc.; FBI File on the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU); FBI File on the Students for a Democratic Society and the Weatherman Underground Organization; FBI File on the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; and FBI Investigation File on Communist Infiltration of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Part of Archives Unbound.
Federal Surveillance of African Americans, 1920-1984
TRIAL. Digitized from the microfilm sets FBI File on A. Philip Randolph; FBI File on Adam Clayton Powell; COINTELPRO: Black Nationalist Hate Groups; FBI File on the Atlanta Child Murders (ATKID); FBI File on the Black Panther Party, North Carolina; FBI File on the Committee for Public Justice; FBI file on Elijah Muhammad; FBI File on the Highlander Folk School; FBI File on the KKK Murder of Viola Liuzzo; FBI File on Malcolm X; FBI File: MIBURN (Mississippi Burning); FBI File on the Moorish Science Temple of America; FBI File on the Murder of Lemuel Penn; FBI File on Muslim Mosque, Inc.; FBI File on the NAACP; FBI File on the National Negro Congress; FBI File on the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU); FBI File on Paul Robeson; FBI File on the Reverend Jesse Jackson; FBI File on Roy Wilkins; FBI File on the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; FBI File on Thurgood Marshall; FBI File on W.E.B. Du Bois; FBI Investigation File on Communist Infiltration of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; FBI Surveillance File: Malcolm X; and FBI Investigation File on Marcus Garvey. Part of Archives Unbound.
Federal Surveillance of the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño
1941-1982. F.B.I. records. Part of Archives Unbound.
Grassroots Civil Rights & Social Activism: FBI Files on Benjamin J. Davis, Jr, 1941-1990
TRIAL. Davis was an African American leader in the Communist Party. Part of Archives Unbound.
Greensboro Massacre, 1979: Shootout between the American Nazis and the Communist Workers Party
TRIAL. Records from the FBI, ATF, and the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. Part of Archives Unbound.

Legislative Branch Documents

United States Bills and Laws, 1789-present
All public and private bills and resolutions of the United States Congress. Previously called "Digital U.S. Bills and Resolutions". Part of ProQuest Congressional. Navigate to "Advanced Search" and select file "Bills and Laws".
United States Congressional Hearings Digital Collection, 1824-present
Both the published and unpublished hearings, which includes transcripts of spoken testimony, written statements of witnesses, reports, exhibits, correspondence, or other material submitted by interested parties. Hearings are held by Congressional committees as a way of collecting the information needed to inform decision making. Part of ProQuest Congressional. Navigate to "Advanced Search" and select the file "Hearings".
more...less...
Hearings are held by Congressional committees as a way of collecting the information needed to inform decision making. In addition to transcripts of verbal testimony, hearings may contain written statements of witnesses, reports, exhibits, correspondence, or other material submitted by interested parties. In this collection, you can search full text, by witness name, or by subject headings (e.g. "Radical Politics", "Students for a Democratic Society", "Public Demonstrations", "Communist Parties"
United States Congressional Record and Its Predecessors Permanent Digital Collection, 1789-present
In ProQuest Congressional (for best results, choose the "Congressional Record Only" search tab). The Congressional Record, which began publication in 1873, is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. Its predecessors were the Annals of Congress (1789-1824), the Register of Debates (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873). The Hein Online Congressional Documents Library has a slightly more-extensive collection: the Journals of the Continental Congress (1774-1789), the Annals of the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1825-1837), the Congressional Globe (1833-1873), the Congressional Record (1873-present), and the Congressional Record Daily (1980-present, updated daily). Part of ProQuest Congressional: navigate to "Advanced Search" and select the file "Congressional Record".
United States Congressional Research
Part of ProQuest Congressional. Combines two separate files: CRS Reports, 1916-present; and Committee Prints, 1830-present. CRS Reports are produced by the Congressional Research Service, an official arm of the United States Congress, in response to requests from Congress. Committee Prints are studies and reports produced for specific Congressional committees. Both CRS Reports and Committee Prints are used to support Congressmen and Congresswomen in their legislative work. Part of ProQuest Congressional. Navigate to "Advanced Search" and select file "CRS Reports".
United States Congressional Serial Set
A collection of Congressional "Reports" and "Documents". A Congressional Report is an official report to the House of Representatives or the Senate, issued by a House or Senate committee, usually related to legislation about to be considered by Congress. Congressional Documents, on the other hand, are typically reports to Congress by Executive Branch departments, but can also include documents received by Congress from other sources. Congress began publishing the Serial Set in 1817. The predecessor to the Serial Set was the National State Papers of the United States, also known as the American State Papers. The American State Papers cover the years 1789-1817, and then were published alongside the Serial Set until 1838. The Serial Set and the American State Papers are also available through ProQuest Congressional. ProQuest Congressional's version of the Serial Set includes the most recent volumes, whereas the version linked above (Readex) ends with the volumes for the 96th Congress in 1980.
more...less...
To access the Serial Set in ProQuest Congressional, select the "House and Senate Documents/Reports" file in the Advanced Search Content selection box. (Last checked 4/9/2021)
ProQuest Legislative Insight
Links Congressional documents like bills, committee hearings, committee reports, and Congressional Record entries (debates and other floor action including votes)--the multiple versions of a bill and publications that document the (typically fairly complicated) history of a Public Law. Organized by Public Law number. Not comprehensive, with emphasis on landmark legislation. Currently goes back to 1930.

Judicial Branch Documents

United States Supreme Court Library (HeinOnline)
- This link opens in a new window
Centerpiece of this collection is a complete run of the United States Reports, which is the official, published version of all Supreme Court rulings. Expect a lag of several years between a ruling and its final, published form. After the Court rules on a case, the ruling is issued (within several days) as a numbered "Slip Opinion." These slip opinions are eventually compiled and published as Preliminary Prints prior to their final publication in the U.S. Reports. The Hein Supreme Court Library also includes a large collection of books and periodicals on the Court and its rulings.
Making of Modern Law: U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978
Almost 150,000 Supreme Court cases are featured, the majority consisting of those for which the Court did not give a full opinion. Digitized from the holdings of the Jenkins Memorial Law Library, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the the Library of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

Other Collections (Including Documents of the States)

HeinOnline
Major collection of government documents, including documents of the states, federal U.S. documents (statutory law, administrative law, case law), documents of foreign countries, international law, and more. Also includes a large collection of legal periodicals.
LLMC (Law Library Microform Consortium) Digital Library
Historical record of statutory, administrative, and case law for U.S. federal government, states, and territories.
ProQuest Congressional
Comprises 14 separate files: Legislative Histories, 1969-Present; Bills and Laws, 1789-Present; Vote Reports, 1987-Present; Committee Prints and Miscellaneous Publications, 1817-Present; Congressional Record Bound Edition and Its Predecessors, 1789-Present; Congressional Record Daily Edition, 1985-Present; Congressional Research Service Reports, 1916-2014; Congressional Hearings, 1824-Present; House and Senate Documents, 1817-Present; House and Senate Reports, 1817-Present; Congressional Serial Set, 1789-2011; Serial Set Maps, 1789-Present; Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1939; and Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations, 1789-Present.