Presidential Papers and Documents

Gilbert Stuart, artist. *George Washington: first president of the United States.* [1828?]. From the original series painted by Stuart for the Messrs. Doggett of Boston. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

The Public Papers of the Presidents, which is compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, began in 1957 in response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications Commission. Noting the lack of uniform compilations of messages and papers of the Presidents before this time, the Commission recommended the establishment of an official series in which Presidential writings, addresses, and remarks of a public nature could be made available.

Learn more about the Public Papers of the Presidents at The National Archives

The Compilation of Presidential Documents collection consists of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents which are the official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary. The Compilation of Presidential Documents is published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Learn more about the Compilation of Presidential Documents at The National Archives

Subscription Databases for Finding the Public Papers of the Presidents

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

HeinOnline U.S. Presidential Library External This link opens in a new window
Includes titles such as Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Public Papers of the Presidents, CFR Title 3 (Presidents), Weekly Compilation of the Presidential Documents, Economic Report of the President, and other documents relating to U.S. presidents.
Coverage: varies
Note: You may need to check under multiple sections depending on the date needed - for example: Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Public Papers of the Presidents, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents.
ProQuest Congressional External This link opens in a new window
Explore government in action with the most comprehensive web-based resource available for congressional hearings, public issues, legislation, history, and legal research.
Coverage: 18th century to present
Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations: 1st Congress- ,1789-
Executive Branch Documents: 1st Congress-72nd Congress, 1789-1932

Free Resources for Finding the Public Papers of the Presidents

American Presidency Project External

Coverage:
The Messages and Papers of the Presidents: 1789-1929
The Public Papers of the Presidents: 1929-
The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents: 1977-2009
The Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents: 2009-
govinfo: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States

govinfo is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is a Federal agency in the legislative branch. It provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Coverage: 1929-2013 (Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama)
govinfo: Compilation of Presidential Documents

govinfo is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is a Federal agency in the legislative branch. It provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Coverage: 1993 to present (George H.W. Bush to present)
National Archives: Presidential Libraries

Presidential Libraries and Museums are repositories for the papers, records and historical materials of the Presidents.
Coverage: Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama.
HathiTrust External

"HathiTrust is a growing, global partnership of major research institutions and libraries working to ensure that the cultural record is preserved and accessible long into the future. The mission of HathiTrust is to contribute to research, scholarship, and the common good by collaboratively collecting, organizing, preserving, communicating, and sharing the record of human knowledge." (HathiTrust website)
Coverage: Herbert Hoover to Bill Clinton
White House Briefing Room

The White House may post press releases, fact sheets, speeches, remarks and other items here.
Coverage: Current President

Print Resources for Finding the Presidential Papers and Documents

The following resource links to fuller bibliographic information about the item in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. This resource may also be available at other public and academic libraries.

Public Papers of the Presidents
Call Number: J80 .A283
ISBN: 0079-7626
Published/Created: Annual. 1929-
Available in: Main Reading Room (MRR); Manuscript Reading Room (MSS); Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room (N&CPR)
Weekly compilation of Presidential documents
Call Number: J80 .A284
ISBN: 05114187
Published/Created: 1965-2009 (Jan)
Available in: Law Library of Congress (LAW); Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room (N&CPR)

Supplemental Resources

American President: UVA Miller Center of Public Affairs External

"The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship, public policy, and political history and strives to apply the lessons of history and civil discourse to the nation's most pressing contemporary governance challenges." (from the Miller Center web site)

Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents by James Richardson
Call Number: J81 .B96
Published/Created: 1896-99
This 10 volume work includes the public papers, speeches and other official writings of the early presidents.

Finding Presidential Addresses on Video

C-Span Video Library External

“C-SPAN is a public service created by the American Cable Television Industry…to provide access to the live gavel-to-gavel proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and to other forums where public policy is discussed, debated and decided––all without editing, commentary or analysis and with a balanced presentation of points of view.” (C-Span website).
This link takes one directly to the section for White House speeches and remarks. One can do a keyword search or filter by person, organization, series, location or event type.
All C-Span programs since 1987 can be viewed online for free.