Have a question? Need assistance? Use our online form to ask a librarian for help.
The Manuscript Division is the section of the Library that preserves, arranges, and makes available for research historically significant personal papers and organizational records. This guide serves as an introduction to collections in the Manuscript Division that relate to the Justices of the United States Supreme Court. Included, for example, are the papers of Chief Justices Roger Brooke Taney, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan Fiske Stone, and Earl Warren. Many collections of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justices are also represented, including the papers of Levi Woodbury, Harry A, Blackmun, Hugo LaFayette Black, William J. Brennan, and William O. Douglas. The papers of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, and Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the court, are held by the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division.
Principal Collections: This page lists major collections related to U.S. Supreme Court justices held in the Manuscript Division, arranged alphabetically by last name. Note that the Manuscript Division does not hold major collections for every justice.
Chief Justices: The menu to the left lists collections in the Manuscript Division relating to the Chief Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justices are arranged chronologically by dates served on the court.
Associate Justices: Collections relating to Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are also arranged chronologically. Because of the high number of related collections, Associate Justices are listed under the President who appointed the justice. For more information about Presidential appointments, see the U.S. Supreme Court web page: Justices 1789 to Present. If you are searching for a particular justice, you may also utilize the search bar in the top right corner.
A page is listed for each justice who is represented in the collections of the Manuscript Division, but it is important to note that not every justice who served on the court is represented in the division's holdings. On each page, any collection of personal papers is listed first, followed by collections that contain correspondence or other materials relating to the justice. If a justice served as both Chief and Associate Justice, all related collections appear on their page under the Chief Justices menu.
Other Manuscript Collections: This page lists collections that contain materials relating to journalists and lawyers connected with the U.S. Supreme Court as well as collections relating to U.S. Supreme Court history, architecture, or other subjects.
Please note: This guide is largely adapted from the Directory of Manuscript Collections Related to Federal Judges (1998) by Peter A. Wondors. However, this guide only includes information related to collections in the custody of the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division. You may access the Directory via HathiTrust, or download a PDF copy via the Federal Judicial Center.
