Famous Documents, Speeches & Trials

American Memory 
Search the collections of the Library of Congress for particular speeches and the people who gave them.

Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government: Historical Documents
This site, created by the U.S. Government Printing Office, provides information about a number of historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Gettysburg Address.

Charters of Freedom 
Each year more that a million viewers come to the Rotunda of the National Archives to see the Charters of Freedom displayed there: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. View them here online.

Chronology of U.S. Historical Documents 
Organized by century, the University of Oklahoma College of Law provides a directory of links to historical documents that date from the Pre-Colonial Era to the present.

The Constitution of the United States 
View high-resolution images of the Constitution and read more about its development, significance, and history on this site compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Core Documents of U.S. Democracy
The goal of this site, created by the U.S. Government Printing Office, is to provide American citizens direct online access to the basic Federal Government documents that define our democratic society.

Famous Trials by Doug Linder 
This site, sponsored by the University of Missouri-Kansas, contains information on some of the most famous trials in U.S. history. It also includes trial excerpts and biographical information about the trial participants.

Founding Documents 
The National Constitution Center links to historical documents that relate to American Constitutional history, such as the Mayflower Compact, the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers, the Emancipation Proclamation and more.

Grolier Presents the American Presidency 
Grolier Encyclopedia presents links to video clips and sound files of speeches made by presidents during important moments in history.

InfoUSA: Basic Documents and Writings 
Information USA, created by the U.S. Department of State, provides links to many famous political and historical documents in three languages: English, Spanish and French.

InfoUSA: Famous Speeches 
Information USA, from the U.S. Department of State, provides links to many famous political speeches as well as other sites that provide directories to collections of speeches.

We the People: the U.S. Constitution 
Information about the Constitution and links to sites about its history are found on this site, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Yahooligans! Directory: U.S. Constitution 
This is a directory of links to sites about the Constitution, amendments and other historical documents.

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Last Updated: September 9, 2008