Librainia.com

First-hand History of America

This one-of-a-kind set includes 18 huge collections of first-hand accounts in American history. No other collection gives you more first-hand accounts of American history than this unique collection. Arranged in chronological order, each volume covers a different period of American history beginning with the Discovery & Exploration of America through the end of the twentieth century with Americas Resurgence. Each volume includes dozens of key firsthand accounts from that period in American History. There is no better source than the original. The original source is untainted and gives you a clear perspective of the events as they happened.

Includes over 1,200 Complete Accounts in 18 Huge Collections:

Key Founding Documents

Includes Magna Carta
Mayflower Compact
First Written Constitution
Declaration of Independence
Articles of Confederation
The Constitution of the United States

Volume 1: Discovery & Exploration of America – 1000-1542

*Includes 39 Accounts:

Pre-Columbian Voyages – John Fiske
The Men from Asia and from Norway – Justin Winsor
Other Pre-Columbian Voyages – Henry Wheaton
The Voyages of the Norsemen – From the Saga of Eric the Red
The Voyages to Vinland – From the Saga of Eric the Red
The Travels of Marco Polo – John Fiske
Marco Polo's Account of Japan and Java – Marco Polo
Prologue to the Book of Ser Marco Polo – Marco Polo
Early Life of Columbus – Washington Irving
Letters From Toscanelli Approving Columbus' Project – Paul Toscanelli
The Journal of Columbus – Christopher Columbus
Columbus in Spain – Washington Irving
The Discovery – Columbus – Christopher Columbus
The Discovery by Columbus – Washington Irving
The Discovery of America – Ferdinand Columbus
The Letter of Columbus to Luis De Sant Angel Announcing His Discovery – Christopher Columbus
Reception of Columbus in Spain – Washington Irving
Papal Bull Dividing the New World – Pope Alexander VI
The Discovery of the Mainland by the Cabots – John A. Doyle
Peter Martyr's Account – Peter Martyr
The Voyages of the Cabots – King Henry VII and Sebastian Cabot
John Cabot's Discovery of North America – Pasqualigo and di Soncino
Amerigo Vespucci's Account of His First Voyage – Amerigo Vespucci
Fourth and Last Voyage of Columbus – Christopher Columbus
The Death of Columbus – Washington Irving
The Naming of America – Martin Waltzee-Muller
Balboa Discovers the Pacific – Manuel Jose Quintana
The Discovery of Florida by Ponce de Leon – Parkman
Ponce de Leon in Florida – George Bancroft
The Origin of Negro Slavery in America – Sir Arthur Helps
The Voyage of Magellan to the Pacific – John Fiske
Verrazzano's Voyage – John de Verrazzano
Cartier's Exploration of the St. Lawrence – John A. Doyle
Cartier Discovers the St. Lawrence – Jacques Cartier
De Vaca's Journey to New Mexico – Cabeza de Vaca
Searches for "The Seven Cities of Cibola" – Reuben Gold Thwaites
Coronado's Wanderings – Francis Vasques de Coronado
De Soto's Discovery of the Mississippi – Francis Parkman
Death of De Soto – Unknown

Volume 2: Colonization of America – 1562-1733

*Includes 63 Accounts:

The Founding of St. Augustine and the Massacre by Menendez – John A. Doyle
The Founding of St. Augustine – Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajalas
The Huguenots in Florida – Francis Parkman
Dominique de Gourgues – Francis Parkman
Drake in California – Drake's Nephew
A Description of Drake – Don Francisco de Zarate
Sir Walter Raleigh's Virginia Colonies – John A. Doyle
The First Voyage to Roanoke – Captains Amadas and Barlowe
The Colony at Roanoke – Ralph Lane
The Birth of Virginia Dare – John White
Gosnald's Discovery of Cape Cod – Bartholemew Gosnold
Gosnold's Settlement at Cuttyhunk – Gabriel Archer
First Charter of Virginia – King James I
The Settlement of Jamestown – Captain John Smith
The Founding of Quebec – Samuel de Champlain
Champlain's Battle with the Iroquois on Lake Champlain – Samuel Champlain
The Discovery of the Hudson River – Robert Juet
Hudson's Third Voyage – John De Laet
The First Representative Assembly – John Twine
Origin of Slavery in America – John A. Doyle
The Voyage of the Mayflower – William Bradford
How the Pilgrim Fathers Lived – Edward Winslow
Founding of New Amsterdam – Nicholas Jean de Wassenaer
The Beginnings of the Massachusetts Bay Colony – Governor Thomas Dudley
The Settlement of Massachusetts – Edward Johnson
The Founding of Connecticut – Alexander Johnston
Lord Baltimore's Plantation in Maryland – George and Leonard Calvert
The Pequot Massacre at Fort Mystic – John Mason
Roger Williams in Rhode Island – Nathaniel Morton
How the Bay Colony Differed from Plymouth – John G. Palfrey
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut – Unknown
The Body of Liberties – Nathaniel Ward
The Founding of Harvard College – Unknown
The Founding of New Sweden – Israel Acrelius
Arbitrary Government Described and the Government of the Massachusetts Vindicated from that Aspersion – John Winthrop
Witchcraft in New England – John G. Palfrey
The Instrument of Government – Cromwell and His Council of Officers
A Healing Question – Sir Henry Vane
The Persecution of the Quakers – James Cudworth
The Penalty for Not Going to Church – The County Court of Middlesex
John Locke and the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina – H. R. Fox Bourne
The English Conquest of New York – John R. Brodhead
Eliot's Brief Narrative – John Eliot
Marquette's Discovery of the Mississippi – James Marquette
The Outbreak of King Philip's War – William Hubbard
The Death of King Philip – Benjamin Church
Bacon's Rebellion – Unknown
The Death of Marquette – Claude Dablon
Discovery of Niagara Falls – Louis Hennepin
La Salle's Voyage to the Mouth of the Mississippi – Francis Parkman
Letter from Eliot to Hon. Robert Boyle – John Eliot
The Famous Charter Oak Affair – Alexander Johnston
Description of Pennsylvania – William Penn
Penn's Treaty with the Indians – William Penn
M. Robert Cavelier De La Salle – Father Louis Hennepin
Leisler's Rebellion – "A Gentleman of the City of New York"
Witchcraft in New England – Robert Calef
The Founding of William and Mary College – Unknown
The Settlement of Louisiana – Benard de la Harpe
The Colonization of Louisiana – Charles E. T. Gayarre
Phipps, The First of Our Self-Made Men – The Reverend Cotton Mather
Establishing the Colony of Georgia – General James Edward Oglethorpe
Oglethorpe in Georgia – Joel Chandler Harris

Volume 3: The American Revolution – 1745-1784

*Includes 85 Accounts:

The Two Sieges of Louisbourg – Bradley
Washington's Expedition to the Ohio – Washington
Washington's Expedition to the Ohio and the Battle of Great Meadows – Bradley
Benjamin Franklin's Plan of Union – Benjamin Franklin
The Defeat of Braddock – A. G. Bradley
Braddock's Defeat – George Washington
The Deportation of the Acadians of Nova Scotia – A. G. Bradley
The Deportation of the Acadians – Colonel John Winslow
Wolfe Defeats Montcalm at Quebec – Captain John Knox
In Opposition to Writs of Assistance – James Otis
The Stamp Act and its Repeal – William E. H. Lechy
Pitt's Protest Against the Stamp Act – William Pitt
Declaration of Rights – Delegates from Nine Colonies
The Repeal of the Stamp Act – Secretary Henry Seymour Conway
Brant to Lord Germaine – Brant
Benjamin Franklin's Examination Before the House of Commons – Benjamin Franklin
Daniel Boone Migrates to Kentucky – Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone's Migration to Kentucky – Theodore Roosevelt
The Spanish Settle in California – Josiah Royce
An Eye-witness Describes the Boston Massacre – John Tudor
Indentured "White Slaves" in the Colonies – William Eddis
The Boston Tea Party – Thomas Hutchinson
The First Continental Congress – John Adams
Logan to Lord Dunmore – Logan
Patrick Henry's Call to Arms – William Wirt
Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill – William E. H. Lecky
Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" Speech – Patrick Henry
Washington's Appointment as Commander-in-chief – Washington Irving
Washington Appointed Commander-in-chief—His Speech of Acceptance – George Washington
The Battle of Lexington—A Contemporary Account – Salem Gazette
The Battle of Concord – The Reverend William Emerson
Farewell to Mrs. Washington – George Washington
Washington at Cambridge – George Washington
The Battle of Bunker Hill – A Leader of the Provincial Forces
Paul Revere Tells of His Midnight Ride—Deposition of 1775 – Paul Revere
The Dramatic Capture of Ticonderoga – Ethan Allen
The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence – Committee of Mecklenburg County
Washington's Capture of Boston – George Washington
The Drafting of "The Declaration of Independence" – James Parton
The Writing of The Declaration of Independence – Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson's Original Draft of The Declaration – Thomas Jefferson
Why Jefferson Was Chosen To Write The Declaration – John Adams
Franklin in France – Sir George Trevelyan
A Call For Independence – Thomas Paine
The Siege and Capture of Boston: Washington's Own Reports to the President of Congress – George Washington
The Battle of Long Island – A British Field-Officer
The Evacuation of New York – General George Clinton
The Battle of White Plains – General William Heath
Washington, Discouraged, Appeals to Congress – George Washington
The Battles of Trenton and Princeton – General George Washington
Samuel Adams on American Independence – Samuel Adams
The Battles of Trenton and Princeton – William E. H. Lecky
The Defeat of Burgoyne at Saratoga – Sir Edward Creasy
The Defeat and Surrender of Burgoyne – Frederika Charlotte Louise, Baroness von Riedesel
Lafayette Arrives in America – Marie Paul Joseph, Marquis de Lafayette
Lafayette in the American Revolution – Marie Paul Joseph, Marquis de Lafayette
Washington at Valley Forge – Doctor Albigence Waldo
Letters of Lafayette and Washington – Lafayette and Washington
France Recognizes American Independence – Benjamin Franklin
A Warning Against Conciliation – Patrick Henry
The Capture of Vincennes – George Rogers Clark
Wayne Surprises and Storms Stony Point – George Washington
The Capture of the Serapis by the Bon Homme Richard – Commodore John Paul Jones
Arnold's Treason – William E. H. Lecky
Arnold's Treason – George Washington and Nathaniel Greene
Andre, Facing Execution, Writes to Washington – John Andre
The Execution of Andre – General William Heath
The Last Days of the Revolution – James Madison
Washington's Services in the War – William E. H. Lecky
The Battle of Yorktown – General Charles Cornwallis
Washington Reports the Yorktown Surrender – George Washington
Articles of Capitulation, Yorktown – The U.S. and British Governments
Explaining the Treaty of Paris – Adams, Franklin, Jay and Laurens
The Meaning of American Democracy – Francois Jean, Marquis de Chastellux
The Cost of the War – Richard Hildreth
Washington Resigns His Commission To Congress – Rev. William Gordon, D.D.
Washington Bids His Army Farewell – George Washington
A New World Power – Thomas Pownall
Facing Bankruptcy and Mutiny – John Fiske
Mutinous Troops Threaten Congress – Elias Boudinot
The Treaty of Paris Negotiations – John Fiske
Treaty with Great Britain, 1783 – The U.S. and British Governments
The Public Land Problem – Thomas Paine
American Characteristics – Benjamin Franklin

Volume 4: The Federalist Period – 1785-1801

*Includes 32 Accounts:

England and the United States at Loggerheads – John Frederick Sackville
Our First Minister to England – John Adams
Weathering a Crisis – George Washington
Evils that Prompted Shays' Rebellion – General Benjamin Lincoln
Why the Confederation Failed to Work – James Madison
Framing The Constitution – James Madison
Benjamin Franklin on the Federal Constitution – Benjamin Franklin
The Northwest Ordinance – U.S. Congress Under the Articles of Confederation
Shall Liberty or Empire Be Sought? – Patrick Henry
For the Relief of Slaves – William Pinkney
Alexander Hamilton on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution – Alexander Hamilton
John Marshall on the Federal Constitution – John Marshall
How John Hancock Supported the Constitution – Stephen Higginson
Washington Becomes Our First President – William Maclay
How Settlements Were Planted – William Cooper
Why the West Would Not Secede – General Rufus Putnam
The Discovery of the Columbia River – Edward G. Porter
Hamilton's Estimate of Jefferson – Alexander Hamilton
Webster's Impression of Jefferson – Daniel Webster
The Invention of the Cotton Gin – Horace Greeley
Anthony Wayne Routs the Ohio Indians – Richard Hildreth
Treaty with the Six Nations – The U.S. Government and the Iroquois
Washington's Farewell Address – George Washington
Fisher Ames on the Treaty with Great Britain – Fisher Ames
The X Y Z Correspondence – Commissioners Pinckney, Marshall and Gerry
Washington as a Host at Mount Vernon – John Bernard
The Death of Washington – John Marshall
Funeral Oration on Washington – Major General Henry Lee
Jefferson's Estimate of Washington – Thomas Jefferson
Washington City in its Infancy – Abigail Adams
How Jefferson Was Elected – Senator Charles Pinckney
Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address – Thomas Jefferson

Volume 5: Westward Expansion & The War of 1812 – 1802-1820

*Includes 52 Accounts:

The Importance of Louisiana to the States – Thomas Jefferson
How Napoleon Persisted in Selling Louisiana – Lucien Bonaparte
Treaty with France, 1803 – The U.S. and French Governments
Decatur Captures and Burns the "Philadelphia" – James Fenimore Cooper
Why and How Burr Killed Hamilton – Alexander Hamilton
The Lewis and Clark Expedition – Reuben Gold Thwaites
Eliphalet Nott on the Death of Hamilton – Eliphalet Nott
Crossing the Great Divide – Meriwether Lewis
The "Bird-Woman" Who Guided Lewis and Clark – Grace Raymond Hebard
John Randolph on the Offensive War with England – John Randolph
Testimony from the Trial of Aaron Burr – Jacob Allbright
The Chesapeake Outrage – Vice-Admiral B. C. Berkeley and Commodore James Barton
Fulton Writes About His First Trip To Albany – Robert Fulton
How Jefferson's Embargo Paralyzed Trade – Josiah Quincy
Tecumseh to Governor Harrison at Vincennes – Tecumseh
American Ways of Life in 1811 – John Melish
The Battle of Tippecanoe – General William Henry Harrison
The Battle Between the Constitution and the Guerriere – Theodore Roosevelt
The Causes of the War of 1812 – James Madison
The Seeds of War – John Quincy Adams
The Surrender of Detroit – William Hull
Cass Describes Hull's Ignominy – Lewis Cass
The "Constitution" Captures the "Guerriere" – Captain Isaac Hull
How the "Guerriere" was Outfought – William Orme
The Battle Between the Chesapeake and Shannon – Theodore Roosevelt
Perry's Victory on Lake Erie – Fenimore Cooper
Why America Had To Fight – Henry Clay
Capture and Destruction of the "Java" – Commodore William Bainbridge
The Engagement of the "Chesapeake" and the "Shannon" – George Budd
Perry's Own Account of the Battle of Lake Erie – Oliver Hazard Perry
The Battle of the Thames – Henry M. Breckenridge
Jackson's Defeat of the Creek Indians – James Parton
The Burning of Washington – Richard Hildreth
The Battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane – General Winfield Scott
The Burning of Washington – "Dolly" Madison
The Battle of Lake Champlain – James Fenimore Cooper
What Inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner" – Francis Scott Key
Jackson's Defeat of the Creeks – Andrew Jackson
The Battle of New Orleans – Theodore Roosevelt
Secession Threatened in New England – James Schouler
The Battle of New Orleans – Major Arsene Lacarriere Latour
The Treaty of Ghent, Concluding the War of 1812 – The U.S. and British Governments
Discussing the Terms of Peace – John Quincy Adams
How American Success in the War Imprest Europe – Henry Adams
Our First Protective Tariff – John Randolph
The Meaning of the Monroe Doctrine – Admiral A. T. Mahan
Arrangement as to the Naval Force to Be Respectively Maintained on the American Lakes – Charles Bagot
The Building of the Erie Canal – William H. Seward
The Emancipation of South America – Henry Clay
Defining the Powers of the Federal Government – John Marshall
Opinion of Chief Justice Marshall in the Case of McCulloch vs. the State of Maryland – John Marshall
Treaty with Spain, 1819 – The U.S. and Spanish Governments

Volume 6: Developing Nation & Texas – 1820-1847

*Includes 84 Accounts:

Who Reads an American Book – Sidney Smith
The Missouri Compromise – James G. Blaine
An Apprehensive View of the Missouri Compromise – Thomas Jefferson
A Northern View of the Missouri Compromise – John Quincy Adams
A Moderate View of the Missouri Compromise – Hezikiah Niles
How a Log Cabin was Built – Unknown
The First Seminole War – James Parton
The Monroe Doctrine – James Monroe
Lafayette Revisits America – Thurlow Weed
Lafayette's Triumphal Tour in 1824 – Thomas H. Benton
The Spoils System at Work – Colonel Thomas Lorraine McKenney
Jefferson's Estimate of Patrick Henry – Daniel Webster
Pushmataha to John C. Calhoun – Pushmataha
The Erie Canal Celebration and Other Canals – James Schouler
Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration – Samuel Goodrich
The Panama Mission – James Schouler
The Issue in the Revolution – Everett
Webster's First Bunker Hill Monument Oration – Daniel Webster
The Duel Between Clay and John Randolph of Roanoke – Thomas H. Benton
Death of Adams and Jefferson on the Same Day – Thomas H. Benton
Jackson's First Election as President – James Parton
Nullification and its Overthrow – Theodore Roosevelt
The Turbulent Presidential Election of 1828 – Thomas H. Benton
The First American Locomotive – John Hazlehurst Boneval Latrobe
The Jackson-Calhoun Break – Jackson and Calhoun
Pioneering Against Slavery – William Lloyd Garrison
The Northwest Ordinance – Nathan Dane
The Foote Resolution – Hayne
Webster's Reply to Hayne – Daniel Webster
The Rupture Between Jackson and Calhoun – Thomas H. Benton
The Webster-Hayne Debate – James Schouler
How the Federal Union Worked to the Injury of the South – Thomas H. Benton
Garrison and His Liberator – Goldwin Smith
Three Northern Views of the Abolitionists – James G. Blaine
Calhoun's Views of Slavery, His Character, and His Personality – John S. Jenkins
The Black Hawk War – Reuben Gold Thwaites
The Overthrow of the United States Bank – Theodore Roosevelt
The Discovery of the Source of the Mississippi as in Lake Itasca – Henry R. Schoolcraft
Beyond the Mississippi Eighty Years Ago – Washington Irving
An Argument Upholding Slavery – Thomas Roderic Dew
Improving Transportation – Frances Anne Kemble
Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States – Alexander Hamilton
The Black Hawk War – Black Hawk
Why the United States Bank Was Closed – Andrew Jackson
Slave-Breaking in the South – Frederick Douglass
The First Anti-Slavery Convention – John G. Whittier
A State's Right to Leave the Union – John C. Calhoun
Chicago as a Growing Village – Patrick Shirreff
Jacksons' Farewell Address – Andrew Jackson
Principles of Executive Government – Andrew Jackson
Clays' Attack on Jackson – Henry Clay
Transmitting Anti-Slavery Mail – Amos Kendall
The Last Seminole War – Thomas H. Benton
The Death of Lafayette – Sargent S. Prentiss
The Mobbing of Garrison in the Streets of Boston – William Lloyd Garrison
How Texas Became Independent – Theodore Roosevelt
Houston's Seizure of Texas – Horace Greeley
The Battle of San Jacinto – Cyrus Townsend Brady
The Fall of the Alamo – Captain R. M. Potter
The Crushing of the Creeks – William Schley
The Battle of San Jacinto – General Sam Houston
The Panic of 1837 – Edward M. Shepard
The Annexation of Texas – James Schouler
Why the Annexation of Texas was Opposed – William Ellery Channing, D. D.
Abolition Incites the Murder of Lovejoy – Horace Greeley
Effects of the Panic of 1837 – Captain Frederick Marryat
The Murder of Lovejoy – Wendell Phillips
The Expunging Resolution – Benton
The American Scholar – Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Expunging Resolution – Calhoun
The "Log-Cabin and Hard Cider" Campaign – Horace Greeley
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty Forecasts the Fate of Texas – Unknown
Dickens Visits America – Charles Dickens
Treaty with Great Britain, 1842 – The U.S. and British Governments
Dorr's Rebellion in Rhode Island – C. C. Jewett
Emigration Into Oregon – Thomas H. Benton
The Invention of the Telegraph – Samuel F. B. Morse
Morse's First Telegraph Line – Alonzo B. Cornell
Howe's Invention of the Sewing Machine – Appleton's Annual Encyclopedia
War with Mexico Declared – James G. Blaine
How Texas Was Annexed – Thomas H. Benton
The Mormon Exodus to Utah – Brigham H. Roberts
The Mormon Migration to Utah – William A. Linn
Dr. Morton's Introduction of Anesthetic Ether – Encyclopedia Britannica

Volume 7: Mexican War & Slavery – 1846-1860

*Includes 58 Accounts:

War Clouds Over Oregon – Thomas H. Benton
The Acquisition of California, Fremont's Successful Invasion – Thomas H. Benton
The American Alcalde at Monterey – Walter Colton
Reasons for the War with Mexico – James K. Polk
The Northwest Fur Trade – Captain William Sturgis
Wilmot Defends His Proviso – David Wilmot
A Contemporary Senatorial Opponent of the War – Thomas Corwin
The Capture of Chapultepec and Mexico City – General Winfield Scott
Grant in Mexico – Ulysses Simpson Grant
Why the Whole of Mexico was not Annexed – James K. Polk
Peter Wilson on the Empire State – Peter Wilson
The Discovery of Gold in California – Walter Colton
Treaty with Mexico, 1848 – The U.S. and Mexican Governments
The Discovery of Gold in California – John S. Hittell
The Seneca Falls Woman's Rights Convention – Official report printed by John Dick
The Clay Compromise – Henry Clay
The Clay Compromise – Carl Schurz
Webster's Seventh of March Speech – James G. Blaine
Jenny Lind's Arrival and First Concert in New York – New York Tribune
Threat of Civil War – Daniel Webster
The Underground Railroad – Levi Coffin
Fugitive Slave Act – U.S. Congress
The Clay Compromise – Daniel Webster
The South and the Public Domain – Alexander H. Stephens
The Clay Compromise Measures – Calhoun
Bryants' Welcome to Kossuth – Bryant
Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" Speech – Frances Gage
The Opening of the Crystal Palace in New York – New York Times
Eulogy of Webster – Rufus Choate
Vicissitudes of A Forty-Niner – Alonzo Delano
The First Treaty with Japan – M. C. Perry
Defense of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill – Stephen A. Douglas
Civil War in Kansas – George Cary Eggleston
The Rise of the Republican Party – George Washington Julian
Commodore Perry Negotiates a Treaty with Japan – Reports and Correspondence Published by Order of Congress
Civil War in Kansas – Thomas H. Gladstone
The Crime Against Kansas – Sumner
Preston Brooks in Defense of His Attack on Sumner – Preston S. Brooks
Dred Scott Decision, 1857 – Roger Brooke Taney
The First Railroad to the Mississippi – William Prescott Smith
The First Atlantic Cable Laid, But is a Failure – Henry M. Field
Sewards' "Irrepressible Conflict Speech", 1858 – Seward
Lincoln on the First Debate with Douglas, 1858 – Abraham Lincoln
Stephen Douglas in the First Debate with Lincoln, 1858 – Stephen Douglas
The Death and Burial of Washington Irving – Edmund Clarence Stedman
John Brown at Harper's Ferry – Horace Greeley
The Capture of John Brown – Robert E. Lee
Brown's Trial and Execution – Horace Greeley
John Brown's Last Speech and Letters – John Brown
John Brown's Speech to the Court at His Trial – John Brown
The Death of John Brown – Garrison
The Arrival of the Great Eastern in New York Harbor – New York Herald
The Visit of the Prince of Wales King Edward VII – New York Herald
Lincoln's "A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand" Speech, 1860 – Abraham Lincoln
How Lincoln Was Nominated – Murat Halstead
Threats of Secession – R. B. Rhett
Lincoln Making His Cabinet – Thurlow Weed
Yancy's Speech of Protest in the Charleston Convention – Yancy

Volume 8: The Civil War – 1861-1865

*Includes 65 Accounts:

Lincoln and Reconstruction – General John B. Gordon
Edward Baker's Reply to Breckenridge – Edward D. Baker
Lincoln's Inauguration – William H. Herndon
Secession as a Constitutional Right – Robert Toombs
Beauregard Reports the Fall of Fort Sumter – G. T. Beauregard
Grant Asks for a Commission in the Army – Ulysses S. Grant
The First Battle of Bull Run – Alexander H. Stephens and General Joseph E. Johnston
Bull Run as Seen Through Critical English Eyes – William Howard Russell
The Trent Affair – John Bigelow
Jefferson Davis' Farewell Address to the Senate – Jefferson Davis
Inaugural Address of Jefferson Davis – Jefferson Davis
Toombs on Resigning from the Senate – Toombs
Lincoln's Farewell Words in Springfield – Abraham Lincoln
The Siege and Capture of Fort Sumter – John Gray Foster
Lincoln and His Cabinet – Charles A. Dana
The Capture of Fort Donelson – Chicago Tribune
The Monitor and the Merrimac in Action – Charles Martin
The Battle of Shiloh – Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss
The Capture of New Orleans – David G. Farragut
The Peninsular Campaign – George B. McClellan
The Second Battle of Bull Run – Thomas Jonathan Jackson
Antietam – George B. McClellan
How the Emancipation Proclamation was Drafted – Francis C. Carpenter
Hooker Placed in Command of the Army of the Potomac – Abraham Lincoln
The Battle of Chancellorsville – Robert E. Lee
The Death of Stonewall Jackson – Mary Anna Jackson
Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg – La Salle Corbell Pickett
The Siege of Vicksburg – Ulysses S. Grant
The Battle of Chickamauga – George H. Thomas
Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge – George H. Thomas
The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 – Abraham Lincoln
The Battle of Gettysburg – Frank Aretas Haskell
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 1863 – Abraham Lincoln
Proclamation of Amnesty – Abraham Lincoln
Lee and Grant in the Wilderness – Charles Anderson Dana
The Sinking of the "Alabama" – Captain Raphael Semmes
Sheridan's Ride from Winchester – Philip Henry Sheridan
Sherman's March to the Sea – General Sherman
Farragut in Mobile Bay – Admiral Farragut
Lincoln Reelected President – William H. Herndon
The Battle of Fredericksburg – Ambrose Everett Burnside
Lincoln's Letter to Mrs. Bixby, 1864 – Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865 – Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln's Last Words in Public – Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln's Presentiment on the Day of His Assassination – Charles Dickens
Assassination of Lincoln—Stanton's Official Announcement – Edwin Stanton
The Assassination of Lincoln – John George Nicolay and John Hay
The Death of Lincoln as Reported in the New York Tribune – New York Tribune
The Funeral of Lincoln – James G. Blaine
The Pursuit, Capture, Death and Burial of Booth – Ray Stannard Baker
Thomas Defeats Hood at Nashville – John Bell Hood
The Hampton Roads Conference – Alexander H. Stephens
The Evacuation and Fall of Richmond – Horace Greeley and Edward A. Pollard
The Last Stand of Lee's Army – John B. Gordon
The Surrender of Lee at Appomattox – Ulysses S. Grant
Davis's Flight from Richmond and Capture in Georgia – Jefferson Davis
The Disbanding of the Federal Army – James G. Blaine
Terms of Lee's Surrender at Appomattox – Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
Lee's Farewell to His Army, 1865 – Robert E. Lee
General Grant Reviews Post-War Conditions in the South – Ulysses S. Grant
Robert E. Lee's Attitude After the War – Robert E. Lee
General Carl Schurz's Conclusion – Carl Schurz
Beecher's Speech in Liverpool – Beecher
The Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 1866 – Edward A. Pollard
Proclamation Declaring the Insurrection at an End – Andrew Johnson

Volume 9: America Under Reconstruction – 1865-1890

*Includes 63 Accounts:

A Plea for General Amnesty – Carl Schurz
Greenley During His Campaign for President – Greenley
Woman's Rights to the Suffrage – Susan B. Anthony
Sumner and the South – Lamar
Oration at Concord – Curtis
Speech Nominating Blaine for President – Ingersoll
Ingersoll at His Brother's Grave – Ingersoll
What Think Ye of Christ? – Moody
Conklings' Speech Nominating Grant for a Third Term – Conkling
Garfields' Speech nominating Sherman for President – James A. Garfield
E. Benjamin Andrews on the Evils of Reconstruction – E. Benjamin Andrews
Laying the First Successful Atlantic Cable – Cyrus W. Field
Why the United States Wanted Alaska – Charles Sumner
Treaty with Russia, 1867 – The U.S. and Russian Governments
The Purchase of Alaska (Bancroft) – Frederic Bancroft
The Purchase of Alaska (Blaine) – James G. Blaine
Hunting Buffalo to Feed the Railroad Builders – William F. Cody
The Second Visit of Dickens – Charles Dickens
The Threatened Impeachment of Andrew Johnson – Shelby M. Cullom
The Fourteenth Amendment – Thaddeus Stevens
Ulysses S. Grant, Eighteenth President – James Ford Rhodes
The First Transcontinental Railroad – John P. Davis
Black Friday (Medbery) – J. K. Medbery
Black Friday (Andrews) – E. Benjamin Andrews
The Alabama Claims and the Geneva Arbitration – James G. Blaine
The Fifteenth Amendment – Henry Wilson
The Ku-Klux Klan – Federal Grand Jury
The Great Chicago Fire – Horace White
The Overthrow of the Tweed Ring – E. Benjamin Andrews
The Greeley Campaign – James G. Blaine
The Geneva Award in the "Alabama" Claims – The Arbitrators
Carpet-Bag Government – James Shepherd Pike
The Panic of 1873 – E. Benjamin Andrews
Cuban Intervention Proposed – Hamilton Fish
Why Reconstruction Failed – E. Benjamin Andrews, Salmon P. Chase, John Sherman
Phases of Reconstruction in South Carolina – Daniel H. Chamberlain
The Coming of the Telephone – Thomas A. Watson
The Invention of the Telephone—The Share in it of Bell and Edison – Encyclopedia Brittanica
The Celebration of the First Centenary – E. Benjamin Andrews
Centennial of the Republic – Unknown
The Hayes-Tilden Presidential Contest – Edward Stanwood
Custer's Last Stand – Judson Elliott Walker
Edison's Electric-Light Inventions – Appleton's Annual Encyclopedia
The Resumption of Specie Payments – Appleton's Annual Encyclopedia
Uncle Sam Resumes Specie Payments – John Sherman
Edison's Electric Light Invention – Frank L. Dyar and Thomas C. Martin
Reasons for Being a Republican – Ulysses S. Grant
The Assassination of Garfield – Appleton's Annual Encyclopedia
The Assassination of Garfield – Theodore Clarke Smith
Civil Service Reform Demanded – George William Curtis
North American Relations to South America – James G. Blaine
On the Death of Garfield – James G. Blaine
The Blaine-Cleveland Campaign – Harry Thurston Peck
The Death and Funeral of General Grant – James Grant Wilson
The Chicago Haymarket Riot – Harry Thurston Peck
The Old South and the New – Grady
The Interstate Commerce Commission – Aldace Freeman Walker
The Presidential Campaign of 1888 – Edward Stanwood
The Johnstown Flood – E. Benjamin Andrews
Disputing the Samoan Islands with Germany – Harry Thurston Peck
The McKinley Tariff Bill – Charles Sumner Olcott
Behring Sea Troubles with Great Britain – Blaine, Pauncefote and Salisbury
Work Done For Humanity – Miss Willard

Volume 10: A New World Power – 1890-1914

*Includes 58 Accounts

Henry Ford and the Automobile – James Rood Doolittle
The Oklahoma Rush – Contemporary Accounts
The Panic of 1893 – Alexander D. Noyes
The Parting of the Ways – Bland
The World's Colombian Exposition – E. Benjamin Andrews
In Closing the Wilson Tariff Bill Debate (Reed) – Reed
In Closing the Wilson Tariff Bill Debate (Crisp) – Crisp
The First Bryan Campaign – William Jennings Bryan
The Debs Railway Strike – Harry Thurston Peck
The Wilson Tariff Enacted – Harry Thurston Peck
On "The Crime of 1873" – Sherman
The First Bryan Campaign – Harry Thurston Peck
The Venezuela Affair – Richard Olney
In Defense of Silver – William Jennings Bryan
On Municipal and Governmental Ownership – Altgeld
McKinley in the White House – Charles S. Olcott
The Annexation of Hawaii – Sherman, Hatch, Thurton, and Kinney
The Annexation of Hawaii (Carpenter) – Edmund J. Carpenter
Treaty with Spain, 1898 – The U.S. and Spanish Governments
The Destruction of the "Maine" in Havana Harbor – Contemporary Press Account
Recognition of the Independence of Cuba – U.S. Congress
Outbreak of the War with Spain – Contemporary Account
The Battle of Manila Bay – George Dewey
The Battle of San Juan Hill – Theodore Roosevelt
The Capture of Santiago and Defeat of Cervera – Andrew S. Draper
The Discovery of Gold in Alaska – Dr. L. H. French
The "Open Door" in China, 1899 – John Hay
Ultimatum in the Negotiation of Peace – William Rufus Day
The Boxer Rebellion in China – Account of an Eye-Witness
The Capture and Occupation of Pekin – Adna R. Chaffee
The Gold-Standard Act – Lyman J. Gage
Civil Government in Cuba – Leonard Wood
Cleveland's Eulogy of McKinley – Grover Cleveland
McKinley's Last Speech – William McKinley
The Assassination of McKinley – Richard Batty
The Assassination of Mckinley – Harry Thurston Peck
The Capture of Aguinaldo – Brigadier-General Frederick Funston
Roosevelt Succeeds McKinley – Theodore Roosevelt
The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901 – The U.S. and British Governments
Subjugation of the Philippines Inquitous – Hoar
The First Airplane to Fly Successfully – Orville and Wilbur Wright
Hay's Tribute to McKinley – Hay
Convention Between the United States and the Republic of Panama – Theodore Roosevelt
The Discovery of Surgical Anesthesia – William T. G. Morton and Crawford H. Long
On American Motherhood – Theodore Roosevelt
The Earthquake and Fire in San Francisco – Henry James Forman
The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire – New York "Sun"
The Panic of 1907 – Alexander D. Noyes
The Human Side of Panama Canal Building – George W. Goethals
The Purchase of the Panama Canal – Theodore Roosevelt
The Building of the Panama Canal – Encyclopedia Britannica
Peary Discovers the North Pole – Robert E. Peary
The Rise and Growth of the Salvation Army – William H. Cox
Mrs. Eddy and Christian Science – Lewis C. Strang
The Northern Securities and Standard Oil Decisions – Alexander D. Noyes
Wilson Nominated for the Presidency – Joseph P. Tumulty
A Banking Act to End Panics – Robert L. Owen
Wilson Anticipates a Clash with Mexico – Woodrow Wilson

Volume 11: The First World War – 1914-1916

*Includes 48 Accounts:

Autograph Letter of Franz Joseph to the Kaiser – Franz Joseph
The Willy-Nicky Telegrams – Exchanged Between the Kaiser and the Czar and Others
German Dispatches and the Kaiser's Notes – William II
The Grand Fleet Goes to Sea – Winston Churchill
The Kaiser's Version – William II of Germany
German Admission of Responsibility – Prince Lichnowsky
Delivery of the German Ultimatum to Belgium – Alfred de Bassompierre
The German Ultimatum and the Belgian Reply – The German and Belgian Governments
The Cruise and Destruction of the "Emden" – Hellmuth von Mucke
The "Scrap of Paper" – Sir Edward Goschen
A German Defense of Belgium – William Muehlon
Clemenceau Calls France to Arms – Georges Benjamin Eugene Clemenceau
England on the Brink of War – Sir Edward Grey
King Albert Goes to Parliament – Brand Whitlock
King Albert's Speech to Parliament – King Albert
The Fall of Liege – General Leman
Japan Joins the Allies – The Japanese Government
The Germans Enter Brussels – Richard Harding Davis
Mons—The First British Battle – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Burning of Louvain – Richard Harding Davis
Sea Fighting Off Heligoland – Sir David Beatty
From the Frontiers to the Marne – Joseph Joffre
The Abandonment of Paris – Official Proclamations
How the "Taxicab Army" Saved Paris – General Clergerie
Where Von Kluck Failed – Louis Madelin
General Joffre's Proclamation to Maunoury's Army – General Clergerie
The Marne – Louis Madelin
Trench Warfare Begins on the Aisne – Edward D. Swinton
The First Submarine Blow is Struck – Otto Weddigen
Antwerp Capitulates – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The First Battle of Ypres – John Buchan
The Sea Fight Off Coronel, Chile – Graf von Spee
The Battle of the Falklands – F. C. Sturdee
Roosevelt Anxiously Warns England – Theodore Roosevelt
The Battle of Dogger Bank – Described by two British Man-of-War's Men and a German Survivor
"Strict Accountability" – Woodrow Wilson
The Capture of Przemysl – Bernard Pares
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle – Count Charles de Souza
The "Lusitania" Sinking – Accounts by an American Survivor and the German U-Boat Commander
Russians Hurled Back on the Dunajec – Bernard Pares
Italy Joins the Allies – Antonio Salandra
President Wilson Protests to Germany – Woodrow Wilson
Britain Fails at Gallipoli – Lord Kitchener
The Execution of Edith Cavell – Rev. H. Stirling Gahan
War with Mexico is Threatened – Robert Lansing
"They Shall Not Pass" at Verdun – Lord Northcliffe
American Intervention Proposed in 1916 – Sir Edward Grey
The Battle of Jutland – Sir David Beatty

Volume 12: America War and Peace – 1916-1925

*Includes 43 Accounts:

The Zimmermann Telegram, 1917 – From the German Foreign Secretary to the German Minister in Mexico
America Declares War on Germany, 1917 – Woodrow Wilson
Text of the Declaration of War – Joint Resolution Passed by the United States Senate and House of Representatives
Britain Welcomes America into the War – David Lloyd George
Compulsory Military Service – Woodrow Wilson
Conscription is Approved – Samuel Gompers
Moving Our Troops Overseas – Albert Gleaves
"On the Brink of the Precipice" – Walter H. Page
America Mobilizes – John Pershing
The American's Creed – Accepted by House of Representatives, April 3, 1918
President Wilson's "Fourteen Points", 1918 – Woodrow Wilson
The "Big Berthas" Bombard Paris – Contemporary Press Report and That of General Rohne
Foch Given the Supreme Command – John J. Pershing
Britain's Back to the Wall – Sir Douglas Haig
The Liberty Loan Army – Guy Emerson
American Troops Take Cantigny – John J. Pershing
The Loss of the "President Lincoln" – G. C. Whimsett
Airplane Duels – Edward Vernon (Eddie) Rickenbacker
Holding the Germans at Chateau-Thierry – British Press Report and a French Tribute
The Last German Attack is Halted – John J. Pershing
Foch Launches His Great Counterattack – Shipley Thomas
The First American Army in Attack – John J. Pershing
Breaking the Hindenburg Line – United States Government Statement
A Close-Up of the Great Argonne Battle – Robert Lee Bullard
The Last A.E.F. Drive to Sedan – Sir Frederick Maurice
The War in the Air – Shipley Thomas
How the Armistice was Negotiated and Signed – Marshals von Hindenburg and Foch, and Eye-Witnesses
The Kaiser Abdicates and Apologizes in Exile – William II, of Germany
The Terms of the Armistice – Official Text Translation
The Allies in the Rhineland – Gregory Mason
President Wilson Acclaims the Armistice – Woodrow Wilson
Wrecking the German Navy Under the Armistice – Charles G. Gill
Clemenceau Accepts the Presidency of the Peace Conference – Georges Clemenceau
Signing the Treaty of Versailles – Harry Hansen
The Treaty Reservations Which Failed – U.S. Congress
The Knox Peace Resolution – U.S. Congress
President Wilson's Veto of the Knox Resolution – Woodrow Wilson
The Washington Conference on the Limitation of Armament – Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge, Thirtieth President of the United States – New York Times
"Back to Normalcy" with President Harding – Charles E. Hughes
The First World Flight – Lowell H. Smith
The Dawes Plan to Collect from Germany – A Contemporary Analysis from "Current Opinion"
The Peace Treaty at Locarno – Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Italy

Volume 13: America in Isolation – 1925-1932

*Includes 33 Complete Accounts:

Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925) – Children Cannot Be Compelled to Receive Public School Education
Gitlow v. People, 268 U.S. 652 (1923) – Freedom of speech and of the press is not an absolute right to speak or publish without responsibility whatever one may choose or an immunity for every possible use of language.
Democratic Party Platform, 1924 – The Party of the recently deceased Woodrow Wilson seeks to regain a place in the White House. The presidential candidate was John W. Davis.
Republican Party Platform, 1924 – When Harding died in office in 1923, the Republican Party sought to return Coolidge, his constitutional successor, to office.
LaFollette's Platform, 1924 – LaFollette's Progressive Party platform resulted in Federal Legislation for farm aid, protection of labor rights, and regulation of railroads.
Conference for Progressive Political Action Platform, 1924 – "Government is deemed best which offers to the many the highest level of average happiness and well being."
Prohibition Platform, 1924 – Although the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment was still nine years away, widespread corruption and crime induced some to pay full attention to the enforcement of Prohibition. Presidential candidate for the party was Herman P. Faris.
Socialist Labor Platform, 1924 – Sixteenth national convention summary of the Socialist Labor Party of America under presidential candidate Frank T. Johns.
Worker's Party Platform, 1924 – The platform for the Communist Party of the United States under presidential candidate William Z. Foster.
Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52 (1925) – The President's power to dismiss a person from the Executive Branch is not subject to the "advice and consent of the Senate" rule which applies to appointments.
Tyson & Bro. v. Banton, 273 U.S. 418 (1927) – The right of an owner to set the price for sale or use of property is an inherent attribute of the property itself, and, as such, within the protection of the Due Process of Law clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Nixon v. Herndon, 273 U.S. 536 (1927) – A Texas state statute barring African-Americans from participation in Democratic party primary elections for the nomination of candidates for Congress, state and other offices, violates the Fourteenth Amendment.
Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927) – A Virginia statute that provided for the sexual sterilization of inmates of institutions supported by the State found to be afflicted with an hereditary form of insanity or imbecility, is held to be within the power of the State under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) – Under the California Criminal Syndicalism Act, the conviction of a founder of the Communist Labor Party could be reviewed for its federal implications. The constitutionality of the statute was affirmed.
Fiske v. Kansas, 274 U.S. 380 (1927) – Application of a "criminal syndication" act to a particular instance where a person's membership in an organization was used as evidence to convict him. The Court held that conviction on mere membership violated "due process" and, therefore, the rights of an individual.
Marron v. United States, 275 U.S. 192 (1927) – Allows an officer executing a warrant to use reasonable discretion to seize materials not specifically described in the warrant but related to the investigation.
Republican Party Platform (1928) – Herbert Hoover endorsed this in his successful bid for the presidency.
Democratic Party Platform (1928) – The platform pledged enforcement of the eighteenth amendment despite presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith's personal opposition to prohibition and the Volstead Act.
Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928) – Legally obtained evidence through telephone wiretapping does not constitute a violation of the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.
Herbert Hoover Inaugural Address (1929) – Calls for expansion of the criminal justice system to handle increased demands placed upon it by enforcement of the eighteenth amendment. Hoover predicts a profitable future for the country.
Hoover's Message to the National Federation of Men's Bible Classes, May 5, 1929 – This includes Hoover's statement affirming that, "As a nation we are indebted to the Book of Books for our national ideals and representative institutions. Their preservation rests in adhering to its principles."
Ex parte Bakelite Corp., 279 U.S. 438 (1929) – The decision set distinctions between Constitutional and Legislative Courts and explained the authority of each.
Pocket Veto Case, 279 U.S. 655 (1929) – The Court established the importance of the presidential veto and also struck the limitations imposed upon the President by Congress regarding time limits to exercise a veto
Patton v. United States, 281 U.S. 276 (1930) – The right to trial by jury as guaranteed in the Sixth Amendment may be waived by an accused person if they choose.
Hoover's Veto of the Muscle Shoals Resolution – The veto of the 1931 Muscle Shoals Act set the stage for the 1933 Act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority with widely extended powers far beyond that conceived in the original bill.
Go-Bart Importing Co. v. United States, 282 U.S. 344 (1931) – Despite the presence of a valid arrest warrant the Fourteenth Amendment can still be liberally applied to protect unreasonable searches and seizures.
Stromberg v. California, 283 U.S. 359 (1931) – Reversed a lower Court decision which prohibited the display of a red flag as a sign or symbol against organized government, finding the conception of "liberty" under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment embraces the right of free speech.
Phillips v. Commissioner, 283 U.S. 589 (1931) – The Court holds that stockholders of a dissolved corporation, whose assets were distributed, can be held liable for unpaid federal taxes the corporation owed prior to the dissolution.
Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697 (1931) – The Court upheld the right to publish material that is objectionable and libelous without censorship or prior restraint, however established and secured the right to prosecute for publication of such material.
Hoover's Statement about the Bonus Marchers, July 29, 1932 – Statement against the "Bonus Army" and the violence from attempting to expel them from their camps in Washington, D.C.
Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (1932) – The Court held that sales of illegal narcotics to the same person a short time apart, can be treated as two separate offenses.
Crowell v. Benson, 285 U.S. 22 (1932) – The decision clarified maritime law and the ability of Congress to establish rules to govern those laws through a case involving claims against the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.
New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262 (1932) – The Court upheld the right of private business to conduct enterprise without having to prove the necessity of the business to the government. Any infringement by the government is "repugnant to the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."

Volume 14: The New Deal – 1932-1941

*Includes 40 Complete Accounts:

Democratic Platform of 1932. June 30, 1932 – The foreshadowing of presidential candidate FDR's "New Deal" plan for economic recovery from the great depression. The statement calls for a series of reforms including the repeal of the Volstead Act.
Republican Platform of 1932 – The Republican solutions to the severe economic conditions under incumbent presidential candidate Herbert Hoover.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933 – FDR begins to outline his reforms for his first hundred days.
Recognition of Soviet Russia, November 16, 1933 – Reversal of a long-held position of non-recognition of Soviet Russia following the Bolshevik overthrow nearly fifteen years earlier.
Home Building & Loan Assn. v. Blaisdell, 290 U.S. 398 (1934) – Citing the Constitution's contracts clause, this decision affirmed the ability of legislation to clarify unenumerated areas of the Constitution without extending or lessening its controls.
Nebbia v. New York, 291 U.S. 502 (1934) – In a dispute over setting milk prices, the Court laid down the doctrine that there is no closed category of "businesses affected with a public interest," but that the State by virtue of its police power may regulate prices whenever it is "reasonably necessary" to do so for the public interest.
Roosevelt's Veto of the Soldiers' Bonus Bill, May 22, 1935 – The President's veto of special compensation to World War I veterans
Humphrey's Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935) – The President has practically unrestricted power of removal of a person from an appointed office, but Congress may qualify this power in the case of agencies whose powers are derived from Congress.
United States v. Butler, 297 U.S. 1 (1936) – The Court overturned the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) because it required farmers to sign contracts agreeing to limit production in order to receive certain payments under the act, which "coerced" the farmers into limiting production. In this case, limiting production was a matter reserved for the States and not the Federal government to decide.
Grosjean v. American Press Co., Inc., 297 U.S. 233 (1936) – The decision protected newspapers from certain taxes aimed at limiting their circulation and held that "a corporation is a "person" within the meaning of the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment."
Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 297 U.S. 288 (1936) – Hydroelectric power produced through the Wilson Dam under the Tennessee Valley Authority is the property of the United States Government to dispose of as it sees fit.
Republican Platform, June 11, 1936 – Republican charter for the future under candidate Alfred M. Landon.
Democratic Platform, June 25, 1936 – FDR's plans for a second term using the phrase "We hold this truth to be self-evident."
Carter v. Carter Coal Co., 298 U.S. 238 (1936) – The decision invalidated the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935 holding that it delegated legislative power to private citizens in regulating the coal industry and limited federal jurisdiction in intrastate commerce.
United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp., 299 U.S. 304 (1936) – The Court upheld the President's power to oversee foreign policy. It involved an arms embargo affecting a U.S. company and its involvement in supplying arms to both sides of the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay.
NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., 301 U.S. 1 (1937) – The decision upheld the National Labor Relations Act and the concept of a "stream of commerce." It allowed expanded Congressional control of interstate commerce.
Steward Mach. Co. v. Collector, 301 U.S. 548 (1937) – The Court upheld the constitutionality of the Social Security Administration and its system of insurance and old-age pension benefits created in 1935.
DeJonge v. Oregon, 299 U.S. 353 (1937) – The decision declared the Criminal Syndicalism Law of Oregon unconstitutional, stressing that "The rights of free speech and peaceable assembly are fundamental rights which are safeguarded against state interference by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."
Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Haworth, 300 U.S. 227 (1937) – The decision involved defining the jurisdiction and causes of "controversies" in insurance cases.
West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, 300 U.S. 379 (1937) – The Court allowed Washington state to enact legislation providing for minimum-wage laws for women.
Virginian Railway Co. v. Railway Employees, 300 U.S. 515 (1937) – The Court ruled Congress can control railroad workers' ability to organize labor unions.
Herndon v. Lowry, 301 U.S. 242 (1937) – The Court upheld the power of a state to control freedom of speech with the warning, "The power of a State to abridge freedom of speech and of assembly is the exception, rather than the rule."
Helvering v. Davis, 301 U.S. 619 (1937) – The Court held that, "The concept of 'general welfare' is not static, but adapts itself to the crises and necessities of the times. The problem of security for the aged, like the general problem of unemployment, is national, as well as local."
Roosevelt's Press Conference, February 5, 1937 – Proposal to Reform Judiciary
Roosevelt's "Fireside Chat," March 9, 1937 – Reform of the Judiciary "Fireside Chat." Roosevelt begins to detail his proposal to increase the number of Supreme Court Justices in part to lessen the Court's ability to block New Deal reforms.
United States v. Carolene Products Co., 304 U.S. 144 (1938) – The Court assists in defining the boundaries of control the government can exert in interstate commerce.
Roosevelt's "Hands Off the Western Hemisphere," April 14, 1939 – Speech to promote unity in North and South America during the early days of war in Europe.
Roosevelt's Address to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, April 14, 1939 – FDR's effort to avoid escalation of events that will lead to global conflict, while reaffirming U.S. strength, resolve and readiness.
Einstein's Atomic Bomb Proposal, 1939 – Letter to President Roosevelt recommending the U.S. begin an atomic weapons research program.
Roosevelt's Message to Congress Regarding the Hatch Act, August 2, 1939 – Clarifications and affirmations regarding the act which limits civil servants' ability to use their office to promote political causes.
Chambers v. Florida, 309 U.S. 227 (1940) – The Court, relying on interpretations of the du process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment further clarifies rights of the accused and the accusers in improperly obtained confessions.
United States v. Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc., 310 U.S. 150 (1940) – The decision affirmed the powers of Congress to protect the American people from monopolies and price fixing.
Roosevelt Address at University of Virginia, June 10, 1940 – "Again today the young men and the young women of America ask themselves with earnestness and with deep concern this same question: "What is to become of the country we know?"
Minersville Sch. Dist. v. Board of Educ., 310 U.S. 586 (1940) – A decision involving Lillian Gobitis, a Jehovah's Witness, affirmed the state's ability to enact and enforce legislation that makes reciting the pledge of allegiance mandatory. This decision was reversed in 1943 in the case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette.
Democratic Platform of 1940 – FDR's third term plan for American security and solvency on the eve of war.
Republican Platform of 1940 – Republican plans under presidential challenger Wendell L. Wilkie.
Roosevelt's Statement on a Joint Board of Defense of Canada and the United States, August 18, 1940 – Creation of a board to oversee defense of North America.
Roosevelt's Press Conference Announcing Exchange of Destroyers for Air and Naval Bases, September 3, 1940 – Beginnings of agreements for U.S. use of British airfields in the Caribbean.
Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" Speech, January 6, 1941 – FDR's famous inaugural address stating his domestic objectives for his third term and his vision of freedoms for the world.
Roosevelt's Statement on the Atlantic Charter Meeting with Prime Minister Churchill, August 14, 1941 – U.S. and Great Britain detail their alliance in light of Axis Power aggression.

Volume 15: War & Cold War – 1941-1959

*Includes 69 Complete Accounts:

Roosevelt's Address to Congress Requesting Declaration of War with Japan, December 8, 1941 – "…A date which will live in infamy" Speech following the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor.
Roosevelt's Message to Congress Requesting War Declarations with Germany and Italy, December 11, 1941 – The U.S. response to Germany and Italy.
United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100 (1941) – The Court upheld the Fair Labor Standards Act and ruled that Congress can legislate on any aspect of intrastate commerce holding that there was no area exclusively reserved for state regulation.
United States v. Classic, 313 U.S. 299 (1941) – The decision reversed Newberry v. U.S. ruling that the federal government could regulate state political primaries for congressional and presidential candidates.
Edwards v. California, 314 U.S. 160 (1941) – The Court ruled that laws restricting migration by "Okies" from the "dust bowl" to California obstructed interstate commerce and were not constitutional.
Roosevelt's Statement on Temporary Political Arrangements in North Africa, November 17, 1942 – FDR clarifies Allied relations with Vichy France in North Africa, affirming that decisions on the future government of France will be left to the French people.
Roosevelt's Remarks on Casablanca Conference in Address to White House Correspondents, February 2, 1943 – Details of the President's trip to North Africa with his reports on the Vichy resistance, the U.S. troops, Prime Minister Churchill and the war effort in general.
Hirabayashi v. United States, 320 U.S. 81 (1943) – The Court ruled for national security reasons, that a law allowing for a curfew on persons with Japanese background was constitutional.
West Virginia State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) – Reversal of the Minersville School Dist. v. Board of Education case ruling that forcing a person to recite the pledge of allegiance is a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Roosevelt's Economic Bill of Rights, State of the Union Address, January 11, 1944 – FDR's fourth-term report highlighting the gains in the war as well as the domestic state of affairs and the focus of economic policy at home.
Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944) – Reversal of Grovey v. Townsend ruling that forbidding blacks from voting in primary elections violates the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944) – Landmark case upholding the constitutionality of the relocation of Japanese-Americans from the west coast during World War II. Justice Murphy's dissenting opinion was an influence on future Court decisions in civil rights matters.
Democratic Platform of 1944 – Democratic outline of the successes of FDR's war leadership in national affairs and with the allied forces.
Republican Platform of 1944 – The Republican plan proposed during the candidacy of Thomas E. Dewey.
Yalta Conference, Joint Statement, February 11, 1945 – FDR, Churchill and Stalin look to the end of the war, the defeat of Germany and the plan for rebuilding war-torn Europe.
Roosevelt's Undelivered Jefferson Day Address, April 13, 1945 – FDR's prepared remarks gone undelivered due to his death on April 12, 1945.
Truman's Statement on Fundamentals of Foreign Policy, October 27, 1945 – Truman gives tribute to FDR and sets forth the rationale for a strong military for defense against aggression worldwide. It also foreshadows the creation of the United Nations and stresses the need to control the use and spread of nuclear weapons.
Associated Press v. United States, 326 U.S. 1 (1945) – Ruling finding that the bylaws and procedures that govern the closed nature of distribution of information at the Associated Press constitute a violation of the Sherman Anti-trust Act.
Truman's News Conference on the Joint Declaration on Atomic Energy, November 15, 1945 – Agreement with Great Britain and Canada concerning the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons.
United States v. Lovett, 328 U.S. 303 (1946) – The decision affirmed that legislation under the Urgent Deficiency Appropriations Act was unconstitutional because it withheld benefits from specific federal employees. The Court held it was a violation of Article I of the Constitution which forbids the enactment of any bill of attainder or ex post facto law.
Truman's Statement on Signing the Full Employment Act, February 20, 1946 – Government's effort to provide for the great increase of veterans entering the workforce and avoid many of the problems that occurred following World War I.
Truman's Address to Opening Session of United Nations, October 23, 1946 – Speech on the establishment of the international organization devoted to avoiding another war. Truman is "…resolved that the United States, to the full limit of its strength, shall contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a just and lasting peace among the nations of the world."
Truman's First Annual Report on U.S. Participation in United Nations, February 5, 1947 – The President's report to the Congress detailing the activities and actions of the first year of participation in the United Nations.
Truman's Address to Congress detailing "The Truman Doctrine," March 12, 1947 – The name given to the anti-communist principle of foreign policy precipitated by conflict between Greece and Turkey. This doctrine remained the basic tenet of American foreign policy during the Cold War.
Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947) – The Court held that allocation of services for public and Catholic schools, this narrow decision stated, "The expenditure of tax raised funds thus authorized was for a public purpose, and did not violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."
Truman's Statement to Congress on Civil Rights, February 2, 1948 – Urging the creation of a permanent Commission on Civil Rights and advocating home-rule and presidential suffrage for the District of Columbia.
Recognition of Provisional State of Israel, May 14, 1948 – Simple recognition of the newly-created, provisional State of Israel.
Republican Party Platform, 1948 – The Republicans second attempt with presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey.
Democratic Party Platform, 1948 – The winning platform in Truman's first presidential election. The narrow election victory resulted in the now famous Dewey Defeats Truman headline.
Truman Address in Milwaukee, October 14, 1948 – Use of Atomic Energy: "The President cannot…pass the buck."
United Nations Universal Declaration of Rights, December 10, 1948 – On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948) – In a case involving public and religious education, the Court held that the "wall of separation" still stands and that separation of church and state is important to maintain in public education.
Harry S Truman's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1949 – Truman expounds on his post-war plans which include strong warnings about the spread of communism and the need for a democracy to have a strong resolve against it..
Recognition of State of Israel, January 31, 1949 – Recognizing the elections that took place, the government formally extends full recognition to the State of Israel.
Truman's Point Four Program, June 24, 1949 – Truman offers a plan for economic expansion to less-developed countries through technical and industrial expansion to be administered through the United Nations.
Truman's Statement on the Korean War, June 27, 1950 – "The attack upon Korea makes it plain beyond all doubt that communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use armed invasion and war." American response to communist invasion in Korea and the deployment of U.S. troops.
Truman's Veto of Internal Security (McCarran) Act, September 22, 1950 – Truman's rationale for his veto of the anti-communist McCarran Act.
Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath, 341 U.S. 123 (1951) – In a narrow decision, the Court affirms the power of the government to prosecute anti-government organizations.
Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951) – The Court affirmed the Smith Act making it a crime to advocate the overthrow of the U.S. government by force.
Truman's Recall of General McArthur, April 11, 1951 – "With deep regret I have concluded that General of the Army Douglas McArthur is unable to give his wholehearted support to the policies of the United States Government and of the United Nations."
Democratic Party Platform, 1952 – First usage in a platform of the phrase "atomic era" detailing the responsibility that falls on government from that time forward.
Republican Party Platform, 1952 – A strong anti-socialist statement with Dwight D. Eisenhower as the candidate.
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952) – Seeing a steel strike as a threat to national security, the President issued an Executive Order which ordered the Secretary of Commerce to take over the striking mills and operate them. The Supreme Court struck down the order citing no Constitutional authority on the part of the President.
Truman's Veto of the McCarran-Walter Immigration Act, June 25, 1952 – An important piece of legislation that affected race-based immigration to the United States. It was later passed over the President's veto.
United States v. Rumely, 345 U.S. 41 (1953) – In reversing previous decisions, the Court affirmed the ability of an individual to refuse to answer question on lobbying activities to members of Congress.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address, 1953 – Eisenhower begins with a brief prayer and is reflective about the direction the world is going. "How far have we come in man's long pilgrimage from darkness toward the light? Are we nearing the light—a day of freedom and of peace for all mankind? Or are the shadows of another night closing in upon us?"
Eisenhower Creation of Department of Health, Education and Welfare, March 12, 1953 – Creation of the executive department to oversee the Surgeon General and the Commissioners of Education and Social Security.
Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace Address to United Nations, December 8, 1953 – Eisenhower's "I feel impelled to speak today in a language that in a sense is new—one which I, who have spent so much of my life in the military profession, would have preferred never to use. That new language is the language of atomic warfare."
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) – Landmark unanimous decision reversing Plessy V. Ferguson finding "separate but equal" schools inherently unequal and contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees.
Eisenhower Message to Congress on National Highway Program, February 22, 1955 – The President outlines the federal commitment to a safe and expanded interstate highway system.
Eisenhower's Open Skies Proposal, Geneva Conference, July 21, 1955 – In an effort to avoid surprise attack and promote disarmament and inspection, the U.S. affirms the international goal for open air access to overflights for inspection purposes.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 349 U.S. 294 (1955) – Additional rulings to clarify the process of desegregation set in motion by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.
Pennsylvania v. Nelson, 350 U.S. 497 (1956) – This decision further defined the Smith Act in controlling the prosecution of seditious behavior against the United States.
Eisenhower Veto of Amendment to Natural Gas Act, February 17, 1956 – Eisenhower vetoed the bill due to a lack of consumer price protection and disincentives to private exploration for natural gas.
Democratic Platform of 1956 – Democratic agenda under candidate Adlai E. Stevenson.
Republican Platform of 1956 – The platform for Eisenhower's second term.
Eisenhower Middle East Foreign Policy Address, February 20, 1957 – Response to the Suez Canal Crisis between Egypt, Israel, Britain and France
Yates v. United States, 354 U.S. 298 (1957) – This ruling put restrictions on the Smith Act and modified the Dennis v. U.S. decision. It more narrowly defined the "subversive acts" under which someone could be prosecuted for advocating overthrow of the government.
Eisenhower Address Regarding Situation in Little Rock, Arkansas, September 24, 1957 – "I have today issued an Executive Order directing the use of troops under Federal authority to aid in the execution of Federal law at Little Rock, Arkansas." Eisenhower's response to attempts to resist integration in Little Rock High School.
Eisenhower's News Conference on U.S. Plans for Earth Satellite, October 9, 1957 – Response to the USSR's launching of Sputnik and the beginning of the "space race."
Perez v. Brownell, 356 U.S. 44 (1958) – Affirms the ability of Congress to regulate U.S. citizenship by denying citizenship to Mr. Perez, a U.S. citizen, for voting in a foreign election.
Eisenhower Announcement to Congress of Dispatch of Troops to Lebanon, July 15, 1958 – In response to border disputes with Egypt and Syria, Lebanon asks for U.S. military to stabilize the volatile situation.
NAACP v. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449 (1958) – The unanimous decision held that an Alabama court order to force the NAACP to turn over its membership lists is a violation of the First Amendment's guarantee to free assembly and speech.
Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958) – A reaffirmation of the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka holding that any state discrimination in schools on the basis of race is contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment.
State of the Union Address, January 9, 1958 – Eisenhower's report on America in the middle of the Cold War.
Special Message to Congress on Civil Rights, February 5, 1958 – "The United States has a vital stake in striving wisely to achieve the goal of full equality under law for all people." Eisenhower extends his commitment to eliminating civil rights barriers.
Barenblatt v. United States, 360 U.S. 109 (1959) – The Court holds that congressional committees can force unwilling witnesses to answer questions regarding subversive activities against the U.S. government under penalty of law.
Eisenhower Veto of Amendment to Water Pollution Control Act, February 23, 1960 – "Because water pollution is a uniquely local blight, primary responsibility for solving the problem lies not with the Federal Government but rather must be assumed and exercised, as it has been, by State and local governments."
Eisenhower Address on Paris Summit with British, French, and Russian Leaders, May 25, 1960 – Eisenhower takes responsibility for guiding the events that resulted in the U-2 program and explains the rationale for the intelligence program to the American people.

Volume 16: Crisis in Confidence – 1960-1980

*Includes 121 Complete Accounts:

Democratic Platform of 1960 – Democratic platform under presidential candidate and Senator John F. Kennedy.
Republican Platform of 1960 – Republican plan for the future under presidential candidate and current Vice-President Richard M. Nixon.
Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S. 479 (1960) – The Court held that to compel a teacher to disclose his every associational tie is to impair his right of free association, a right closely allied to freedom of speech and protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from invasion by state action.
Eisenhower's Farewell Address, January 17, 1961 – Eisenhower's departure speech encouraging and warning the nation and coining the phrase "military-industrial complex," which has found place in our popular culture.
John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961 – Kennedy's optimistic appraisal of America and its place in the world using the famous phrase "ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."
Kennedy's Message to Congress on Education, February 20, 1961 – A speech outlining the President's commitment to educating the nation. "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education."
Kennedy's Statement on Establishing the Peace Corps, March 1, 1961 – The genesis of the organization proving "…that we have, in this country, an immense reservoir of such men and women—anxious to sacrifice their energies and time and toil to the cause of world peace and human progress."
Kennedy's Alliance for Freedom Proposal, March 13, 1961 – Kennedy's outline for a ten year program of democratic expansion in the western hemisphere.
Kennedy's Statement on Crisis in Laos, News Conference, March 23, 1961 – Concern over the Communist invasion of neutral Laos. Kennedy urges a peaceful reconciliation of the situation. "The security of all Southeast Asia will be endangered if Laos loses its neutral independence. Its own safety runs with the safety of us all."
Twenty-Third Amendment to the Constitution, March 29, 1961 – The President's thoughts on the amendment allowing residents of the District of Columbia to vote in Presidential elections.
Kennedy's Report on the Berlin Crisis, July 25, 1961 – A strong statement to affirm the will of the United States and NATO forces to maintain West Berlin as an "island of democracy" in a sea of Communism.
White House Statement on Resumption of Nuclear Testing by Soviets, August 30, 1961 – Kennedy denounces the Soviet Union despite talks in Geneva to limit nuclear testing.
Kennedy's Address to United Nations on Nuclear Disarmament, September 25, 1961 – Honoring deceased General-Secretary Hammarskjold and calling for extensive U.N. action against nuclear arsenals including test-ban treaties and destroying stockpiles.
Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago, 365 U.S. 43 (1961) – "Although motion pictures are included within the free speech and free press guaranties of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, there is no absolute freedom to exhibit publicly, at least once, every kind of motion picture."
Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339 (1960) – In a case of boundary realignment in Tuskegee, Alabama the Supreme Court ruled that "even the broad power of a State to fix the boundaries of its municipalities is limited by the Fifteenth Amendment, which forbids a State to deprive any citizen of the right to vote because of his race."
Garner v. Louisiana, 368 U.S. 157 (1961) – Reversal of a decision convicting black patrons of a diner of disturbing the peace for sitting in an area typically reserved for white customers. "The convictions were so totally devoid of evidentiary support as to violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."
Joint Message with Prime Minister Macmillan to Premiere Khrushchev, February 12, 1962 – Efforts by the President and the Prime Minister to try to include the Soviet Union in nuclear arms control talks in Geneva.
Kennedy's Address to Nation on Resumption of Nuclear Testing by U.S., March 2, 1962 – In order to protect the country from nuclear confrontation it becomes necessary to keep up in the arms race and match Soviet tests.
Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962) – Landmark case establishing voters' right to go to court to complain about improper legislative apportionment
Kennedy's Announcement of Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba, October 22, 1962 – "The 1930's taught us a clear lesson: aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged, ultimately leads to war." Kennedy responds to Soviet placement of offensive weapons in Cuba and states any action taken by Cuba will cause retaliation on the Soviet Union.
Kennedy's Proclamation 3504, October 24, 1962 – The President's order to interdict any transport of missiles and military equipment to Cuba.
Kennedy's Speech at American University, June 10, 1963 – An opportunity for the President to expound on his view of world peace and the place of the United States and nuclear weapons in the world of the future.
Kennedy's National Address on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963 – The President explains actions that resulted in the Alabama National Guard being called out to enforce desegregation at the University of Alabama.
Kennedy's Address at the Berlin Wall, June 26, 1963 – "Ich bin ein Berliner."
Kennedy Address on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, July 26, 1963 – Announcement of an agreement banning atmospheric, above ground and underwater nuclear testing.
School Dist. of Abington Tp. v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963) – A decision affirming that no state law or school board may require that passages from the Bible be read or that the Lord's Prayer be recited in the public schools of a State at the beginning of each school day.
The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, September 24, 1963 – Brief presidential response to the Senate's passage of the treaty.
Johnson Message to Congress, March 16, 1964 – "War on Poverty"
Johnson's Address to University of Michigan ("Great Society"), May 22, 1964 – Johnson details plans for taking his Great Society to the cities, the countryside, and in our classrooms.
Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964) – The Equal Protection Clause requires substantially equal legislative representation for all citizens in a State regardless of where they reside. "Legislators represent people, not areas."
Bell v. Maryland, 378 U.S. 226 (1964) – Reversal of decisions which had convicted patrons at a diner for trespass on account of their race. In the intervening time, Baltimore had changed its "public accommodation" laws which allowed for mixed race patronage.
Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 (1964) – Landmark decision holding that police interrogation without notification of the right to counsel is a violation of the Sixth Amendment.
Signing of Civil Rights Act of 1964 During National Radio and Television Broadcast – "This Civil Rights Act is a challenge to all of us to go to work in our communities and our States, in our homes and in our hearts, to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country."
Democratic Platform of 1964 – The Democratic Party plan under candidate and incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson.
Republican Platform of 1964 – Republican challenge to Johnson and the Great Society under presidential candidate Barry M. Goldwater.
The Tonkin Gulf Incident, 1964 – Report of the attack on the U.S.S. Maddox by North Vietnamese vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin resulting in U.S. military expansion in Southeast Asia.
Johnson's Address to Congress, August 5, 1964 – The President's strong statement asking for retaliatory action in Vietnam.
Joint Resolution of Congress, August 7, 1964 – A joint resolution "to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia."
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, August 20, 1964 – "Today for the first time in all the history of the human race, a great nation is able to make and is willing to make a commitment to eradicate poverty among its people."
The Warren Report, September 24, 1964 – President Johnson's formal receipt of the Warren Commission report investigating the assassination of President Kennedy.
Johnson Speech on Voting Rights, March 15, 1965 – "There is no cause for self-satisfaction in the long denial of equal rights of millions of Americans."
Johnson's Speech on Vietnam, Johns Hopkins University, April 7, 1965 – "Peace Without Conquest"
Johnson's Statement on American Intervention in the Dominican Republic, May 2, 1965 – "There are times in the affairs of nations when great principles are tested in an ordeal of conflict and danger. This is such a time for the American nations." Johnson explains sending troops to stabilize a country in revolution.
Johnson's Commencement Address, Howard University, June 4, 1965 – The reaffirmation of the national goal of racial equality and justice through executive efforts, "To Fulfill These Rights."
Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965) – The Court ruled that prohibition of the sale of birth control devises by the state is contrary to the right of personal privacy.
Social Security Amendments of 1965 (Medicare), July 30, 1965 – Extension of medical benefits to the needy under the broad brush of Social Security
United States v. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163 (1965) – Decided at the beginning of the escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, the Court helped define the parameters for "conscientious objection" to compulsory military service.
Voting Rights Act of 1965, August 6, 1965 – "Until every qualified person regardless of…the color of his skin has the right, unquestioned and unrestrained, to go in and cast his ballot in every precinct in this great land of ours, I am not going to be satisfied."
South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U.S. 301 (1966) – Affirming the Voting Rights Act as a means of protecting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment.
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966) – Landmark case extending due process requirements to require police to explain to suspects their "Miranda" rights upon arrest and failing to do this, any confession can be ruled inadmissible in court.
Johnson's Address on Answering Aggression in Vietnam, September 29, 1967 – Johnson attempts to answer his own question. "Why should three Presidents and the elected representatives of our people have chosen to defend this Asian nation more than 10,000 miles from American shores?"
Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967) – A reversal of Perez v. Brownell redefining Congressional powers stating that Congress cannot take U.S. citizenship away from a person for voting in a foreign election.
Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409 (1968) – The Court held that the Civil Rights Act covered discrimination on the basis of race in renting or selling homes to private individuals claiming authority under the Thirteenth Amendment in eliminating as many of the "badges of slavery" as possible.
Johnson's Address on a New Step Toward Peace, March 31, 1968 – After the Tet Offensive, Johnson invites the leaders of North and South Vietnam to negotiate a settlement of the conflict and closes with the words, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."
Civil Rights Act of 1968, April 11, 1968 – "In the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we affirmed through law that men equal under God are also equal when they seek a job, when they go to get a meal in a restaurant, or when they seek lodging for the night in any State in the Union."
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Street Act, June 19, 1968 – Johnson's large-scale appropriation for sweeping programs battling urban crime.
Democratic Platform of 1968 – The Democratic Party plan with Hubert Humphrey as presidential candidate following Johnson's announcement he will not seek another term as President.
Republican Platform of 1968 – Republican plans under presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon.
Johnson Economic Report, January 16, 1969 – Johnson recounts the achievements of the Great Society and his proposals to expand economic prosperity during the escalation of the Vietnam War.
Nixon Inaugural Address, January 20, 1969 – "I ask you to share with me today the majesty of this moment. In the orderly transfer of power, we celebrate the unity that keeps us free."
Nixon's Statement on the Antiballistic Missile Defense System, March 14, 1969 – Expansion and modification of existing missile plans in order to avoid surprise Communist attack and provide proper deterrent effect.
Nixon's Address on Vietnamizing the War, November 3, 1969 – Nixon initiates the process of turning the bulk of the responsibility for fighting the war back to the South Vietnamese.
Nixon's Statement on Chemical and Biological Weapons, November 25, 1969 – Nixon declares a moratorium on the use and production of biological weapons as well as beginning the process of eliminating existing stockpiles.
Nixon's Statement on the Invasion of Cambodia, April 30, 1970 – "In cooperation with the armed forces of South Vietnam, attacks are being launched this week to clean out major enemy sanctuaries on the Cambodian-Vietnam border."
Nixon's Message to the Senate on the Geneva Protocol, August 19, 1970 – Nixon forwards the 1925 Protocol for formal ratification even though the country has been following it since it was issued.
Statement About the Report of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, October 24, 1970 – "So long as I am in the White House, there will be no relaxation of the national effort to control and eliminate smut from our national life."
The SALT Negotiations: ABM Limitations Agreement, May 20, 1971 – Announcement of U.S. Soviet agreements on reduction of anti-ballistic missiles following years of negotiations.
Nixon's Announcement on China, July 15, 1971 – Nixon announces acceptance of the invitation to go to China to improve U.S. Chinese relations.
Nixon's Report on the Economy, August 15, 1971 – Entitled "The Challenge of Peace," the President lays out plans for the U.S. economy as the country extracts itself from Vietnam.
Gillette v. United States, 401 U.S. 437 (1971) – Narrowing the definition of "conscientious objector" status as a person religiously opposed to all war and not just wars of their choosing. The ruling upheld Selective Service laws.
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Educ., 402 U.S. 1 (1971) – In an effort to further end segregation, the Court upholds the use of busing students to other schools in order to meet racial quotas.
New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971) – The Court rendered a decision affirming the U.S. did not present compelling evidence to meet the standard for prior restraint against the New York Times and the Washington Post in publishing certain classified materials known as the "Pentagon Papers."
Joint Chinese-United States Communiqué Issued at Shanghai, February 27, 1972 – Statement following meetings between President Nixon and Chairman Mao Tse-tung.
Nixon's Response to North Vietnam's Spring Offensive, May 8, 1972 – With 60,000 Americans still threatened by increased North Vietnamese attacks, Nixon calls for Hanoi to come back and negotiate a cease-fire or additional bombing and mining of harbors will result.
Johnson v. Louisiana, 406 U.S. 356 (1972) – In a case of a conviction for various robberies the Court upheld a sentencing ruling that allowed for nine of twelve jurors to be sufficient number to agree to sentence to hard labor declaring it not a violation of due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Joint Communiqué Following Discussions With Soviet Leaders. May 29, 1972 – Strategic Arms Limitations Agreements, May 29, 1972
Nixon Address to Congress on the Moscow Summit, June 1, 1972 – "The foundation has been laid for a new relationship between the two most powerful nations in the world. Now it is up to us—to all of us here in this Chamber, to all of us across America—to join with other nations in building a new house upon that foundation, one that can be a home for the hopes of mankind and a shelter against the storms of conflict."
Democratic Platform of 1972 – The Democratic Party plan under presidential candidate George S. McGovern.
Republican Platform of 1972 – The Republican party plan for Nixon's second term.
Lloyd Corp., Ltd. v. Tanner, 407 U.S. 551 (1972) – The Court held that anti-war handbills could not be distributed in a shopping mall because though it has areas that are called public areas, they are privately held and are not subject to public rights.
United States v. United States Dist. Ct., 407 U.S. 297 (1972) – This important decision during the Watergate era held that the Omnibus Crime Control Act and Safe Streets Act do not give the President the power for domestic surveillance and wiretapping at will. Those action still require the proper warrant.
Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972) – In a split decision (5-4), the Court nullified all state death penalties as a violation of due process because of the lack of consistent application of the penalty.
Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring the Peace, January 24, 1973 – Formal announcement of a unilateral cease-fire and U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) – Landmark decision regarding abortion.
Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973) – The Court further defined pornography and ruled that the First Amendment did not preclude states from regulating material deemed obscene. The decision allowed states to enact legislation to restrict this material.
Address to the Nation on the Energy Crisis, November 7, 1973 – Nixon details the effects of Middle East conflicts and the shortage of importable oil. "We are heading toward the most acute shortages of energy since World War II. "
State of the Union Address, January 30, 1974 – "Tonight, for the first time in 12 years, a President of the United States can report to the Congress on the state of a Union at peace with every nation of the world."
Address to the Nation Announcing Decision to Resign Presidency, August 8, 1974 – "By taking this action, I hope that I [p.628] will have hastened the start of that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."
Letter Resigning the Office of President, August 9, 1974 – Nixon's brief, formal resignation
Ford's Address on the Pardon of Richard M. Nixon, September 8, 1974 – President Ford's rationale for pardoning the former president
State of the Union Address, January 15, 1975 – Ford's assessment and goals for the next two years
Annual Message to Congress: The Economic Report of the President – The President's plan to combat an "economy…in a severe recession," including a tax on crude oil to encourage conservation.
Evacuation of U.S. Personnel from Republic of Vietnam, April 29, 1975 – The final order to evacuate the last remaining Americans from Saigon before its fall to the North Vietnamese.
Telephone Conversation with Astronauts of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, July 24, 1975 – The End of the Apollo Missions
Extension of Voting Rights Act of 1965, August 6, 1975 – The bill extends and broadens provisions to bar discrimination against Spanish-speaking Americans, American Indians, Alaskan natives, and Asian Americans.
Message on the Observance of Women's Equality Day, August 26, 1975 – Ford's statement on observing the International Women's Year and Women's Equality Day.
Statement Following Announcement on Oil Price Increase by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, September 27, 1975 – Ford's criticism of OPEC for raising oil prices and the U.S. Congress for doing nothing to protect Americans against the effects of those increases.
Veto of Tobacco Subsidy Bill, October 1, 1975 – The President's justification of his veto for economic reasons
State of the Union Address, January 19, 1976 – "We have not remade paradise on Earth. We know perfection will not be found here. But think for a minute how far we have come in 200 years." Fords' accounting to Congress in the Bicentennial year.
Special Message to Congress on Older Americans, February 9, 1976 – The President's efforts to bolster Social Security
Special Message to Congress Proposing Elementary and Secondary Education Reform Legislation, March 1, 1976 – Ford proposes a block grant program for schools recognizing that, "It is time that we reconcile our good intentions with the recognition that we at the Federal level cannot know what is best for every school child in every classroom in the country."
Remark Aboard U.S.S. Forrestal During Operation Sail in New York Harbor, July 4, 1976 – "As we close the log of our second century, we begin an uncharted voyage toward the future." Ford's Bicentennial comments.
Telephone Conversation With National Aeronautics and Space Administration Officials on the Mars Landing of the Viking I Spacecraft, July 20, 1976 – The U.S. successfully lands a spacecraft on Mars.
Democratic Platform of 1976 – Democratic Party plans under presidential challenger Jimmy Carter.
Republican Platform of 1976 – The Republican plan with incumbent Gerald Ford.
Carter's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1977 – "The American dream endures. We must once again have full faith in our country—and in one another. I believe America can be better. We can be even stronger than before." Carter sets the tone for his administration.
Presidential Pardon of Selective Service Violations During Vietnam Era, January 21, 1977 – Carter's pardon of those who broke the law in evading the draft during the Vietnam War.
Creation of Department of Energy, August 4, 1977 – The President creates a new cabinet level position nominating James R. Schlesinger of Virginia to be Secretary of Energy.
Carter's State of the Union Address, January 19, 1978 – "Militarily, politically, economically, and in spirit, the state of our Union is sound."
Remarks on the Senate Ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty, April 18, 1978 – The Presidential response on turning control of the Panama Canal over to Panama after years of debate on the issue.
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 – 5-4 decision that race cannot be taken into account as a factor in College admissions decisions, June 28, 1978
Carter's Address Before a Joint Session of Congress on the Camp David [Middle East] Accords, September 18, 1978 – "The world prayed for the success of our efforts, and I am glad to announce to you that these prayers have been answered." The President's report after negotiations with Sadat and Begin.
Carter's Remarks on Signing the Full Employment Act, October 27, 1978 – The President honors Hubert Humphrey and reaffirms his administration's goal of lowering unemployment.
Carter's Remarks on Establishing a Commission to Investigate the Three-Mile Island Accident, April 11, 1979 – The President creates a commission to investigate what happened in the nuclear power plant accident.
Carter's National Broadcast Address, "Crisis of Confidence," July 15, 1979 – The President details his personal feelings about the nation's energy problems and cynicism about government.
White House Statement Regarding American Hostages in Iran, November 9, 1979 – Presidential statement read by Press Secretary Jody Powell regarding the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the taking of 60 hostages.
Carter's Address to the Nation on Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, January 4, 1980 – The President denounces Soviet military aggression and calls for a halt to SALT II negotiations with the Soviets.
Carter's Report to Congress on the Failed Hostage Rescue Mission to Iran, April 26, 1980 – A Presidential description of the difficulties which resulted in aborting the proposed rescue of American hostages in Iran.

Volume 17: America's Resurgence – 1980-1999

*Includes 187 Complete Accounts:

Democratic Platform of 1980 – Democratic Party plans under incumbent Jimmy Carter
Republican Platform of 1980 – Republican plans under presidential candidate Ronald Reagan
Fullilove v. Klutznick, 448 U.S. 448 (1980) – The Court ruled that Congress may enact limited affirmative-action legislation with racial quotas in public works projects holding that justification comes from the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause.
Carter's Nationwide Concession Address, November 4, 1980, 6:54 p.m., Pacific Time – Poignant concession to Ronald Reagan on winning the presidency. However, politically speaking, it was delivered too early: polls in the Western U.S. were still open.
Reagan's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981 – Reagan's optimistic look at the future. "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."
Toast at Inaugural Luncheon, January 20, 1981 – Announcing the freeing of the 52 American hostages held captive in Iran for 444 days.
Announcement of Intent to Nominate Sandra Day O'Connor to Supreme Court, July 7, 1981 – First woman to be nominated to be a justice of the Supreme Court. By a 99-0 vote, Senate confirmed her on September 21, 1981.
Reagan's Remarks to Reporters Following Congressional Action on Federal Tax Reduction Legislation, July 29, 1981 – The President's remarks on tax reform saying, "this first 6 months of 1981 is going to mark the beginning of a new renaissance in America."
Announcement that Illegally Striking Air Traffic Controllers Who do not Report to Work Within 48 Hours Would be Terminated. – Nearly all 13,000 striking controllers defied this order and two days later were terminated.
Reagan's Address on Arms Control Negotiations, November 18, 1981 – The President reaffirms his unwavering support for peace through strength and praises NATO for its peacekeeping ability.
Reagan's Address to the Nation Announcing Sanctions Against Polish Military Government, December 23, 1981 – The President provides a Christmas message and then announces a broad group of sanctions aimed at the repressive Polish government and their crackdown on pro-democracy Solidarity members.
Reagan's Address to Members of the British Parliament, June 8, 1982 – A reaffirmation of the NATO desire for peace and the need to continue to take a strong stand against communism and its threat to self determination and peace.
Reagan's Remarks Following Luncheon with Challenger Astronauts, June 1, 1982 – Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman scheduled to go into space, was one of the astronauts being honored.
Reagan's Remarks to Reporters on the Death of American and French Military Personnel in Beirut, Lebanon, October 23, 1983 – A brief statement following the suicide terrorist bombing that killed over 260 U.S. Marines.
Deployment of U.S. Forces in Grenada, October 25, 1983 – In response to near anarchy in their government and in an effort to protect over 1,000 Americans living there, the President sends in U.S. troops to restore order and subdue Cuban subversive threats.
Reagan's Address on U.S. and Soviet Relations on eve of Stockholm Disarmament Conference, January 16, 1984 – "I believe that 1984 finds the United States in the strongest position in years to establish a constructive and realistic working relationship with the Soviet Union."
Reagan's State of the Union Address, January 25, 1984 – " There is renewed energy and optimism throughout the land. America is back, standing tall, looking to the eighties with courage, confidence, and hope."
Reagan's Address to Nation on Trip to China, April 28, 1984 – The President expresses his desire to continue amicable relations with China built on the back of the previous three Presidents.
Reagan's Statement on Signing the Education for Economic Security Act, August 11, 1984 – "This bill responds to two deeply felt concerns of this administration: first, the need to improve the quality of science and mathematics education in our country and, second, the need to restore freedom of religious speech for students attending public schools."
Democratic Platform of 1984 – The Democratic Party response to Reagan's first term under Presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale and Vice-Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro.
Republican Platform of 1984 – The Republican plan for Reagan's second term.
Reagan's Address to Congress Following U.S.-Soviet Summit in Geneva, November 21, 1985 – Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met privately for five hours in two separate meetings, November 19 and 20. The first summit between the two nations in six years.
Message on the First Observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 14, 1986 – "Dr. King forged a dream out of the values of his religion and the ideals of our nation's founders. He cherished the dream of a world where human dignity was respected, human rights were protected, and all stood equal before the law."
Interview of President Reagan by NBC Newsman, Tom Brokaw, Prior to Super Bowl XX, January 26, 1986 – Sports, the National Character, and Memories
Reagan's Nationwide Address on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. – "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
Reagan's State of the Union Address, February 4, 1986 – Reagan recalls the last year and sets an agenda for the future.
Reagan's Address to Nation Regarding Air Strike Against Libya, April 14, 1986 – The President's explanation of American air attacks on Tripoli in response to a terrorist bombing against U.S. military personnel in Berlin.
Radio Address on Tax Reform, June 7, 1986 – Reagan details plans for additional sweeping tax reform.
Nomination of William H. Rehnquist To Be Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, June 17, 1986 – William Rehnquist will replace Warren E. Burger as Chief Justice. Burger will retire from the Court and take charge of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.
Nomination of Antonin Scalia as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, June 17, 1986 – Succeeding Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist, Reagan formalizes Scalia's nomination.
Reagan's Address to United Nations, September 25, 1986 – Announcement of Tentative Agreements on World-wide ban on Medium Range Missiles.
Statement on the Soviet-United States Nuclear and Space Arms Negotiations, November 12, 1986 – Details of Disarmament Discussions between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy, November 13, 1986 – Announced on the eve of the 1986 Congressional Elections, this affair occupied the country's attention for the next nine months. Public hearings were held from May to August 1987.
Remarks on East-West Relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, June 12, 1987 – "Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
America's Economic Bill of Rights, July 3, 1987 – "The Founding Fathers of our country knew that without economic freedom there can be no political freedom." Reagan outlines the role of government in limiting restrictions on business.
Reagan's Radio Address on the Robert H. Bork Nomination and Economic Bill of Rights, July 4, 1987 – The Bork nomination was later rejected by the Senate.
Reagan's Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy, August 12, 1987 – At the close of the Congressional investigation into the matter, the President explains his involvement.
Designation of Lieutenant General Colin L. Powell as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, November 5, 1987 – Formal nomination of General Powell by the President
Remarks of Reagan and Gorbachev on Signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, December 8, 1987 – "For the first time in history, the language of 'arms control' was replaced by 'arms reduction'—in this case, the complete elimination of an entire class of U.S. and Soviet nuclear missiles."
Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, December 8, 1987 – Unprecedented treaty signed in Washington D.C.
Reagan's Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Students at Suitland High School in Suitland, Maryland, January 20, 1988 – The President affirms his administration's commitment to education and answers student questions.
Reagan's State of the Union Address, January 25, 1988 – "My message to you tonight is put on your work shoes; we're still on the job."
Reagan's Speech at Moscow State University, May 31, 1988 – "I want to talk about a very different revolution that is taking place right now, quietly sweeping the globe without bloodshed or conflict. Its effects are peaceful, but they will fundamentally alter our world, shatter old assumptions, and reshape our lives."
Statement on the Destruction of an Iranian Jetliner by the United States Navy Over the Persian Gulf, July 3, 1988 – All 290 passengers on the Iranian commercial airplane were killed.
Democratic Platform of 1988 – Democratic Party blueprint under presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis
Republican Platform of 1988 – Republican plans under presidential candidate and Vice-President George Bush
Reagan's Farewell Address, January 11, 1989 – "It's been the honor of my life to be your President." Reagan's last words from the Oval Office.
George Bush's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1989 – "For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn. For in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over." President Bush speaks of a kinder Nation and a gentler world.
Bush's Address on Administration Goals Before a Joint Session of Congress, February 9, 1989 – The President sets his agenda and priorities for his administration.
White House Fact Sheet on Combating Violent Crime, May 15, 1989 – The President outlines his program designed to strengthen the Nation's criminal justice system and the Federal, State, and local law enforcement partnership.
Statement on the Chinese Government's Suppression of Student Demonstrations, June 3, 1989 – Bush's statement denouncing the use of force in suppressing pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.
Bush's Remarks Announcing the Proposed Constitutional Amendment on Desecration of the Flag, June 30, 1989 – "To the touch, this flag is merely fabric. But to the heart, the flag represents and reflects the fabric of our nation—our dreams, our destiny, our very fiber as a people."
Bush's Remarks at a White House Ceremony Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, June 30, 1989 – The President uses the anniversary to detail the commitment of his administration to continuing the goals of the Civil Rights Act.
Bush's Statement on the Supreme Court's Decision on Abortion, July 3, 1989 – In "Webster v. Reproductive Health Services" the Supreme Court ruled that States had the power to restrict abortion on demand. The President praised the decision.
Bush's Remarks on Receiving Proposed Line-Item Veto Legislation, August 4, 1989 – The President endorses a proposed Line-Item Veto and urges its passage.
Bush's Remarks Announcing the Nomination of General Colin L. Powell To Be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, August 10, 1989 – The first black in American History to be nominated Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Bush's Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Reporters on the Relaxation of East German Border Controls, November 9, 1989 – Signaling the beginning of the end of the Berlin Wall, the President says, "I welcome the decision by the East German leadership to open the borders to those wishing to emigrate or travel."
Statement on the Observance of World AIDS Day, November 30, 1989 – The President recommits to medical research to find a cure for AIDS.
Bush's Address to the Nation Announcing United States Military Action in Panama, December 20, 1989 – Presidential explanation of U.S. Military operations to restore the elected government in Panama and apprehend dictator General Manuel Noriega.
Bush's Remarks on Signing the Earth Day Proclamation, January 3, 1990 – "Across the country, citizens will be asked to make a personal and collective commitment to the protection of the environment, to think globally and act locally."
Bush's Statement on the Release of Nelson Mandela, February 10, 1990 – Bush welcomes President de Klerk's decision to free Mandela as a step towards ending apartheid.
Bush's Memorandum on Federalism, February 16, 1990 – In a memorandum for the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, the President reaffirms the philosophy of Federalism in approaching relationships with the States.
Bush's Remarks Following Discussions With President Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia, February 20, 1990 – Bush details the revolution to freedom and democracy that has taken place in Czechoslovakia.
Bush's Remarks at the Presentation of a Point of Light Award to Reef Relief and an Exchange With Reporters in Islamorada, Florida, April 22, 1990 – This was the announcement of the 123rd daily "Point of Light" announced by the White House during the Bush Administration.
Bush's Remarks on the Release of Former Hostage Robert Polhill and an Exchange With Reporters, April 22, 1990 – The President expresses satisfaction at the release and concern for those who are still being held abroad.
Bush's Remarks on Signing the Hate Crime Statistics Act, April 23, 1990 – Bush strengthens laws protecting Americans from crimes motivated by religion, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
Bush's Remarks at a White House Briefing for Conservative Leaders, April 26, 1990 – "I'm delighted to be with a group for whom "conservatism" is not a catchword."
Bush's Remarks on Signing Soviet-United States Bilateral Agreements, June 1, 1990 – Bush and President Gorbachev sign an agreement to eliminate the great majority of the chemical weapons, sign protocol on limiting nuclear testing and sign new agreement that update and expand the 1973 agreement on the peaceful uses of atomic energy.
Message to the House of Representatives Returning Without Approval the Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1990, June 15, 1990 – Bush's veto supports the 1939 Act which insulates Federal employees from political involvement and maintains their political neutrality.
Bush's Message to the Congress on the Declaration of a National Emergency With Respect to Iraq, August 3, 1990 – The Presidential declaration initiating sanction against Iraq following the invasion of Kuwait.
Bush's Address to the Nation Announcing the Deployment of United States Armed Forces to Saudi Arabia, August 8, 1990 – Announcement of Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia which would eventually lead to Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait
Soviet Union-United States Joint Statement on the Persian Gulf Crisis, September 9, 1990 – "We are united in the belief that Iraq's aggression must not be tolerated. No peaceful international order is possible if larger states can devour their smaller neighbors."
Bush's Remarks Announcing a Federal Budget Agreement, September 30, 1990 – The President's announcement of a bi-partisan budget agreement
Address Before the 45th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York, October 1, 1990 – Bush rallies the United Nations against Iraq following its invasion into Kuwait and calls for the world to band together to eliminate the barbaric ways of the past.
Spallone v. U.S., 493 U.S. 265 (1990) – Reversing earlier decisions, the Court held that individual members of a city council could not be prosecuted for not taking court-mandated action unless the council itself was prosecuted first.
Employment Div. v. Smith. 494 U.S. 872 (1990) – The Court upheld the removal of unemployment benefit denied because of failed drug tests caused by "sacramental" use of peyote thus supporting existing substance abuse laws over religious practices.
Missouri v. Jenkins, 495 U.S. 33 (1990)
The decision held that school districts could not raise property taxes to pay for desegregation programs but did not remove the federal court's ability to mandate it.
Board of Educ. v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226 (1990) – The Court held that it was not an abuse of the First Amendment separation clause for students to organize non-curriculum oriented student clubs such as a Christian Club.
United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990) – A decision generating public controversy holding the ability that allows for flag burning without prosecution under various state flag protection acts.
Rutan v. Republican Party, 497 U.S. 62 (1990) – "Promotions, transfers, and recalls based on political affiliation or support are an impermissible infringement on public employees' First Amendment rights.
Cruzan v. Director, MDH, 497 U.S. 261 (1990) – "The United States Constitution does not forbid Missouri to require that evidence of an incompetent's wishes as to the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment be proved by clear and convincing evidence."
Hodgson v. Minnesota, 497 U.S. 417 (1990) – A modification of Roe v. Wade holding that states could require a 48-hour waiting period for abortions and may also demand that underage girls notify their parents before receiving the procedure.
Bush's Address to the Nation Announcing Allied Military Action in the Persian Gulf, January 16, 1991 – The President announces that two hours earlier Operation Desert Storm began in an effort to liberate Kuwait.
Bush's Remarks Upon Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Margaret Thatcher, March 7, 1991 – The President honors "The Iron Lady," British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as a great ally and strong force for democracy in the world.
Bush's Statement on the United Nations Persian Gulf Cease-Fire Resolution, April 3, 1991 – "During these 8 months, the world community has stood up for what is right and just. It is now up to Iraq's Government to demonstrate that it is prepared to respect the will of the world community."
Bush's Message to the Senate Transmitting the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, July 9, 1991 – The CFE Treaty would initiate steps to demilitarize Europe.
Bush's Message Honoring Civilians Killed During the Attempted Coup in the Soviet Union, August 24, 1991 – Bush's tribute to those who died in a failed coup attempt against President Gorbachev.
Bush's Address to the Nation on the Supreme Court Nomination of Clarence Thomas, September 6, 1991 – "Clarence Thomas has preserved the fabric of our Constitution as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals. And he will continue to do so on the Supreme Court."
Bush's Remarks on Signing the Civil Rights Act of 1991, November 21, 1991 – "Today we celebrate a law that will fight the evil of discrimination while also building bridges of harmony between Americans of all races, sexes, creeds, and backgrounds."
Bush's Statement on the Resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev as President of the Soviet Union, December 25, 1991 – "President Gorbachev is responsible for one of the most important developments of this century, the revolutionary transformation of a totalitarian dictatorship and the liberation of his people from its smothering embrace."
McCleskey v. Zant, 499 U.S. 467 (1991) – A procedural decision clarifying the abuse of writs to the Court in the context of voluntary jailhouse confessions from one inmate to another.
Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173 (1991) – The Court held that Department of Health and Human Services Title X funds could not be used for abortion or its advocacy as a birth control method.
Airports Authority v. Citizens for Noise Abatement, 501 U.S. 252 (1991) – The Court held that in creating and transferring authority to manage two Washington, D.C. airports, Congress overstepped its powers.
Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429 (1991) – The decision held that random bus searches of passengers property with their consent is not unconstitutional.
Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 501 U.S. 496 (1991) – The opinion reversed a lower court decision thus allowing a libel suit brought by an author against the New Yorker Magazine to go forward.
Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc., 501 U.S. 560 (1991) – The Court held that municipal public nudity statutes requiring nude dancers to wear pasties and a g-string do not violate the First Amendment.
Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991) – "The Eighth Amendment erects no per se bar prohibiting a capital sentencing jury from considering "victim impact" evidence relating to the victim's personal characteristics and the emotional impact of the murder on the victim's family, or precluding a prosecutor from arguing such evidence at a capital sentencing hearing."
Gentile v. State Bar of Nevada, 501 U.S. 1030 (1991) – Reversed earlier decisions and allowed attorneys to be able to make statements to the press following a client's indictment.
Bush's State of the Union Address, January 28, 1992 – "Communism died this year."
Bush's News Conference with President Boris Yeltsin of Russia, February 1, 1992 – "Today, for the first time, an American President and the democratically elected President of an independent Russia have met, and we did so not as adversaries but as friends."
Bush's Remarks at the Opening Session of the Drug Summit in San Antonio, February 27, 1992 – "We are all committed to defending democracy and its principles as we defeat the scourge of drugs."
Bush's Radio Address to the Nation on Welfare Reform, April 11, 1992 – "We must structure our welfare programs so that they reverse policies which lock in a lifestyle of dependency and subtly destroy self-esteem. We must encourage family formation and family stability. Too often our welfare programs have encouraged exactly the opposite."
Bush's Address to the Nation on the Balanced Budget Amendment, June 10, 1992 – "I am convinced that a balanced budget amendment is the only way to force the Federal Government, both the Congress and the executive branch, to live within its means."
Bush's News Conference with President Boris Yeltsin of Russia, June 17, 1992 – "As a result of this first-ever U.S.-Russia summit we've indeed formed a truly new relationship, one of peace, friendship, trust, and growing partnership."
Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992) – 5-4 decision of Supreme Court that nonsectarian prayer's at public school graduation ceremonies violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
Bush's Statement on the Supreme Court Decision on the Lee v. Weisman Case, June 24, 1992 – Disappointment about Supreme Court decision not allowing nonsectarian prayer on public high school graduation services.
Democratic Platform of 1992 – Democratic Party agenda under presidential candidate William J. Clinton
Republican Platform of 1992 – Republican proposals under incumbent presidential candidate George Bush
Bush's Remarks in Houston on the Results of the Presidential Election, November 3, 1992 – "I would like to thank so many of you who have worked beside me to improve America and to literally change the world."
Simon & Schuster v. Crime Victims Bd., 502 U.S. 105 (1992) – The Court held that the New York "Son of Sam" laws barring criminals from profiting from the publication of books about the crimes are inconsistent with the First Amendment.
Wyoming v. Oklahoma, 502 U.S. 437 (1992) – The decision declared that Oklahoma violated the commerce clause by requiring that at least 10% of coal burned for hydroelectric power in that state be from Oklahoma.
General Motors Corp. v. Romein, 503 U.S. 181 (1992) – In a procedural decision the Court affirmed the ability to coordinate workers compensation benefits declaring it not to be a violation of due process or the contracts clause.
Fort Gratiot Landfill v. Mich. DNR, 504 U.S. 353 (1992) – The Court allowed for private landfills to accept waste from outside their county and state. Previous laws limiting this were in violation of the commerce clause.
Gade v. National Solid Wastes Management Association, 505 U.S. 88 (1992) – The Court held that Federal government standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Act take precedence over state standards.
New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992) – The Court held that low-level radioactive waste policy is within the powers of Congress to control, however it violates the Tenth Amendment when states are forced to accept ownership of the waste.
R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377 (1992) – The decision held that state laws prohibiting certain conducts such as burning a cross on a lawn are enforceable by state laws.
Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992) – The Court retained the basic tenets of the Roe v. Wade decision while modifying certain other areas that deal with state control of abortion.
Lucas v. So. Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992) – A case which withdrew South Carolina's ability to apply certain acts to private property and claim rights to beach property without just compensation.
Bush's News Conference with President Boris Yeltsin of Russia in Moscow, January 3, 1993 – Announcement of Signing the START II Treaty
William J. Clinton, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1993 – "Though we marched to the music of our time, our mission is timeless. Each generation of Americans must define what it means to be an American."
Clinton's Remarks on Health Care Reform, January 25, 1993 – " I am announcing the formation of the President's Task Force on National Health Reform. This task force will be chaired by the First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton."
Clinton's Memorandum on Ending Discrimination in the Armed Forces, January 29, 1993 – The President asks for an order to be drafted that would end "discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in determining who may serve in the Armed Forces of the United States."
Clinton's Radio Interview with Larry King, June 21, 1993 – The President gets a chance to clarify his views on his economic program and NAFTA.
Clinton's Remarks Announcing the New Policy on Homosexuals in the Military, July 19, 1993 – The President's rationale behind the "don't ask, don't tell." policy.
Clinton's Television Interview with Larry King, July 20, 1993 – The President expounds on security, homosexuals in the military, reaction to criticism, disaster relief, Supreme Court nominees, national lottery, etc.
Clinton's Statement on Senate Action Confirming Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a Supreme Court Associate Justice, August 3, 1993 – "I am extremely pleased at the swift and determined action by the U.S. Senate in overwhelmingly confirming Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the United States Supreme Court."
Clinton's Address to a Joint Session of the Congress on Health Care Reform, September 22, 1993 – Clinton details the reform plan to bring about massive change in the delivery and payment of health care services.
Clinton's Remarks in the ABC News "Nightline" Town Meeting on Health Care Reform in Tampa, Florida, September 23, 1993 – The President take another public forum to detail his sweeping health care reform plan.
Clinton's Statement on Support for the North American Free Trade Agreement, October 12, 1993 – "NAFTA represents the best immediate opportunity to expand our markets and create new jobs at home."
Clinton's Remarks on Signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, November 16, 1993 – "This act reverses the Supreme Court's decision Employment Division against Smith and reestablishes a standard that better protects all Americans of all faiths in the exercise of their religion in a way that I am convinced is far more consistent with the intent of the Founders of this Nation than the Supreme Court decision."
Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Sch. Dist., 508 U.S. 384 (1993) – Allowed a Church to use a school to show a series of films the Court holding it did not violate the separation and establishment clauses of the First Amendment.
Wisconsin v. Mitchell, 508 U.S. 476 (1993) – The Court held it was not a violation of free speech or expression for a criminal to receive an increased sentence because race was a specific factor in his choosing victims for his crime.
Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (1993) – The decision allowed for the slaughter of some animals for religious purposes holding that certain city ordinances that target religious behavior specifically are a violation of the First Amendment.
Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District, 509 U.S. 1 (1993) – Use of publicly funded interpreters for deaf students at a parochial school is not a violation of the First Amendment establishment clause.
Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993) – The Court held that states could realign voting districts according to race if it would increase the chance of electing a minority candidate finding that this practice does not violate the Voting Rights Act.
Capital Square Reveiw & Advisory Board v. Pinette, 510 U.S. 1307 (1993) – The Court denied application for a stay asking for the removal of a privately placed latino cross on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse which was to be voluntarily removed the following day.
Clinton's Address on the State of the Union, January 25, 1994 – The President reviews the year and predicts a strong American presence in a changing world.
Planned Parenthood of S.E. Pa. v. Casey, 510 U.S. 1309 (1994) – Justice Souter refused to grant a stay as the state of Pennsylvania worked through issues of its Abortion Control Act.
Oregon Waste Systems, Inc. v. Dept. of Env. Qual., 511 U.S. 93 (1994) – The Court overruled an Oregon provision which charged out of state waste disposal customers a higher tax than instate customers calling it a violation of the commerce clause.
Clinton's Interview on MTV's "Enough is Enough" Forum, April 19, 1994 – President Clinton answers candid inquiry from young people including the famous "boxers or briefs" question.
Clinton's Remarks Announcing Stephen G. Breyer as Supreme Court Associate
Justice Nominee and an Exchange With Reporters, May 13, 1994 – Following the retirement of Justice Harry Blackmun, the President nominates the successor to the high court.
C & A Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown, 511 U.S. 383 (1994) – Reversed a law in violation of the commerce clause which forced a recycling company to use town facilities.
West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy, 512 U.S. 186 (1994) – The Court struck down a Massachusetts milk law as a violation of the commerce clause.
Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512 U.S. 374 (1994) – A 5-4 decision reversing an Oregon statute which placed unreasonable restrictions on the use of private property in order to qualify for a building permit.
Board of Ed. v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687 (1994) – The Court affirmed that realigning school districts to create a specific religious district violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
Clinton's Address to the Nation on Haiti, September 18, 1994 – The President details the rationale for deploying U.S. troops to Haiti to stabilize the government.
Clinton's Remarks at the Signing Ceremony for the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty, October 26, 1994 – The President honors peace efforts between Prime Minister Rabin of Israel and King Hussein of Jordan.
Clinton's Address on the State of the Union, January 24, 1995 – "We hear you. We will work together to earn the jobs you have given us. For we are the keepers of a sacred trust, and we must be faithful to it in this new and very demanding era."
Clinton's Statement on the Baseball Strike, January 26, 1995 – President Clinton's statement urging a quick solution to the labor negotiations between owners and players to avoid postponing the regular season.
Clinton's Remarks on the Oklahoma City Bombing, April 19, 1995 – The President offers consolation and pledges to find those responsible for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in which more than 160 people were killed.
United States v. Lopez, No. 93-1260 (1995) – The decision held that the Gun Free School Zones Act exceeds the Congress authority to restrict private citizens under the commerce clause.
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, No. 93-1456 (1995) – The Court struck down an Arkansas term limitation statute as unconstitutional.
Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, No. 93-1841 (1995) – The Court remanded statutes which favored granting building contracts to "socially and economically disadvantaged" businesses finding that…"the Government's use of race-based presumptions in identifying such individuals, violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause."
Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc., No. 94-226 (1995) – The Court held that Florida Bar rules that prohibit an attorney from sending targeted advertising to potential clients within thirty days of an accident or disaster is not a violation of Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Hurley v. Irish-American Gay Group, No. 94-749 (1995) – The Court affirmed that exclusion of gay and lesbian groups in a St. Patrick's Day Parade is not a violation of the First Amendment.
Rosenberger v. Rector, Univ. of Virginia, No. 94-329 (1995) – The decision reversed earlier decisions which had refused payment of printing costs afforded to other groups by a university because of the viewpoint of the paper calling it a violation of the First Amendment.
Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette, No. 94-780 (1995) – The Court affirmed a lower court decision to allow the Ku Klux Klan the ability to erect a cross on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse.
Clinton's Remarks on the Death of Prime Minister Rabin, November 4, 1995 – Clinton's remarks following the assassination of the Prime Minister of Israel.
Democratic Platform of 1996 – The Democratic Party plan under incumbent presidential candidate Bill Clinton
Republican Platform of 1996 – The Republican plan under presidential candidate Bob Dole
Clinton's Address on the State of the Union, January 23, 1996 – The President reviews the year, hailing the strong economy and the need for confidence in the future.
Bennis v. Michigan, No. 94-8729 (1996) – The Court upheld the taking of a jointly owned automobile used by one of the owners in committing violations otherwise punishable by confiscation.
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, No. 94-12 (1996) – The decision helped define the rights of states and the extent of the powers of the Congress in terms of the Eleventh Amendment in a case rooted in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia, No. 94-203 (1996) – Charging delegates to a convention a registration fee in order to participate and vote is ruled a poll tax and in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Clinton's Statement on Signing the Line Item Veto Act, April 9, 1996 – In a bi-partisan effort to enable the President to eliminate unwanted legislation from a larger bill, the President signs the executive ability into effect. The legislation would later be determined unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island, No. 94-1140 (1996) – The Court struck down a ban on advertising Massachusetts liquor prices only at the point of sale. Thus allowing the liquor prices to be advertised in Rhode Island where most of the patrons to the store lived.
Romer v. Evans, No. 94-1039 (1996) – The Supreme Court held that an Amendment to the Colorado state constitution which prohibited any legislative, judicial or executive action based on sexual orientation violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and was unconstitutional.
BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, No. 94-896 (1996) – The decision reversed a decision granting four million dollars in damages to a car owner who was not informed by the dealer that his car had been damaged in shipping and repaired without his knowledge.
Bush v. Vera, No. 94-805 (1996) – Affirmed that voting districts created in Texas which were aligned according to race do not meet the "strict scrutiny" standards and thus violate the Fourteenth Amendment.
Shaw v. Hunt, No. 94-923 (1996) – The Court affirmed that racial redistricting met the "strict scrutiny" standards and thus did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment as he state attempted to more fully comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Clinton's Remarks Announcing the Establishment of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument at Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, September 18, 1996 – The President details his rationale for creating the National Monument.
Clinton's Remarks at a Victory Celebration in Little Rock, Arkansas, November 5, 1996 – Following his presidential election victory over Bob Dole, the President thanks his supporters and talks of the future.
M.L.B. v. S.L.J., No. 95-853 (1996) – The Court ruled that a Mississippi statute removing a mother's parental rights because of her lack of ability to pay a preparation fee violated her due process rights of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
United States v. Watts, No. 95-1906 – The Court held that prior proceedings, even if the defendant was acquitted may be used in determining sentencing.
William J. Clinton's Second Inaugural Address, January 20, 1997 – "We must keep our old democracy forever young. Guided by the ancient vision of a promised land, let us set our sights upon a land of new promise." Clinton details his hopes for the next four years.
Clinton's Address on the State of the Union, February 4, 1997 – The President sets his agenda for the coming years at the beginning of his second term, stressing there is much work to be done and that our enemy in this time is inaction.
Declaration of San Jose, May 8, 1997 – A declaration of solidarity between the U.S., and Central America for continued democracy and mutual security.
Clinton's Statement on Signing the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, August 5, 1997 – The President makes statements on legislation that will balance the federal budget and reverse the budget deficit.
Clinton's Statement on National Education Standards, January 8, 1998 – The President reaffirms his commitment to establishing baseline national education standards.
Clinton's Remarks on the After-School Child Care Initiative, January 26, 1998 – The statement made famous because of the President's strong denial of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton's Address on the State of the Union, January 27, 1998 – The President details policies to take this country into the next millennium.
Clinton's BBC Interview with Prime Minister Tony Blair, May 16, 1998 – The President and the British Prime Minister detail their policies and efforts for peace in Ireland.
Clinton's News Conference with President Jiang in Beijing, June 27, 1998 – The Presidents of China and the U.S. clarify their country's position on a variety of issues.
Clinton's Remarks with Students at Beijing University, June 29, 1998 – The President takes advantage of the chance to explain U.S. policy in response to questions from Chinese university students
Clinton's Address to the Nation on Testimony Before the Independent Counsel's Grand Jury, August 17, 1998 – The President's four minute speech following his hours of video-taped testimony before the Grand Jury investigating him.
Clinton's Address on the State of the Union, January 19, 1999 – The President details policies to take this country into the next millennium.
Clinton's Radio Address to the People of Kosovo, May 27, 1999 – The President's "message of hope and solidarity to the Kosovar people."

© 2011 Packard Technologies • All Rights Reserved
Apple, the Apple logo, iPod, iTouch and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. iTunes is for legal or rightholder-authorized copying only. Kindle is a tradmark of Amazon.com.