Research Guides: Revolutionary War: U.S. Documents

Understanding the Revolutionary War through our US Documents Collection

The New Jersey State Library is a Federal Depository Library with an extensive collection of documents published by the federal government. This page contains links to materials in our US Documents collection and available online about the events surrounding the American Revolutionary War. Materials include digitized primary documents, histories, bibliographies and more.

Founders Online

Founders Online
Through Founders Online, you can read and search through thousands of documents and records to and from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison and see firsthand the growth of democracy and the birth of the Republic. Their letters and journals are a kind of "first draft" of the Charters of Freedom.

Founding Documents

America's Founding Documents - National Archives
View, read and learn more about the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Declaration of Independence - National Parks Service
Learn more about the context in which the Declaration of Independence was written, including a timeline and original drafts.
Congress.gov - Constitution Annotated
The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (popularly known as the Constitution Annotated) contains legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution, based primarily on Supreme Court case law. This regularly updated resource is especially useful when researching the constitutional implications of a specific issue or topic.

Personal Papers and other Primary Sources

American Revolution Resource Guide - Library of Congress
Guide to the American Revolution containing links to the Library of Congress's digital collections, including papers of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and James Madison.

A Decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind: Congressional State Papers, 1774-1776 by Hutson, James H.
Call Number: LC1.2: Op3

ISBN: 9780844401652

Publication Date: 1975-01-01
Letters from a Distinguished American: Twelve Essays by John Adams on American foreign policy, 1780 by Adams, John, 1735-1826.
Call Number: LC1.2: Ad1

ISBN: 9780844402581

Publication Date: 1978-01-01
Letters of delegates to Congress, 1774-1789 by Library of Congress
Call Number: LC 1.34:V.1-26

Publication Date: 1976-2000

Letters of Delegates to Congress includes all the documents written by delegates that bear directly upon their work during their years of service in the First and Second Continental Congresses, 1774-1789, as well as some diaries, public papers, essays, and other documents.
The Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States by United States. Department of State.
Call Number: Cong. Serial Set 2584-2589

Publication Date: 1889

The six-volume set from House Miscellaneous Document No. 603 of the Congressional Serial Set (2584-2589), was compiled by Dr. Francis Wharton and promulgated on August 13, 1888, by both houses of Congress. The preface to Vol. 1 explains the usefulness of these documents for comprehending our revolutionary history and the treaties executed during and at the close of the Revolution, which form in a large measure the basis of our international law (p. iii). Also viewable online through HathiTrust.

Historical Sites

National Parks Service - American Revolution
Website providing a linked map of all NPS sites that related to the American Revolution, as well description of Revolutionary War events and timelines.

Here was the Revolution : historic sites of the war for American independence by Unrau, Harlan D.
Call Number: I29.2: R32

Publication Date: 1976
National Park Service guide to the historic places of the American Revolution, by Murfin, James V.
Call Number: I29.9/2: Am3

Publication Date: 1974

Revolutionary War

U.S. Documents Librarian

Understanding the Revolutionary War through our US Documents Collection

Founders Online

Founding Documents

Personal Papers and other Primary Sources

Historical Sites

Main Library

Talking Book and Braille Center

Quick Links