Guides: Constitutional Law and History Research Guide: Historical Documents &amp; Resources

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Introduction

The Constitution is frequently viewed as a living, changing document. In order to inform its continual construction, scholars, lawyers, and jurists often turn to the Constitution's inception for answers. Some of the most prominent resources include the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the U.S. Constitutional Convention (and its related materials), and the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers.

Proceedings of the Federal Convention of 1787

There is no official record of the proceedings regarding the Constitutional Convention of 1787. James Madison kept the journal of the proceedings, but it included only procedural information. Catalog

The Records of the Federal Constitution of 1787.
- A more modern source to consult is Max Farrand's Records. It remains the single best source for discussions of the Constitutional Convention as it gathers together the documentary records of the Constitutional Convention and the materials necessary to study the workings of the Constitutional Convention. Published in 1911, the documentary records of the Constitutional Convention were compiled into three volumes containing the notes by major participants and the texts of various alternative plans presented. The three volumes also includes notes and letters by many other participants, as well as the various constitutional plans proposed during the convention.
The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 (rev. 1937),
- In 1937, Farrand published a revised edition which included a fourth volume.
The Records of the Federal convention of 1787 (rev. 1987)
- In 1987, James Hutson compiled and edited a supplement to Farrand's Records.

Federalist Arguments

The Federalist Papers (also known as "The Federalist") were a series of eighty-five essays urging the citizens of New York to ratify the new United States Constitution written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.The Federalist Papers are considered one of the most important sources for interpreting and understanding the original intent of the Constitution.

These arguments made for ratification of the Constitution were published in collected form as The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution (1788), which is available from the following sources:

The Federalist and Other Constitutional Papers
In addition to The Federalist, this book includes information on other essays and discussions from between the time when the work of the Federal Convention was announced and the time when the Constitution was adopted by the States.
The Federalist Papers (Yale's Avalon Project)
The Avalon Project provides primary source materials relevant to the fields of law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy, and government.
The Federalist Papers (Library of Congress)
The original text of the Federalist Papers obtained from the e-text archives of Project Gutenberg.

Anti-Federalist Arguments

For more on the Anti-Federalists, who made the case against ratification, as well as debates on the ratification of the Constitution, see:

The Complete Anti-Federalist by Herbert J. Storing
The most comprehensive collection of Anti-Federalist writings.
Birth of the Bill of Rights : Encyclopedia of the Antifederalists by Jon L. Wakelyn
Includes biographies of 140 prominent Anti-Federalists, as well as major speeches and writings arranged by state.
Debates in the Several State Conventions, on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, as Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia, in 1787 by Jonathan Elliot
A five-volume collection compiled by Jonathan Elliot remains the best source for materials about the national government's transitional period between the closing of the Constitutional Convention in September 1787 and the opening of the First Federal Congress in March 1789
The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution (UVA Press, Digital Edition)
This work is generally considered more accurate and authoritative than Elliot's Debates. This landmark work in historical and legal scholarship draws upon thousands of sources to trace the Constitution’s progress through each of the thirteen states’ conventions. The digital edition allows users to search the complete contents by date, title, author, recipient, or state affiliation and preserves the copious annotations of the print edition.

Bill of Rights and Amendment History

Since ratification in 1788, thousands of amendments have been proposed, though the Constitution has been amended only twenty-seven times. As outlined in Article V, amendments to the Constitution are proposed by Congress and presented to the states for ratification. These amendments are discussed in length in the following sources:

Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2010 by John R. Vile
Provides a comprehensive analysis of the United States' constitutional amendments. With over 400 short articles, this encyclopedia tells the whole story of constitutional amendments: the rigorous ratification process, the significance of the 27 amendments, and the thousands that didn't pass.
The Founders' Constitution by Philip B. Kurland & Ralph Lerner
Covers the first twelve amendments as well as the original seven articles.
The Complete Bill of Rights : the Drafts, Debates, Sources, and Origins by Neil H. Cogan
Provides excerpts from source documents arranged by amendment as well as texts of proposals in Congress and from the state conventions, and discussion of the amendments in Congress, conventions, newspapers and letters.
Constitutional Amendments, 1789 to the Present by Kris E. Palmer
Addresses each amendment in order with a length article on the original context and subsequent interpretation.

The Amendments Project

The Amendments Project
The Amendments Project (TAP) is a searchable archive of the full text of nearly every amendment to the U.S. Constitution proposed in Congress between 1789 and 2022 (more than 11,000 proposals).Only twenty-seven amendments to the U.S. Constitution have ever been ratified; the Amendments Project is, then, an archive of failures.

Constitutional Law and History Research Guide

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