The Librarian's Mantra
"It is the duty of every good citizen to use all the opportunities which occur to him, for preserving documents relating to the history of our country." Thomas Jefferson
Here, patriots, is the most trustworthy source of the history of the American Founding Era (1760-1805): the Founding Fathers' own writings. They are listed in alphabetical order of the name of the Founding Father. If you are looking for the online writings of a Founding Father or other important historical figure, please leave your question in the "Comments" section below.
Also included in this list are several of the political thinkers and historians from which the Founding Fathers drew some of their ideas.
NOTE: Not all those listed below are to be considered "Founding Fathers," and not all those names listed here presented worthy viewpoints, nor did the Founders quote such writers positively. In this category of infamous philosophers are Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and David Hume, who helped formulate much of the ideas of contemporary humanism, which the Founding Fathers rejected. The names of these men and others are in red.
The reader may also find it helpful that digitized versions of several of the volumes below may be viewed and searched at Google Book Search.
ADAMS, JOHN (1725-1826)
- Autobiography
- Correspondence with Abigail Adams
- Diary (1753-1804)
- Letters, Tracts, and Essays
- Public Speeches and Addresses
- Works and Correspondence
ADAMS, SAMUEL (1723-1803)
- Writings, volume one
- Writings, volume two
- Writings, volume three
- Writings, volume four
BACON, FRANCIS (1561-1626)
BLACKSTONE, SIR WILLIAM (1723-1780)
BRADFORD, WILLIAM (1590-1659)
BOUDINOT, ELIAS (1740-1821)
BURKE, EDMUND (1729-1797)
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1787
- Library of Congress
- Max Farrand's Records of the Debates
- Elliot's Debates
- Letters of the Delegates
- A Century of Lawmaking
- Foundational Documents & notes by the delegates
FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN (1706-1790)
THE FEDERALIST PAPERS
GIBBON, EDWARD (1737-1794)
GROTIUS, HUGO (1583-1645)
HAMILTON, ALEXANDER (1757?-1804)
- Works (edited by Henry Cabot Lodge; 12 volumes)
- Works and Correspondence (edited by John Church Hamilton; 7 volumes)
- The Papers of Alexander Hamilton (ed. by Syrett and Cooke), vol. 4, vol. 6, vol. 7, vol. 8, vol. 17, vol. 19, vol. 20, vol. 21, vol. 23, vol. 24, vol. 25, vol. 26
- History of the Republic of the United States as Traced in the Writings of Alex. Hamilton and His Contemporaries, by John Church Hamilton, vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3, vol. 4, vol. 5, vol. 6, vol. 7
HAMMURABI (1810-1750 B.C.)
HENRY, PATRICK (1736-1799)
HOBBES, THOMAS (1588-1679)
HOOKER, RICHARD (1554-1600)
HUME, DAVID (1711-1776)
JAY, JOHN (1745-1829)
- Papers
- Memorials of Peter A. Jay for His Descendants, by John Jay
- Life and Writings of John Jay, with Selections from his Correspondence, by William Jay, vol. 1, vol 2
JOURNALS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
JEFFERSON, THOMAS (1743-1826)
- Library of Congress Collection
- University of Virginia Collection
- Letters, Tracts, and Essays
- Voluminous Letters and Correspondence
- Works NEW!!!
LEE, RICHARD HENRY (1732-1794)
LOCKE, JOHN (1632-1704)
MADISON, JAMES (1751-1836)
MARSHALL, JOHN (1755-1835)
- The Life of George Washington (5 volumes)
- Life of John Marshall, by Albert J. Beveridge, vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3, vol. 4
MASON, GEORGE (1725-1792)
MASON, REVEREND JOHN MITCHELL (1770-1829)
- Complete Works
- "The Claims of Episcopacy Refuted," by Rev. John Mitchell Mason
MILTON, JOHN (1608-1764)
MONTESQUIEU, BARON de CHARLES (1689-1755)
MORRIS, GOUVERNEUR (1752-1816)
- Diary and Letters (2 volumes)
- Biography by Theodore Roosevelt
NEW YORK MANUMISSION SOCIETY PAPERS
PAINE, THOMAS (1737-1809)
PENN, WILLIAM (1644-1718)
PLATO (428-348 B. C.)
PLUTARCH (46-127 A. D.)
PUFENDORF, SAMUEL (1623-1694)
RAMSAY, DR. DAVID (1745-1819)
ROUSSEAU, JEAN-JACQUES (1712-1778)
RUSH, DR. BENJAMIN (1745-1813)
SMITH, ADAM (1723-1790)
STORY, CHIEF-JUSTICE JOSEPH (1779-1845)
de TOQUEVILLE, ALEXIS (1805-1859)
de VATTEL, EMERICH (1714-1767)
WARREN, MERCY OTIS (1728-1814)
WASHINGTON, GEORGE (1732-1799)
- Manuscript Papers (LOC)
- Papers (Avalon Project)
- Papers (University of Virginia)
- Writings (edited by Fitzpatrick)
- Public Writings (Founders' Library)
- Writings (edited by Jared Sparks; vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3, vol. 4, vol. 5, vol. 6, vol. 7, vol. 8, vol. 9, vol. 10, vol. 11, vol. 12)
- On Editing Washington's Papers (by Jared Sparks)
- "Daily Sacrifice" (Washington's personal prayer journal)
- George Washington's Journal
WEBSTER, NOAH (1758-1843)
- Works
- Translation of the Holy Bible
- Pamphlets
- Search-able Unabridged Dictionary (1828 and 1913 versions)
WITHERSPOON, REVEREND JOHN (1723-1794)
- "Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men" (Sermon)
- Essay on Money
- Works of Dr. John Witherspoon (Edited by Rev. Dr. John Rodgers); volume 1, volume 2, volume 3, volume 4 NEW!!!
Miscellaneous:
- "Empire and Nation" (Lee and Dickinson)
- "The American Republic: Primary Sources"
- "The Founders' Constitution"
- "Christianity and the United States," by John Franklin Goucher
- "Liberty and Order: The First American Party Struggle"
- "Political Sermons from the Founding Era" (2 volumes)
- Letters, Tracts, and Essays of other individual Founders
- Treaties of the U. S. with the Barbary Pirates (includes several versions of the Treaty of Tripoli)
If any of these links are broken are outdated, please inform me in the comments section below. Your input is greatly appreciated.
(When this page was displayed on Heritage Weekly, a blog which I deleted on 9/26/07, several visitors left comments, and it became a brief discussion. I think that these comments are worth preserving. I re-posted those comments on the "Comments" section on this post.)
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I have always been a fan of Thomas Paine. Recently I was thinking how little modern America knows about our Founding Fathers and their writings. I decided to start a blog to expose more people to these great men and have a place to discuss what they had read. Then I found your blog that has everything I could ever want to share and more. Kudos for setting up this great library. I will be a frequent visitor. Do you get much commentary from visitors?
Andy
Anonymous said...
November 21, 2008 at 2:32 PM
Hello Andy. Thanks so much for visiting my blog, and leaving your comment.
Actually, I don't really get much commentary from visitors, though I have gotten a little over the time that this blog has existed. So I really appreciate your comment and kind words. Thank you, and your welcome.
I am truly encouraged that you are adding another blog to the "blogosphere" that will help interest and enlighten our countrymen to the wisdom of its forefathers, and I'm honored that the material on my blog has been a help to you. That's what it is for.
Part of the ignorance many Americans have is due to the fact that 1) our culture is centered around entertainment, and provides too many outlets for distraction; and 2) the Founders' own writings (which are more fascinating than the drivel we get in school or elsewhere) have not been in wide circulation, and it has been difficult for ordinary Americans to access them.
When I set out to study America's Founding, I ran into this problem. But with the vast world of information on the internet, I was able to quickly solve this dilema. This "library blog" is the result of 5 years of "collecting" the primary resources of the Founding Era. And I still have more to add!
I'm glad you plan to come back frequently. I'll be adding more material and making improvements. Feel free to check my sidebar for things if you are doing research. I will be expanding it soon.
Thanks again for visiting and showing your appreciation. It means a lot to me.
God bless you.
Hercules Mulligan
Hercules Mulligan said...
November 21, 2008 at 3:08 PM
A few days ago I saw a new book with a fresh perspective on the rising tensions between American colonists and the British government in the run up to the Revolution. It's an amazing book, and a lot of fun to read. You will be interested in the role some of our Founding Fathers played in the story (on both sides). Check out "Defying Empire: Trading with the Enemy in Colonial New York" by Thomas M. Truxes.
Unknown said...
November 30, 2008 at 7:15 PM