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Michigan State University

British Empire and the American Revolution: Government Documents Primary Sources

This is a guide to researching the American Revolution in the M.S.U. Libraries from both the American and British perspectives, but is not heavy into the military dimension. Loyalists. Empire Loyalists. Last updated 05-24-2023

Government Documents Primary Sources

American documents are listed first, followed by British documents.   Also use the Section of this guide called Electronic Primary Sources.

Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789

Main J 10 .A5 v. 1-34; Main J 10 .A52 (index).  There are other HathiTrust editions, besides the link given here.  To find them, go to E Books and Journals and search for HathiTrust.  At this site, which contains full text digital versions of out of copyright works owned by major university libraries, look up the title Journals of the Continental Congress...

Papers of the Continental Congress, 1771-1789

Remote Storage Microforms 2017 reels 1-7, 18-21, 23, 24, 31, 65, 71-73, 78-79
Microcopy guides has index at Z 1238 .B87 v. 1-5
Microcopy guides has a guide to the set at E 303 .U5 1971

Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-89

Microforms, Remote Storage, call number=21948 10 reels

Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States

Georgian Papers Online

Catalogue of the Georgian Papers held in the Royal Archives and the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.This catalogue currently contains descriptions and digitised images of material dating from the reigns of George III to William IV, including personal letters, diaries, account books and records of the Royal Household.

Prize Papers Online: Atlas

A resource with examples of research on the maritime sectors of early modern and modern Europe and North America. This resource is dedicated to showing the richness of the Prize Papers, considered to be one of the world’s most important maritime archives. In the course of its many naval engagements the British Royal Navy seized numerous enemy ships. Documents pertaining to tens of thousands of these seized ships (“prizes”) have been preserved. Every ship's file contains at least one document in English: transcriptions of the interrogations by the Prize Courts of the captain and other crew members aboard ships taken as lawful prizes. The Prize Papers Online: Atlas makes available a sample of the Prize Papers’ interrogations. Providing a wealth of information about ships and their crews, the interrogations make up a crucial portion of the Prize Paper Archive, providing unprecedented insights into the workings of the maritime sector during the Age of Sail.

House of Commons Sessional Papers of the Eighteenth Century

Remote Storage J 301 f.K6 1975 v. 1-145
Includes bills (public and private), reports, and accounts and papers for 1715-1800. Arrangement is chronological. The last two volumes have "list" in the call number. These list the papers included by date, by command number (those ordered to be printed), alphabetically by title. There is also a subject index; it is the last item in the second list volume. In the Electronic Resources Section of this guide there is a link to the online version.

Proceedings and Debates of the British Parliaments Respecting North America, 1754-1783

Remote Storage E 187 .G79 1982 v. 1-6

Records of the British Colonial Office, Class 5

Microforms, Remote Storage, call number= 27761 pt. 2 reels 1-6
Microcopy Guides E 187 .G8 1983 pts. 1-5

American Independence, Events to 1776: Facsimiles of Documents

Remote Storage E 203 f.G69 1976 and 1976a

Documents of the American Revolution, 1770-1783. Colonial Office Series

Main E 203 .G68 1972 v. 1-21

Parliamentary Register; Proceedings and Debates

Remote Storage J 301 .H2212 [covers 1774-1801]

Journals of the House of Commons, 1547-1900

Microforms microprint #9