Research Guides: Legal History: Additional Primary Sources

Databases and other online resources

When you are looking for primary sources, try searching the Library catalog by an author from the time period or enter a subject in combination with any of the subject headings used to define primary sources:

Correspondence
Diaries Documents
Government documents
Interviews
Legal documents
Letters
Manuscripts
Memoirs
Narratives
Pamphlets
Sources Speeches

For example, the following subject heading would be used for books which include pamphlets from the American Revolution

United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Pamphlets

In addition to the resources listed on other pages of this guide, explore the following databases and online resources:

ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Access to congressional publications, hearings, debates, committee prints, CRS reports, legislative histories, bills, current laws, and regulations. Presently includes the full texts of hearings from 1824-2024, House & Senate Reports (Serial Set 1 & 2) from 1789-2003, CRS reports from 1916-2003, committee prints from 1830-2022, historical Congressional Record (debates) from 1789-1997 as well as the current Daily Congressional Record (debates) from 1985 to present, the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.
Legal Classics (HeinOnline) This link opens in a new window
More than 1,200 works from renown legal scholars, including Joseph Story, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin N. Cardozo and Edwardo Coke. In addition to many "classics," this collection includes rare items that are found in only a handful of libraries around the world.
Law and Society since the Civil War This link opens in a new window
Collections from the Harvard Law School Library, highlighting three Supreme Court Justices, the first Black federal judge, high-profile cases, and insights into developing ideologies and laws, as far back as 1861 with the Papers of Oliver Wendell Holmes, which span from the Civil War to the Great Depression. The Papers of Louis D. Brandeis and Felix Frankfurter provide a behind-the-scenes view of the Supreme Court between 1919 and 1961. The Frankfurter Papers are of special note because they reveal how the Supreme Court approached the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The Avalon Project from Yale Univeristy
The Avalon Project is a digital repository of important documents, including treaties, pertaining to law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy and government. Search by time frame or by subject. Contains links to original text and supporting publications about the subject.

Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law (HeinOnline) This link opens in a new window
This collection brings together a multitude of essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. This includes every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery.

History Vault
Includes multiple subcollections in broad subject areas, including Civil Rights; American Indians and the American West; International Relations and Military Conflicts; Slavery; Women's Studies; and Workers and Labor Unions.

Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law (HeinOnline) This link opens in a new window
Includes an expansive archive of treaties, federal statutes and regulations, federal case law, tribal codes, constitutions, and jurisprudence related to Native American Law.

Legal Studies materials available at Brandeis University's Archives & Special Collections

Collections relevant to legal studies include the personal papers of Louis Brandeis as well as materials related to specific legal cases such as that of Leo Frank or Sacco and Vanzetti. Other materials include a collection of (pre-1947) Indian legal documents as well as photographs from the Nuremberg Trials.

David Berkowitz Papers: Finding aid
Hired in 1948 by Brandeis as Associate Professor of History and Political Science and scholar of English and legal history and the Renaissance, Berkowitz taught classes such as Topics in Constitutional History, and Topics in Historical Jurisprudence.
Indian Legal Documents collection: Finding aid
The Indian Legal Documents collection contains court records from several former princely states in the present-day state of Rajasthan, dating primarily from the 1930s and 1940s.
Isaac Newton manuscript: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on a rare unpublished handwritten manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton, circa 1687.
Isidor Enselman papers: Finding aid
The materials in this collection were created between 1921 and 1990, and relate to the life and career of Isidor Enselman, a New York attorney and judge,
Legal Studies Program: Finding Aid
This collection is largely official reports and paperwork pertaining to the maintenance of the Legal Studies Program. Some letters of Saul Touster are included.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Finding aid
This collection chiefly consists of correspondence from Leo Frank and his wife, Lucille Frank, as well as correspondence to and from Governor Slaton and others. Also included are miscellaneous articles, pamphlets and legal documents.
Leo Frank Trial collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Leo Frank Trial Collection, including images of some letters and documents.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Finding aid
This collection contains personal correspondence, family photographs, publications, financial records, newsclippings, biographical material, and more.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis collection: Spotlight
See a Spotlight on the Louis Brandeis collection, with a descriptive essay and enlargeable images.
Léon Lipschutz collection of Dreyfusiana and French Judaica: Finding Aid
The bulk of the items in this collection relate to the Dreyfus Affair in France during the 1890s and early 1900s. These materials include newspaper clippings, cartoons, books, and studio photographs of many of the key players in the Affair. Particularly well represented are anti-Semitic newspaper clippings and caricatures, which characterize the anti-Dreyfus movement.
Léon Lipschutz collection of Dreyfusiana and French Judaica: Spotlight
The majority of this collection is made up of materials specifically related to the Dreyfus Affair, including letters, newsclippings, and photos.
Morton Keller Papers: Finding aid
Keller is Professor Emeritus in History and a scholar of American legal history. Keller taught courses on U.S. history, political history, legal history, and the state in the Western world. His scholarly work focused on legal history, especially the period of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Francis Russell collection: Finding aid
This collection includes documents related to the Citizens National Committee for Sacco and Vanzetti and the Sacco and Vanzetti National League. Also included are drafts of Russell's writings, correspondence, documents, photographs, and videotapes.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Gardner Jackson collection: Finding aid
Special Collections has several collections dealing with the Sacco-Vanzetti case. This collection contains writings by and about Gardner Jackson and his involvement in the establishment of the case as a supreme example of American injustice.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Mrs. Walter Frank collection: Finding aid
This collection correspondence by and to people who belonged to either the Sacco-Vanzetti National League (New York) or the Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee (Boston), including Gardner Jackson and Felix Frankfurter, as well as other letters and photos.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Spotlight
See this Spotlight for notable objects related to the trial and held by Special Collections.
Sacco and Vanzetti collections: Tom O'Connor collection: Finding aid
Tom O'Connor was a journalist who also served as the secretary for the Vindication Committee of Sacco and Vanzetti. This collection contains newsclippings and correspondence O'Connor collected during his lifelong interest in the case.
Saul Touster Papers: Finding Aid
Under Touster's leadership, Brandeis developed the Legal Studies Program. Beyond his positions as legal professor and Director of the Legal Studies Program, Touster was also very active in the general administration of Brandeis University.
William Goldsmith Papers: Finding aid
Goldsmith initiated and participated in numerous programs and committees as a professor at Brandeis. Many of these programs, such as Upward Bound and TYP, were focused on the issues of educating the disadvantaged. He also researched Louis Brandeis.