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Free to Use and Reuse: Presidential Papers, 1780s-1920s

The Library of Congress holds the papers of 23 presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, all of which have been digitized and are available online as 3.3 million images. The selected documents represent the variety of materials available in the papers as well as some of the most important texts. A press release provides the web address for each collection.

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Draft of the Federal Constitution with marginal notes by George Washington, September 12, 1787. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division.
Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, delivered November 19, 1863 (Nicolay copy). Abraham Lincoln Papers, Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt, diary entry, February 14, 1884, recording his despair after the deaths of both his wife and mother on the same day. Theodore Roosevelt Papers, Manuscript Division.
Telegram from Congressman John Franklin Miller of Washington state to Calvin Coolidge’s secretary C. Bascom Slemp, September 30, 1924, requesting that he urge the president to call a special session of Congress so that members could return to see the Washington Senators play in the 1924 World Series. Calvin Coolidge Papers, Manuscript Division.
George Washington, inaugural address, April 30, 1789. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division.
Farm report, George Augustine Washington to President George Washington, March 6, 1790, recording the births, sicknesses, and labor of slaves. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division.
George Washington, September 17, 1796, Farewell Address. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division.
Thomas Jefferson, Map of the Federal District, March 31, 1791, drawn while Secretary of State. Thomas Jefferson Papers, Manuscript Division.
Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis, cipher to use on the Lewis and Clark expedition, April 20, 1803. Thomas Jefferson Papers, Manuscript Division.
Thomas Jefferson, sixth annual message to Congress, December 2, 1806, putting into effect the Constitution’s ban on the slave trade after twenty years. Thomas Jefferson Papers, Manuscript Division.
Thomas Jefferson’s 1826 plan for his own tomb excluded mention of his role as third president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson Papers, Manuscript Division.
James Madison, notes for a speech on Constitutional amendments to constitute a Bill of Rights, June 8, 1789. James Madison Papers, Manuscript Division.
Former president John Adams to current president James Monroe regarding appointments to office, June 27, 1817. James Monroe Papers, Manuscript Division.
Andrew Jackson, draft of first inaugural address, March 4, 1829. Andrew Jackson Papers, Manuscript Division.
James K. Polk, diary entry, August 26, 1846, on his reasons for keeping a diary. James K. Polk Papers, Manuscript Division.
Arrangements for the presidential inauguration of Zachary Taylor, March 5, 1849. Zachary Taylor Papers, Manuscript Division.
Franklin Pierce, draft of last annual message to Congress, December 2, 1856. Franklin Pierce Papers, Manuscript Division.
Cigar box label featuring Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, 1860. Abraham Lincoln Papers, Manuscript Division.
Final copy of Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address, delivered on March 4, 1861, with handwritten closing paragraph. Abraham Lincoln Papers, Manuscript Division.
Abraham Lincoln’s preliminary draft of an emancipation proclamation, first read to his cabinet on July 22, 1862. Abraham Lincoln Papers, Manuscript Division.
Abraham Lincoln, “cut-and-paste” reading copy of second inaugural address, delivered March 4, 1865. Abraham Lincoln Papers, Manuscript Division.
Andrew Johnson, speech in the U.S. Senate, May 20, 1858, on the Homestead Bill before Congress. Andrew Johnson Papers, Manuscript Division.
Expense account, 1865, reflecting African American steward William Slade’s grocery purchases for the Andrew Johnson White House. Andrew Johnson Papers, Manuscript Division.
Ulysses S. Grant to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, May 11, 1864. Ulysses S. Grant Papers, Manuscript Division.
Note exchanged between Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia, May 22, 1875, on the anniversary of their engagement. Ulysses S. Grant Papers, Manuscript Division.
Letter of introduction for James A. Garfield by Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford, July 10, 1867. James A. Garfield Papers, Manuscript Division.
James A. Garfield, final diary entry, July 1, 1881. James A. Garfield Papers, Manuscript Division.
Bill submitted to Chester Alan Arthur from cigar importer G. W. Faber, October 20, 1873. Chester Alan Arthur Papers, Manuscript Division.
Letter, New Yorker Julia Sand to Chester Alan Arthur, March 1882, expressing her contempt for the Chinese exclusion bill then before Congress. Chester Alan Arthur Papers, Manuscript Division
Grover Cleveland, pictured on an 1888 presidential campaign ribbon. Grover Cleveland Papers, Manuscript Division.
Benjamin Harrison’s envelope reply, refusing to make a political deal at the June 1888 Republican nominating convention. Benjamin Harrison Papers, Manuscript Division.
Broadside comparing the respective Civil War service of presidential candidates Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland, 1888. Benjamin Harrison Papers, Manuscript Division.
Grover Cleveland to his friend A. B. Farquhar, February 11, 1908, on being “an optimistic American” despite current events. Grover Cleveland Papers, Manuscript Division.
William McKinley, draft message, April 11, 1898, regarding the use of U.S. military forces in Cuba. William McKinley Papers, Manuscript Division.
Newspaper cartoon poking fun at New York City Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, July 12, 1895. Theodore Roosevelt Papers, Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt, 1902 sketch of brands used to identify his cattle while a rancher. Theodore Roosevelt Papers, Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt to son Archibald Roosevelt, September 28, 1907, on the White House antics of youngest child, Quentin. Theodore Roosevelt Papers, Manuscript Division
National Civil and Political League of American Negroes, Washington, D.C. Notice of meeting to support William H. Taft’s reelection, August 12, 1912. William H. Taft Papers, Manuscript Division.
Photograph of William H. Taft at a microphone, undated. William H. Taft Papers, Manuscript Division.
Cartoon, “The Bluff,” predicting that Theodore Roosevelt would be the animating force in a Taft presidency, ca. 1908. William H. Taft Papers, Manuscript Division.
Courtship letter from President Woodrow Wilson to Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, May 6, 1915. Woodrow Wilson Papers, Manuscript Division.
Woodrow Wilson’s signature, 1917, transformed into an inkblot in an unusual autograph book titled Your Hidden Skeleton (Philadelphia: John C. Winston Co., n.d.). Woodrow Wilson Papers, Manuscript Division.
Carrie Chapman Catt to Woodrow Wilson, November 26, 1918, urging him to speak on behalf of the woman’s suffrage amendment. Woodrow Wilson Papers, Manuscript Division.
Woodrow Wilson's speech notes, in shorthand, for his "Fourteen Points" address, [8 January 1918]. Woodrow Wilson Papers, Manuscript Division.
Photograph, James L. Callahan, Boston Globe, of newly sworn-in President Calvin Coolidge greeting eight-year-old Bernard “Pinkie” Sinay, in North Bennington, Vermont, August 3, 1923. Calvin Coolidge Papers, Manuscript Division.