Internet Resources

Perhaps more than any other field in US history, constitutional history has benefited from the development of the internet. A search will yield hundreds of sites devoted to the subject. Unfortunately--but unsurprisingly, given the nature of the medium--these sites are of very uneven quality. In particular, claiming faithfulness to the original intent of the Constitution has been a basic principle of the hard-line right in the last 15 years, and many sites claiming to be devoted to constitutional history are in reality little more than propaganda vehicles for various militia organizations. Therefore, be careful when surfing, and, if you have any questions about the usefulness of a site, feel free to email me and ask.

With that said, below are some sites that are worth looking at if you want additional material on the themes we are addressing in this course:

A Century of Lawmaking--This is a quite extraordinary site, containing reprints of every congressional debate between 1789 and 1873, as well as features on the Andrew Jackson impeachment and Indian removal issues.

Constitution Society--A private organization that tilts well to the right politically. Avoid their own material, which is quite biased. They have, on the other hand, assembled a wide variety of good links organized thematically.

Cornell's Supreme Court collection--A quite useful database, containing texts of hundreds of Supreme Court decisions, organized thematically

Avalon Project--This site, run by Yale University, ranges well beyond constitutional matters, to include interesting links containing political and diplomatic documents--from both the United States and Europe--as well.

Images of Political History--The place to start if you need to find a photograph of a key figure or event in US political history. Organized chronologically.

Oyez Project--Run out of Northwestern University, the single most useful site for 20th century constitutional history, complete with texts of all major decisions, summaries thereof, and oral reenactments, via RealAudio, of many important recent decisions.

Project PATCH--Another general site containing key 20th century Supreme Court decisions, which have been prepared in a printer-friendly format.

Annotated Documents in American Legal History--Somewhat narrow selection, and a bit opinionated, but the commentary makes for interesting reading.

Supreme Court Anti-Trust Database--A fascinating compilation of all important decisions flowing from the Clayton and Sherman Anti-Trust Acts.

History of the Death Penalty--The place to start if looking for documents and legal opinions on the death penalty.

Japanese-American Legal History--Provides a somewhat sketchy, but competent, overview of the legal issues behind the treatment of Americans of Japanese Ancestry during World War II.

Court Packing--Cartoons and other materials relating to FDR's Court-packing scheme.

The Clarence Thomas Hearings--A no-frills site containing the texts of testimony by Thomas, Anita Hill, and all witnesses on Hill's charges.

Red Scare--Small site devoted to wartime violations of civil liberties.