The primary source documents on this page highlight pivotal moments in the course of American history or government. They are some of the most-viewed and sought-out documents in the holdings of the National Archives. A note about the documents included on this page : These documents were originally selected for the project Our Documents: Milestone Documents from the National Archives, a national initiative on American history, civics, and service.
They were identified to "help us think, talk and teach about the rights and responsibilities of citizens in our democracy These documents reflect our diversity and our unity, our past and our future, and mostly our commitment as a nation to continue to strive to 'form a more perfect union.
In the future, this page will be updated with additional documents created after Top Skip to main content. Lee Resolution Declaration of Independence Articles of Confederation Treaty of Alliance with France Treaty of Paris Virginia Plan Northwest Ordinance Constitution of the United States Federal Judiciary Act Bill of Rights Alien and Sedition Acts Marbury v.
Madison Treaty of Ghent Patent for Cotton Gin Louisiana Purchase Treaty McCulloch v. Maryland Missouri Compromise Monroe Doctrine Gibbons v. Ogden Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Compromise of Kansas-Nebraska Act Dred Scott v. Sandford Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter Homestead Act Pacific Railway Act Morrill Act Emancipation Proclamation Colored Troops Wade-Davis Bill Constitution: Abolition of Slavery Check for the Purchase of Alaska Fort Laramie Treaty Constitution: Civil Rights Constitution: Voting Rights Act Establishing Yellowstone National Park Chinese Exclusion Act Pendleton Act Interstate Commerce Act Dawes Act Sherman Anti-Trust Act Plessy v.
Ferguson Platt Amendment Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine Constitution: Federal Income Tax Constitution: Direct Election of U. Senators Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of Zimmermann Telegram President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points Constitution: Women's Right to Vote Boulder Canyon Project Act Tennessee Valley Authority Act National Industrial Recovery Act National Labor Relations Act Social Security Act Lend-Lease Act General Dwight D.
