Research Guides: United States Government Documents: Presidential/Executive Branch Documents

Presidential Documents

The following resources provide access to government documents related to the presidency and the executive branch, including Executive Orders, the Weekly and Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, Presidential Directives, the Public Papers of the Presidents, and more.

GovInfo
Database provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
American Presidency Project Documents Page
Provides access to Messages and Papers of the Presidents (1789-1929), Public Papers of the Presidents (since 1929), Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (1977-2009), Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents (post-2009).
Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders
National Archives site that provides in one source proclamations and Executive orders with general applicability and continuing effect. This codification covers the period April 13, 1945, through January 20, 1989--a timespan encompassing the administrations of Harry S. Truman through Ronald Reagan
GPO Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
for Presidents Herbert Hoover through Barack Obama.

U.S. Presidential Library (Hein Online) This link opens in a new window
Full text of several important works related to the U.S. presidency including, among many others, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (1965-2006) and Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (1929-2001).
Federal Register Collection (Hein Online) This link opens in a new window
Search full text or browse by issue. Includes indexes and covers the full run of the Federal Register from 1937 to the present.
U.S. Attorney General Opinions (Hein Online) This link opens in a new window
Contains several publications of attorney general opinions including Official Opinions of the Attorney General (1791-1982) and Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel (1977-1996).