Yale University Library Research Guides: US Federal Government Information: The Executive: The President

Presidential papers - personal papers and correspondence

U.S. Presidential Library from HeinOnline (Yale subscription database)
Includes the Compilation of Presidential Documents, other collections of presidential papers, books, reports, and more.

Presidential Papers- microfilm

Presidential papers - public papers and texts of speeches

American Presidency Project (Hoover - G.W. Bush) (UC Santa Barbara)
Annual Messages of the Presidents (Yale Law Library, Avalon Project)
Compilation of Presidential Documents 1993-present
Presidential Recordings, Speeches, Oral Histories (Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon; University of Virginia, Miller Center of Public Affairs)
Public Papers of the Presidents (1991-present) (Government Printing Office)
Public Papers of the Presidents (Hoover-Clinton) (University of Michigan)
Public Papers of Ronald Reagan (University of Texas)
Executive Branch Videos (C-SPAN)

Primary sources and data

American Presidency Project
This online archive from the University of California at Santa Barbara includes many sources on the American presidency--everything from the Public Papers of the Presidents to an audio/video archive of presidential speeches. The tab on "Elections" includes convention speeches, presidential debates, party platforms, and voting data.
The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials, 1952-2016
This exhibit from the Museum of the Moving Image contains over 300 commercials from every presidential election since 1952. It's searchable by election year, type of commercial ("backfire," "fear," "children," etc.), and issue (civil rights, corruption, taxes, etc.).
Presidential Debate Transcripts
From the Commission on Presidential Debates. This site includes unofficial transcripts of many presidential and vice presidential debates from 1960 and 1976-present. (See the American Presidency Project for more complete coverage.)
The Wayback Machine
Want to see what Barack Obama's website looked like during his presidential campaign in 2008? Use the Wayback Machine from the Internet Archive to view archived versions of websites.
CQ Voting and Elections Collection (Yale subscription database)
Includes demographics, data, and analysis on voting and elections in America.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA): U.S. Electoral College
An electoral college calculator, signed certificates by Electors, and more from the U.S. National Archives.

Executive Orders and Presidential Directives

Definitions for Executive Orders and Presidential Directives

The American Presidency Project Executive Orders

Presidential Directives on National Security, Part I: From Truman to Clinton
Presidential Directives on National Security, Part II: From Harry Truman to George W. Bush
The two parts of this Digital National Security Archive collection contain every presidential directive released to date, from the Truman administration through the George W. Bush administration. (All of the documents in Part II became available after the publication of Part I.) These directives concern foreign affairs, defense and arms control policy, intelligence and counterterrorist activities, and international economic policy.

Presidential Directives and Executive Orders (Federation of American Scientists)
Truman through Obama.

Compilation of Presidential Documents
(Weekly, 1965-2009; Daily, 2009-present)
Includes all documents and statements issued by the White House.

Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1993-present (this is the most up to date)
Weekly: HeinOnline, August 1965-2009
Weekly: in print,1965-2001
Daily: HeinOnline, 2009-present

Public Papers of the Presidents.

HeinOnline, Hoover, Truman through Obama
Government Printing Office, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama
Also available in print.

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 3 (the President). [Washington, DC: Office of the Federal Register] Proclamations and Executive Orders are published as supplements to the CFR Title 3. The first volume published in 1944 covered 1943; supplements covering the calendar year are published annually.Cumulative issues are published periodically.

Federal Register (1936-present). [Washington, DC: Office of the Federal Register] Published daily when government operating, includes Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders.

Presidential Executive Orders, no.1(1845:June 26)-no.7403(1936:June 26) Full text on microfilm.

Indexes to executive orders (not full text)