Founding Fathers Papers

Washington Papers - the project was established to publish a comprehensive edition of Washington's correspondence, including letters written to Washington as well as letters and documents written by him. The complete edition will consist of approximately eighty-seven volumes. Today there are copies of over 140,000 Washington documents in the project's document room. This is one of the richest collections of American historical manuscripts extant. There is almost no facet of research on life and enterprise in the late colonial and early national periods that will not be enhanced by material from these documents. The publication of Washington's papers will make this source material available not only to scholars but to all Americans interested in the founding of their nation.

James Madison - The project was established to publish annotated volumes of the correspondence and writings of James Madison, the Virginia statesman most often remembered for his public service as "Father of the Constitution as fourth president of the United States. The published volumes provide accurate texts of Madison's incoming and outgoing correspondence, informative notes on textual and subject matters, and comprehensive indexes. They are incomparably rich sources for students of Madison's life and valuable research tools for those interested in the general history of the period in which Madison lived (1751-1836).

Adams Papers - the project was founded to prepare a comprehensive published edition of the manuscripts written and received by the family of John Adams of Quincy, Massachusetts. The Adams Family Papers manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society forms the nucleus of the project. In addition, the editors have gathered over 27,000 copies of Adams items from hundreds of libraries, institutions, and individuals in the United States and abroad. The project's cutoff date is 1889, the year Abigail Brooks Adams died. The editors do not edit the Adams's words; rather they continue the search for Adams documents, select the material to be included in the edition, provide a faithful transcription of the manuscripts, and supply annotation. To date, 46 volumes have been published by Harvard University Press.

Jefferson Papers - preparing the authoritative and comprehensive edition of the correspondence and papers of our nation's third president. Jefferson's letters are the largest component of the more than 70,000 documents that have been assembled as photocopies from over 900 repositories and private collections worldwide. Careful research and collaborative scholarship produced the first volume, which set new standards for the organization and editorial presentation of historical documents. Forty-four volumes in the chronological series have been published to date. Today, through ongoing chronological and topical publication of the volumes as well as new digital access and multifaceted outreach efforts, this important correspondence in our nation's documentary heritage is made widely available.

Benjamin Franklin - The Project is a collaborative undertaking by a team of scholars at Yale University to collect, edit and publish the writings and papers of one of America's most remarkable founding fathers and indeed one of the most extraordinary people this nation has ever produced. His ever-curious and inventive mind explored nearly every aspect of his world, both pragmatic and theoretical, and he corresponded with an astonishing range of men and women of all classes and nearly all professions in America, Great Britain, and Europe. In a life spanning from 1706-1790, his collected papers present a panoramic view of the eighteenth century.