Rotunda’s American Founding Era collection offers scholars and students at all levels an invaluable source of primary and secondary materials by some of the era’s most enduring figures, including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton.

In November 2008, Rotunda released the first version of our new consolidated Founding Era platform. As publications are added to the Founding Era collection, they will become fully interoperable: cross-searchable and navigable as a collection by chronology.

“The space available to me here can’t do full justice to the [American Founding Era Collection]. . . . This is a powerhouse of primary-source documents. . . . A ten!” —Cheryl LaGuardia, Library Journal

The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution Edited by John P. Kaminski, Gaspare J. Saladino, Richard Leffler, Charles H. Schoenleber and Margaret A. Hogan This landmark work in historical and legal scholarship draws upon thousands of sources to trace the Constitution’s progress through each of the thirteen states’ conventions. The digital edition allows users to search the complete contents by date, title, author, recipient, or state affiliation and preserves the copious annotations and thorough indexing of the print edition.

The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition Barbara B. Oberg and J. Jefferson Looney, Editors Crucial to our nation’s history as author of the Declaration of Independence and third president, Thomas Jefferson was also a major figure in the Enlightenment, representing for Europeans the embodiment of the early nineteenth-century American mind. Since 1950, his writings have been compiled in the ongoing project The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Rotunda’s digital edition brings together all 33 volumes published through 2006 into one searchable online resource. This content will be joined soon by the first four volumes of the Retirement Series sponsored by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which documents the time between Jefferson’s return to private life and his death in 1826. This XML edition includes all the illustrations and bibliographical content of the print edition, with the added convenience of linked cross-references and indexes.

The Adams Papers Digital Edition C. James Taylor, Editor in Chief The definitive record of the nation’s first great political family, The Adams Papers Digital Edition comprises John Adams’s complete diaries, selected legal papers, and the ongoing series of family correspondence and state papers. This XML edition presents in a searchable online environment all 30 volumes of the Adams Papers from the founding generation published through 2006. The contents are fully annotated, feature linked cross-references, and may be accessed by date, series, author, or recipient, as well as through a master index (coming shortly). Future volumes will appear in installments.
“Highly recommended” – Choice, October 2009

The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition Theodore J. Crackel, Editor in Chief Named an Outstanding Academic Title 2007 by the American Library Association’s Choice magazine
All 55 volumes of the celebrated print edition published through 2007, encompassing five series and the complete diaries, are now available in one XML-based publication. Users may search on full text and by date, author, and recipient. The exceptional indexing of the print volumes is combined here into a single master index, and all internal document cross-references are linked. The content may be navigated by series, date, or index entry.

The Dolley Madison Digital Edition Edited by Holly C. Shulman Containing over 900 letters, with nearly 2,000 additional letters to follow in periodic updates, this XML-based archive allows users to perform simple or advanced searches by period, correspondent, or topic. The letters may also be accessed directly through a sortable list or read in chronological order. Proper names link to a glossary that identifies over 1,000 people, providing a unique biographical view on the elites of the early Republic.

---

Founders Early Access The Rotunda Founders Early Access project makes available for the first time thousands of unpublished documents from our nation’s founders in a free online resource. Conceived with the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities’ Documents Compass group, Early Access offers readers a backstage pass to a phase of the documentary editing process never before available. Purchasers of any Founding Era publication will have automatic access to these documents as well, fully integrated into the purchased publication(s) for purposes of searching and browsing.

The Papers of James Madison
The multivolume collected papers of the fourth president and chief architect of the Constitution are presented together in a single XML-based archive. This fully searchable online resource includes all the primary-source material and editorial content of the celebrated print edition, with future volumes, including the forthcoming Retirement Series, to be added in installments.

The Papers of Alexander Hamilton
The landmark complete papers of the founder of the Federalist Party and the early Republic’s most influential fiscal voice.

The Papers of Andrew Jackson Digital Edition
This project delivers to scholars and students the most important papers of the seventh president of the United States and the dominant figure in American politics between Jefferson and Lincoln. This online version will contain all the content of the print edition, fully annotated and indexed.

The Papers of John Marshall Digital Edition
Marshall’s papers represent a major contribution to American legal and political history. The statesman and jurist had the longest-ever tenure as chief justice of the United States and was central in establishing the role of the Supreme Court in our government. This edition brings together all the content of the multivolume print edition into one online resource.

The Papers of John Jay Digital Edition
Comprised largely of documents unavailable for study until recently, this publication presents the papers of the president of the Continental Congress, coauthor of the Federalist Papers, and first chief justice of the United States. The digital edition contains all content from the print edition and is fully searchable.