For more than 45 years, the Historic Documents series has made primary source research easy by presenting excerpts from documents on the important events of each year for the United States and the world. Each volume includes approximately 60 events with well over 100 documents from the previous year, from official or other influential reports and surveys, to speeches from leaders and opinion makers, to court cases, legislation, testimony, and much more.


Historic Documents is renowned for the well-written and informative background, history, and context it provides for each document. Each volume begins with an insightful essay that sets the year’s events in context, and each document or group of documents is preceded by a comprehensive introduction that provides background information on the event. Full-source citations are provided. Readers have easy access to material through a detailed, thematic table of contents, and each event includes references to related coverage and documents from the last ten editions of the series.

Events covered in the 2017 Edition include:




The intricacies of the new presidential administration of Donald Trump
Russian involvement in the U.S. presidential election
U.S. and global policies on immigration and refugees
Landmark Supreme Court rulings on gerrymandering and state grant money for parochial schools, and the appointment of Neil Gorsuch
Global warming and climate change agreements and policies
European elections, including those in the UK, France, and Germany
Outcomes of the G-20 Summit
North Korea and international calls to action

Volumes in this series dating back to 1972 are available as online editions on SAGE Knowledge.