Prestatehood Legal Materials is derived from the AALL’s Joseph L. Andrews Literature Award-winning 2005 sourcebook, Prestatehood Legal Materials, which is edited by Michael Chiorazzi and Marguerite Most and is held in more than 350 libraries. It provides brief overviews of state histories from colonization to statehood and identifies a wide range of both readily available and hard-to-find materials from each state; links to more than 1,500 full-text documents are provided.
Unprecedented in its coverage of territorial government, this database holds resources that reveal the underlying legal principles that helped shape the United States. Research how foreign countries controlled the laws of these territories and how the states eventually broke away to govern themselves. Examine the legal issues with Native Americans, inter-state and the Mexican and Canadian borders, and the development of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government. This is an invaluable and comprehensive tool for researchers, and it’s included free in HeinOnline’s U.S. State Package as long as the U.S. State Package subscription is maintained.
This database contains bibliographies, references, and discussions on a varied list of source materials, including:
- State codes drafted by Congress
- County, state, and national archives
- Journals and digests
- State and federal reports, citations, surveys, and studies
- Books, manuscripts, papers, speeches, and theses
- Town and city records and documents
- And more!
Browse the print edition, use the visual map of the states, or select a state from the drop-down box.
