LibGuides: Primary Sources: Law

Law

Colonial Law in Africa 1808-1919 This link opens in a new window Originally known as the 'Government Gazettes', these resources contain the colonial laws administered by the British for the year they were published. The legal records also include property for sale, probate records and bankruptcy notices. This is the first part of the three part series 'Colonial Law in Africa'. This resource covers the Napoleonic Wars, the Boer War and the First World War. It also covers the abolition of the legal status of slavery. These gazettes were published alongside the African Blue Books of Statistics during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Colonial Law in Africa 1920-1945 This link opens in a new window Originally known as the 'Government Gazettes', these resources contain the colonial laws administered by the British for Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Gambia, Ghana and Uganda between 1920-1945. The legal records also include property for sale, probate records and bankruptcy notices.
Colonial Law in Africa 1946-1966 This link opens in a new window Originally known as the 'Government Gazettes', these resources contain the colonial laws administered by the British for Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Gambia, Ghana, Uganda, Lesotho and Zimbabwe between 1946-1966. Their contents include tenders of property, probate records and insolvency notices.
Indian Communists and Trade Unionists on Trial: the Meerut Conspiracy, 1929-1933 This link opens in a new window Contains papers and documents surrounding the Meerut Conspiracy Case - a controversial court case initiated in British India in 1929. It began with the arrest and subsequent trial of twenty-nine trade unionists, including three Englishmen. These men were collectively charged under Section 121A of the Indian Penal Code, it was alleged that they had attempted ‘to deprive the King Emperor of the sovereignty of British India… ordained by the Communist International’.
Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises, 1800-1926 This link opens in a new window Search this comprehensive collection of legal treatises on U.S. and British law published from 1800 through 1926.
Making of Modern Law: Trials, 1600-1926 This link opens in a new window Read through full-text documents from Anglo-American trials, including transcripts, printed accounts, arbitrations, and books.
Making of the Modern World: Part 3 1890-1945 This link opens in a new window Monographs and periodicals on political economy, trade, finance, industry, business, labour, and related subjects. The archive supports research on world trade, finance and capital formation, transportation and the growth of cities, industrialisation, imperialism and colonialism, socialism, labour and poverty.
Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913 This link opens in a new window Searchable accounts of trials that took place at the Old Bailey, London's Central Criminal Court, between 1674 -1913.
Prosecuting the Holocaust: British Investigations into Nazi Crimes, 1944-1949 This link opens in a new window Drawn from The National Archives (UK) and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, this includes testimony of and interviews with victims and alleged perpetrators. Evidence covers many aspects of the Holocaust, from the concentration camp system to the mass murder of the “incurably sick” in psychiatric hospitals. Many of the victims of these atrocities testified about their experiences immediately after the war.
Selden Society Publications via HeinOnline This link opens in a new window Legal history research resource encompassing the primary publications that have formed the foundation of English Law. Includes: Selden Society Annual Series, Selden Society Supplementary Series and the Centenary Guide to the Publications of the Selden Society published in 1987, plus English Legal History Classics including abridgements, digests and dictionaries.
Trade Unions in Crisis: the 1961 ETU Ballot-Rigging Scandal This link opens in a new window Collection contains verbatim transcripts of the court case, which was brought to the High Court by prominent union members John Thomas Byrne and Frank Chapple in 1961. They alleged that members of the Communist Party of Great Britain had engaged in "a conspiracy to defraud" in the most recent elections of the Electrical Trades Union.
UK Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window Fully searchable full text archive of House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (HCPP), also known as Sessional Papers or Blue Books, dating from 1715 through to today. Includes, Bills, House of Common Papers and Command Papers. Hansard debates archive also available. House of Lords Parliamentary Papers and House of Commons Public Petitions to Parliament also now included.

Law and Society since the Civil War: American Legal Manuscripts from the Harvard Law School Library (1861-1976) This link opens in a new window Contains 11 collections from the Harvard Law School Library, highlighting three U.S. Supreme Court Justices, the first Black federal judge, high-profile cases, and insights into developing ideologies and laws, covering 1861 to 1976 across the various collections. Includes details of the workings of the Supreme Court in the C20th and includes coverage of key cases, e.g. the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
Legal Battle for Civil Rights in Alabama: Vernon Z. Crawford Records, 1958-1978 Civil Rights Cases and Selections from the Blacksher, Menefee & Stein Records This link opens in a new window Selected portions of the records of attorney Vernon Z. Crawford and the Blacksher, Menefee and Stein law firm whose work represents a significant contribution to the shape of the civil rights movement in 20th century Alabama. Contains legal documents, correspondence, surveys and much more.
Lincoln at the Bar: Extant Case Files from the U.S. District and Circuit Courts, Southern District of Illinois 1855-1861 This link opens in a new window Extant case files from the records of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts at Springfield with which Abraham Lincoln has been identified as legal counsel, and date from 1855 to 1861. The 122 case files reproduced here include civil actions brought under both statute and common law, admiralty litigation, and a few criminal cases.
Making of Modern Law: American Civil Liberties Union Papers (Primary Sources) This link opens in a new window Search the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) records on free speech, citizenship, race, discrimination, and other topics.
Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises, 1800-1926 This link opens in a new window Search this comprehensive collection of legal treatises on U.S. and British law published from 1800 through 1926.
Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources, 1600-1970 This link opens in a new window Find state and municipal codes, documents relating to constitutional conventions, and other American legal history resources.
Making of Modern Law: Trials, 1600-1926 This link opens in a new window Read through full-text documents from Anglo-American trials, including transcripts, printed accounts, arbitrations, and books.
Making of the Modern World: Part 3 1890-1945 This link opens in a new window Monographs and periodicals on political economy, trade, finance, industry, business, labour, and related subjects. The archive supports research on world trade, finance and capital formation, transportation and the growth of cities, industrialisation, imperialism and colonialism, socialism, labour and poverty.
NAACP Papers: the NAACP's Major Campaigns - Legal Department Files This link opens in a new window Papers of the U.S. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, covering 1956-1972. Covers the work for civil rights done by the NAACP's general counsel and his Legal Department staff. Covers the NAACP's campaign to bring about desegregation throughout the United States, particularly in the South. Includes over 600 cases from 34 states and the District of Columbia.
Price Control in the Courts: the U.S. Emergency Court of Appeals, 1941-1961 This link opens in a new window Covers the creation and the activities of the temporary Emergency Court of Appeals in the US, which was staffed by federal judges from the district courts and courts of appeals, with exclusive jurisdiction to determine the validity of price control regulations.
Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Enforcement of Federal Law in the South, 1871-1884 This link opens in a new window This US collection covers the efforts of district attorneys from southern states to uphold federal laws in the states that fought in the Confederacy or were Border States. Includes their correspondence with the attorney general as well as the correspondence of marshals, judges, convicts, and concerned or aggrieved citizens.
Scopes Case This link opens in a new window Covers the Scopes Case in the U.S. from July 1925. Formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes highlighted the ongoing debates on creationism vs. evolutionism and teaching in American schools. Contains the court record, minutes and transcript.
Slavery and the Law (1775-1867) This link opens in a new window Contains petitions on race, slavery, and free blacks that were submitted to U.S. state legislatures and county courthouses between 1775 and 1867. Collected together from hundreds of courthouses and historical societies in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Also includes the State Slavery Statutes collection, a comprehensive record of the laws governing American slavery from 1789-1865.
Spiro T. Agnew Case: The Investigative and Legal Documents This link opens in a new window Spiro T. Agnew was Vice President to Richard Nixon from 1969 until his resignation in 1973 following an investigation on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion and tax fraud. This collection contains the legal documents of the case, the correspondence surrounding the investigation and trial, Agnew's personal records, and related newspaper and magazine articles.

Holocaust and the Concentration Camp Trials: Prosecution of Nazi War Crimes This link opens in a new window Documents on the investigation and prosecution of war crimes committed by Nazi concentration camp officials and staff. The collection includes correspondence; trial records and transcripts; interrogation reports and trial exhibits; clemency petitions and reviews; photographs of atrocities; newspaper clippings; and pamphlets.
Human Rights Studies Online This link opens in a new window Provides comparative documentation, analysis, and interpretation of major human rights violations and atrocity crimes worldwide from 1900 to 2010. Includes primary and secondary materials and can be searched as a whole or browsed by theme and event.
Making of the Modern World: Part 3 1890-1945 This link opens in a new window Monographs and periodicals on political economy, trade, finance, industry, business, labour, and related subjects. The archive supports research on world trade, finance and capital formation, transportation and the growth of cities, industrialisation, imperialism and colonialism, socialism, labour and poverty.