Sequentially numbered bound volumes of congressional reports and documents. Besides committee reports relating to pending legislation, the Serial Set included the House and Senate Journals from 1818-1954. In the 19th century, approximately 50% of Senate and House Documents were reprints of executive branch or departmental publications. It is worth considering the Serial Set as a source of all types of government publications into the first quarter of the 20th century.
The American State Papers, comprising a total of thirty-eight physical volumes, contain the legislative and executive documents of Congress during the period 1789 to 1838. The collection includes documents that cover the critical historical gap from 1789 to the printing of the first volume of the U.S. Serial Set in 1817.
