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FORMER WINNER OF THE JOSEPH L. ANDREWS LEGAL LITERATURE AWARD

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Prestatehood Legal Materials

Derived from the award-winning sourcebook Prestatehood Legal Materials, this database provides brief overviews of state histories from colonization to statehood.

700

TITLES

1,372

VOLUMES

744,810

PAGES

Laptop View of Prestatehood Legal Materials

About the Prestatehood Legal Materials Database

This database is derived from the AALL’s Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award-winning 2005 sourcebook, Prestatehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research Guide, Including New York City and the District of Columbia, 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. The database also provides links to more than 1,500 full-text documents.

This is an invaluable and comprehensive tool for researchers. Unprecedented in its coverage of territorial government, Prestatehood Legal Materials 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.

Title List: KBART (TXT) | CSV | HTML

Database Tools and Features

Visual Map

Use the visual map to quickly select a state and view its state codes, historical background, relevant scholarly articles, and more!

Books, Manuscripts, and Papers

Dive deep into prestatehood history with a varied list of source materials, linked within each states' bibliography.

Town and City Records and Documents

Read through records and documents featuring early administration of municipal affairs in each state.

The U.S. State Package

The Prestatehood Legal Materials database is included in all U.S. State Package subscriptions. The U.S. State Package combines eight databases to provide millions of pages of content related to all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Subscribers have access to the following collections:

Using the Prestatehood Legal Materials Database

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