The yellowing pages ofthe early House and Senate Journals and the published debates ofCongress reveal a compelling picture ofthe history of the Republic. In the past, these volumes have not been easily accessible to most secondary or college students; their dense text and poor indices can seem daunting even to scholars. But now the Law Library ofCongress is making the documentary records of Congress readily available over the World Wide Web. The online collection A Century ofLawmakinghr a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 17744873 presents the early published records ofCongress as an integrated suite of documents. By offering a combination of facsimile digital images and searchable text, it makes these documents accessible and usable in an entirely new way. A set of online reference tools further enhances the collection. This new electronic version makes it much easier for teachers and students to explore these congressional materials. The grand themes of American history emerge through the debates and legislation of the members ofCongress. As documents are added to the site, students will be able to trace the story of the Louisiana Purchase and westward expansion, or follow the debates over slavery. They will discover dramatic scenes such as Henry Clay and Thomas Hart Benton trading insults on the Senate floor during the National Bank debate of 1832. The Law Library of Congress, established as a separate depart ment ofthe Library ofCongress in 1832, houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of legal materials?more than two million volumes. In 1995 Congress agreed to provide support for the National Digital Library Program ofthe Library ofCongress, in order to expand remote access to the library's rare and educationally valuable holdings in American history and culture. A public/private partnership funds the program, and the Law Library's online histori cal collection will form a major part of this effort. The collection was selected to present documents from early congressional history: the records, papers, and laws published from the First through the Forty-second Congresses, as well as records of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. The end ofthe Forty-second Congress marks the end ofthe publication of the Congressional Globe. From the opening of the Forty-third Congress, the debates were published as the Congressional Record, the form in which we know it today. A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 17744873wi\\ provide Internet access to the following materials: The Journals ofthe Continental Congress (17 74-1789), Farrand' s Records ofthe Federal Convention ofl 787, and Elliot's Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption ofthe Federal Constitution; The Journal ofthe House of Representatives, the Journal ofthe Senate, and the Journal ofthe Executive Proceedings ofthe Senate(l 789 1873), the constitutionally mandated records ofCongress; The Annals ofCongress (1789-1824), the Register of Debates (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globed 833-1873), the published debates of Congress; The Journal of William Maclay, United States Senator from Pennsylvania, 1789-1 791; The American State Papers (1789-1838), the legislative and executive documents published by Congress; The United States Statutes atLarge(l 789-1873), the legislation ofCongress.