The journals of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States are included in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set.
The links below are subscription editions of the Congressional Record and available to NU-affiliated users only. Subscription versions may provide search or viewing options unavailable in the free versions.
Bound / Permanent Edition
Daily Edition
Predecessors to the CR
PRINT FORMAT
Print = Books. Tried and true, we all know how to use these!
Visit the NU Libraries to use materials in print or microfiche/microfilm format. Location and call numbers are available by following the links noted below.
MICROFICHE
Microfiche is a 4"x6" translucent material that allows miniaturization of published material. Equipment is available to support reading the content and reproducing pages to paper or digital copies. The equipment is in University Library Room B190 (map; instructions) and the Main Library Mitchell Multimedia Center 2nd floor (map; instructions provided at that location).
ONLINE EDITIONS (available years vary by provider)
Predecessors to the Congressional Record
Congressional Record Daily Edition
Bound Edition
The primary ways in which the bound edition differs from the daily edition are continuous pagination; somewhat edited, revised, and rearranged text; and the dropping of the prefixes H, S, and E before page numbers.
Publication of the Debates and Actions of Congress 1789-present
Overview of the Congressional Record and Its Predecessor Publications by Rick McKinney (LLSDC, 2015)
Publications of the First and Second Continental Congresses (1774–1781) will be found in the Early American Imprints series.
Publications from the Congress of the Confederation (1781-1789) can also be found in the Early American Imprints database.
Also Known As:
Created by the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union in 1781, this was a unicameral body with legislative and executive function, it was composed of delegates appointed by the legislatures of the several states.
When referring to a time-period (e.g., the 114th Congress which convened on January 6, 2015) rather than the legislative branch generally, a Congress is the national legislature in office (for approximately two years). It begins with the convening of a new Congress comprised of members elected in the most-recent election and ends with the adjournment sine die of the legislature (typically after a new election has occurred).
Source: Glossary of Legislative Terms, congress.gov
CONG # |
YEARS | CONG # |
YEARS |
|
YEARS | CONG # |
YEARS | |||
1st | 1789-1790 | 39th | 1865-1866 | 77th | 1941-1942 | 115th | 2017-2018 | |||
2nd | 1791-1792 | 40th | 1867-1868 | 78th | 1943-1944 | 116th | 2019-2020 | |||
3rd | 1793-1794 | 41st | 1869-1870 | 79th | 1945-1946 | 117th | 2021-2022 | |||
4th | 1795-1796 | 42nd | 1871-1872 | 80th | 1947-1948 | 118th | 2023-2024 | |||
5th | 1797-1798 | 43rd | 1873-1874 | 81st | 1949-1950 | |||||
6th | 1799-1800 | 44th | 1875-1876 | 82nd | 1951-1952 | |||||
7th | 1801-1802 | 45th | 1877-1878 | 83rd | 1953-1954 | |||||
8th | 1803-1804 | 46th | 1879-1880 | 84th | 1955-1956 | |||||
9th | 1805-1806 | 47th | 1881-1882 | 85th | 1957-1958 | |||||
10th | 1807-1808 | 48th | 1883-1884 | 86th | 1959-1960 | |||||
11th | 1809-1810 | 49th | 1885-1886 | 87th | 1961-1962 | |||||
12th | 1811-1812 | 50th | 1887-1888 | 88th | 1963-1964 | |||||
13th | 1813-1814 | 51st | 1889-1890 | 89th | 1965-1966 | |||||
14th | 1815-1816 | 52nd | 1891-1892 | 90th | 1967-1968 | |||||
15th | 1817-1818 | 53rd | 1893-1894 | 91st | 1969-1970 | |||||
16th | 1819-1820 | 54th | 1895-1896 | 92nd | 1971-1972 | |||||
17th | 1821-1822 | 55th | 1897-1898 | 93rd | 1973-1974 | |||||
18th | 1823-1824 | 56th | 1899-1900 | 94th | 1975-1976 | |||||
19th | 1825-1826 | 57th | 1901-1902 | 95th | 1977-1978 | |||||
20th | 1827-1828 | 58th | 1903-1904 | 96th | 1979-1980 | |||||
21st | 1829-1830 | 59th | 1905-1906 | 97th | 1981-1982 | |||||
22nd | 1831-1832 | 60th | 1907-1908 | 98th | 1983-1984 | |||||
23rd | 1833-1834 | 61st | 1909-1910 | 99th | 1985-1986 | |||||
24th | 1835-1836 | 62nd | 1911-1912 | 100th | 1987-1988 | |||||
25th | 1837-1838 | 63rd | 1913-1914 | 101st | 1989-1990 | |||||
26th | 1839-1840 | 64th | 1915-1916 | 102nd | 1991-1992 | |||||
27th | 1841-1842 | 65th | 1917-1918 | 103rd | 1993-1994 | |||||
28th | 1843-1844 | 66th | 1919-1920 | 104th | 1995-1996 | |||||
29th | 1845-1846 | 67th | 1921-1922 | 105th | 1997-1998 | |||||
30th | 1847-1848 | 68th | 1923-1924 | 106th | 1999-2000 | |||||
31st | 1849-1850 | 69th | 1925-1926 | 107th | 2001-2002 | |||||
32nd | 1851-1852 | 70th | 1927-1928 | 108th | 2003-2004 | |||||
33rd | 1853-1854 | 71st | 1929-1930 | 109th | 2005-2006 | |||||
34th | 1855-1856 | 72nd | 1931-1932 | 110th | 2007-2008 | |||||
35th | 1857-1858 | 73rd | 1933-1934 | 111th | 2009-2010 | |||||
36th | 1859-1860 | 74th | 1935-1936 | 112th | 2011-2012 | |||||
37th | 1861-1862 | 75th | 1937-1938 | 113th | 2013-2014 | |||||
38th | 1863-1864 | 76th | 1939-1940 | 114th | 2015-2016 |
This guide is indebted to the work of the Legislative Research Special Interest Section of the Law Librarians' Society of Washington DC. The LLSDC original guide listing free/fee versions of the Congressional Record (CR) has been adapted here to show what is available at the Northwestern University Libraries - what years, formats, and and whether freely available to all users or those commercial editions which are available to NU-affiliated users through a library subscription.