American History gathers the essential primary sources, political writings, and narrative histories that shaped how the United States understands its own past. You’ll find the Federalist Papers alongside Alexis de Tocqueville’s penetrating observations, the memoirs of Civil War generals, and the speeches of Frederick Douglass — all available as free, cleanly-formatted EPUB downloads.
The collection spans the colonial era through the early twentieth century, drawing on works by figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Ulysses S. Grant, and Henry Adams. Whether you’re tracing the origins of American democracy or the crisis of the Civil War, these public-domain texts offer the documentary foundation for serious study.
- Life on the MississippiMark Twain
- Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American SlaveFrederick Douglass
- Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary RowlandsonMary White Rowlandson
- Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, CompleteUlysses S. Grant
- Susan B. Anthony / Rebel, Crusader, HumanitarianAlma Lutz
- Society as I Have Found ItWard McAllister
- Scenes in the Life of Harriet TubmanSarah H. Bradford
- Up from Slavery: An AutobiographyBooker T. Washington
- The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil WarStephen Crane
- A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time / A Collection of Persons Distinguished in Professional and Political Life, Leaders in the Commerce and Industry of Canada, and Successful Pioneers
- My Bondage and My FreedomFrederick Douglass
- Twelve Years a Slave / Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853, from a Cotton Plantation near the Red River in LouisianaSolomon Northup
- The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806Meriwether Lewis
- Fifty Years In The Northwest / With An Introduction And Appendix Containing Reminiscences, Incidents And NotesWilliam H. C. Folsom
- History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III
- Complete Prose Works / Specimen Days and Collect, November Boughs and Goodbye My FancyWalt Whitman
- Old Times on the Upper Mississippi / The Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863George Byron Merrick
- Fifty years in Wall StreetHenry Clews
- Audubon the Naturalist: A History of His Life and Time. Vol. 2 (of 2)Francis Hobart Herrick
- Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation' / From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to MassachusettsWilliam Bradford
- As I Remember / Recollections of American Society during the Nineteenth CenturyMarian Gouverneur
- History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 / Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as CitizensGeorge Washington Williams
- Sketches of Successful New Hampshire MenVarious
- All in the Day's Work: An AutobiographyIda M. Tarbell
- Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2 / Embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin countiesWilliam Denison Lyman
- The Black Hawk War Including a Review of Black Hawk's LifeFrank Everett Stevens
- Sword and Pen / Ventures and Adventures of Willard GlazierJohn Algernon Owens
- France and England in North America, Part III: La Salle, Discovery of The Great WestFrancis Parkman
- The Campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn / Including a new and circumstantial account of the battle of Long island and the loss of New York, with a review of events to the close of the yearHenry Phelps Johnston
- The Life of John Marshall, Volume 4: The building of the nation, 1815-1835Albert J. Beveridge
- The Letters of Franklin K. Lane, Personal and PoliticalFranklin K. Lane
- The loyalists of America and their timesEgerton Ryerson
- The Naval History of the United States. Volume 2Willis J. Abbot
- The Life of George Washington, Vol. 2 / Commander in Chief of the American Forces During the War / which Established the Independence of his Country and First / President of the United StatesJohn Marshall
- The Critical Period of American HistoryJohn Fiske
- The Life of George Washington, Vol. 1 / Commander in Chief of the American Forces During the War / which Established the Independence of his Country and First / President of the United StatesJohn Marshall
- The Choctaw Freedmen and the Story of Oak Hill Industrial AcademyRobert Elliott Flickinger
- The Souls of Black FolkW. E. B. Du Bois
- Benjamin FranklinJr. John T. Morse
- An Undivided UnionOliver Optic
- Comic History of the United StatesBill Nye
- Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 11 (of 15), RomanCharles Morris
- Democracy in America — Volume 1Alexis de Tocqueville
- Impressions of America During the Years 1833, 1834 and 1835. Volume 2 (of 2)Tyrone Power
- The Journal of Negro History, Volume 4, 1919Various
- The Journal of Negro History, Volume 5, 1920Various
- The Deaf / Their Position in Society and the Provision for Their Education in the United StatesHarry Best
- Home Life in Colonial DaysAlice Morse Earle
- The Prairie Traveler: A Hand-book for Overland ExpeditionsRandolph B. Marcy
- A Portrait of Old George TownGrace Dunlop Peter
- Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812. Volume 1A. T. Mahan
- Complete Story of the San Francisco HorrorRichard Linthicum
- Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Volume XI, North Carolina Narratives, Part 1United States. Work Projects Administration
- Lincoln's Birthday
- The Conquest of Canada, Vol. 1George Warburton
- The Johnstown Horror!!! / or, Valley of Death, being A Complete and Thrilling Account / of the Awful Floods and Their Appalling RuinJames Herbert Walker
- Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812. Volume 2A. T. Mahan
- Ancient America, in Notes on American ArchaeologyJohn D. Baldwin
- The Life of George Washington, Vol. 4 / Commander in Chief of the American Forces During the War / which Established the Independence of his Country and First / President of the United StatesJohn Marshall
- Frenzied Finance, Vol. 1: The Crime of AmalgamatedThomas William Lawson
- Common SenseThomas Paine
- The Journal of Negro History, Volume 6, 1921Various
- A Woman who went to AlaskaMay Kellogg Sullivan
- Public School EducationMichael Müller
- Daniel Boone: The Pioneer of KentuckyJohn S. C. Abbott
- Albert GallatinJohn Austin Stevens
- The Journal of Negro History, Volume 3, 1918Various
- Three years in the Sixth CorpsGeorge T. Stevens
- Old Mackinaw; Or, The Fortress of the Lakes and its SurroundingsW. P. Strickland
- Southern Literature From 1579-1895 / A comprehensive review, with copious extracts and criticisms / for the use of schools and the general readerLouise Manly
- "The Red Watch": With the First Canadian Division in FlandersJohn Allister Currie
- Union and DemocracyAllen Johnson
- Expansion and ConflictWilliam Edward Dodd
- The Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1, No. 1, February 8, 1918 / The American Soldiers' Newspaper of World War I, 1918-1919United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces
- The University of MichiganWilfred Byron Shaw
- The Life of George Washington, Vol. 5 / Commander in Chief of the American Forces During the War / which Established the Independence of his Country and First / President of the United StatesJohn Marshall
- The Shirley Letters from California Mines in 1851-52Dame Shirley
- Charles Carleton Coffin: War Correspondent, Traveller, Author, and StatesmanWilliam Elliot Griffis
- Andersonville: A Story of Rebel Military PrisonsJohn McElroy
- Journal of Jasper Danckaerts, 1679-1680Jasper Danckaerts
- The Frontier in American HistoryFrederick Jackson Turner
- Old Rail Fence Corners: The A. B. C's. of Minnesota History
- The Writings of Thomas Jefferson / Library Edition – Vol. 6 (of 20)Thomas Jefferson
- Impressions of America During the Years 1833, 1834 and 1835. Volume 1 (of 2)Tyrone Power
- Red-Tape and Pigeon-Hole Generals / As Seen From the Ranks During a Campaign in the Army of the PotomacHenry Morford
- Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, July, 1851Various
- From Sail to Steam, Recollections of Naval LifeA. T. Mahan
- The Farmer Boy, and How He Became Commander-In-ChiefMorrison Heady
- The New NationFrederic L. Paxson
- Destruction and Reconstruction: / Personal Experiences of the Late WarRichard Taylor
- The Gulf and Inland Waters / The Navy in the Civil War. Volume 3.A. T. Mahan
- Old Fort Snelling, 1819-1858Marcus Lee Hansen
- The American EmpireScott Nearing
- Three Months in the Southern States, April-June 1863Sir Arthur James Lyon Fremantle