Published annually since 1972, the Historic Documents series has made primary source research easy by presenting excerpts from documents on the important events of each year for the United States and the World. Each volume pairs 60 to 70 original background narratives with well over 100 documents to chronicle the major events of the year, from official reports and surveys to speeches from leaders and opinion makers, to court cases, legislation, testimony, and much more.

Historic Documents is renowned for the well-written and informative background, history, and context it provides for each document. Organised chronologically, each volume covers the same wide range of topics: business, the economy and labor; energy, environment, science, technology, and transportation; government and politics; health and social services; international affairs; national security and terrorism; and rights and justice. Each volume begins with an insightful essay that sets the year's events in context, and each document or group of documents is preceded by a comprehensive introduction that provides background information on the event. Full-source citations are provided. Readers have easy access to material through a detailed, thematic table of contents, and each event includes references to related coverage and documents from the last ten editions of the series.