Research Desk Cite Papers Classroom

Public-domain texts hosted here

Source Library

Read the document. Then cite it. These are not “links out.” They are Life Academy pages — short, honest excerpts of public-domain works families actually need for English and history papers.

U.S. founding & civic texts

Declaration of Independence (1776)Philosophy paragraph + the job of government. Not the Constitution. Constitution: Preamble, Article I §8, Tenth AmendmentEnumerated vs reserved powers — the written allocation. Bill of Rights (Amendments 1–10)1791. What Congress may not do, in the text. Gettysburg Address (1863)Lincoln. Short. Worth memorizing after you understand it.

Literature (English I–IV)

Homer, Odyssey Book I (Butler)Invocation of the muse; the hero “apart.” English I. Shakespeare, Sonnet 18Speaker, image, volta practice. Cite the sonnet number. Paine, Common Sense (1776)Rhetoric: society vs government. English III / civics. Franklin, The Way to WealthHabit rhetoric. Ask who benefits if you believe it.

How to use a source (all grades that write)

  1. What is it? (letter, speech, poem, constitution)
  2. Who made it, when?
  3. What does it actually say? Copy a short line accurately.
  4. What might it leave out?
  5. Cite it with the Citation Helper.

We host excerpts, not every book ever printed. If a family owns a public-domain volume at home, you may cite that edition — still name it. Do not invent a source.