The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) began publishing the Public Papers of the Presidents series in 1957 as an official publication of United States Presidents' public writings, addresses, and remarks (1 CFR 10).
The series provides an historical reference covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, G.W. Bush, and Obama. (The papers of President Franklin Roosevelt were published privately before the commencement of the official Public Papers series).
Currently, volumes are published approximately twice a year, and each volume covers approximately a 6-month period.
Each Public Papers volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary during the specified time period. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In instances when the release date differs from the date of the document itself, that fact is shown in the textnote.
To ensure accuracy, remarks have been checked against a tape recording and signed documents have been checked against the original, unless otherwise noted. Editors at OFR have provided textnotes and cross references for purposes of identification or clarity. Speeches were delivered in Washington, DC, unless indicated. The times noted are local times.
The appendixes in each Public Papers volume provide listings of:
- A digest of the President's daily schedule and meetings, when announced, and other items of general interest issued by the Office of the Press Secretary;
- The President's nominations submitted to the Senate;
- A checklist of materials released by the Office of the Press Secretary that are not printed full-text in the book; and
- A table of Proclamations, Executive orders, and other Presidential documents released by the Office of the Press Secretary and published in the Federal Register
Each Public Papers volume features a foreword signed by the President, and a portfolio of photographs selected from White House Photo Office files, as well as subject and name indexes, and a document categories list.
