"The Annals of Congress, formally known as The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, cover the 1st Congress through the first session of the 18th Congress, from 1789 to 1824. The Annals were not published contemporaneously, but were compiled between 1834 and 1856, using the best records available, primarily newspaper accounts. Speeches are paraphrased rather than presented verbatim, but the record of debate is nonetheless fuller than that available from the House and Senate Journals."
"The Annals were immediately succeeded by the Register of Debates, and subsequently by the Congressional Globe and Congressional Record."
(Library of Congress, American Memory: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwac.html)
