Research Resources: Class Guides

GOV 208: The American Presidency

I. REFERENCE SOURCES

American Presidents (2 vols.)

Ref. E 176.1 .A6563 2006

American Presidents: Year by Year (3 vols.)

Ref. E 176.1 .N44 2004

Encyclopedia of Presidential Campaigns, Slogans, Issues, and Platforms

Ref. E 176.1 .R6 2004

Vice Presidents

Ref. E 176.49 .V52 2005

Encyclopedia of the American Presidency (4 vols.)

Ref. Balcony JF 511 .E53 1994

Encyclopedia of the American Presidency

Ref. Balcony JF 511 .G45 2004

The Presidency A to Z, 4th Ed.

Ref. Balcony JK 511 .P775 2008
A good dictionary of terms and concepts.

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the Presidency, 4th Ed. (2 vols.)

Ref. Balcony JK 516 .C57 2008

Vital Statistics on the Presidency, 3rd Ed.

Ref. Balcony JK 518 .R34 2009

America at the Polls: A Handbook of American Presidential Election Statistics (2 vols.)

Ref. Balcony JK 524 .A73 1994
Vol. I covers Harding to Eisenhower, 1920-1956; Vol. 2 covers Kennedy to George W. Bush, 1960-2000

The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004

Ref. Balcony JK 524 .N48 2005

Guide to U. S. Elections (2 vols.)

Ref. Balcony JK 1967 .G85 2005
[ additional resourcess on voting and elections can be found in this area ]

Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, 2nd Ed. (6 vols.)

Ref. Balcony KF 4548 .E53 2000

II. OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS

U.S. Docs GS 4.113: (1929-1931; 1945-1983)
U.S. Docs AE 2.114: (1984 - present)
Also available online (see below)
An annual compilation of all presidential documents, including speeches, interviews, and press conferences.

Presidential Documents

See U.S. Docs Pr and PrEx for publications issued by the White House and by the Executive Office of the President

United States Government Manual, 2011

Ref. JK 421 .A3, kept at Reference Desk
Issued every October, this is the official directory of the U. S. government. The Manual provides information on the agencies of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, as well as quasi-official agencies, boards, and commissions. A list of the principal officials is provided, with descriptive information (statement of purpose, brief history, major programs and activities). This is a good source for addresses and phone numbers of specific offices. Older editions are kept in the regular book stacks. The latest edition is also available on FDSys.

Budget of the United States Government:Fiscal Year 2013

Ref. HJ 2051 .A5 2013
This is a mammoth compilation of the administration's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The current budget is provided in five volumes, plus a brief "Citizen's Guide." The Appendix contains 1,413 pages of detailed budget estimates arranged by agency. There is also a useful section of summary data, the President's budget message to Congress, and theoretical justifications for the proposals. There is a handy glossary of budget terms and a detailed index. The online version of the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget (and earlier budgets) is available on FDSys

Economic Report of the President

Ref. HC 106.5 .A47 - annual
Prepared annually by the White House Council of Economic Advisors; also online (click on the title)

III. ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

FDSys (Federal Digital System)

A service of the US Government Printing Office and the Superintendent of Documents, this provides access to a wealth of current government information. It includes online access to Presidential documents, public laws, Supreme Court opinions, and federal regulations. This replaces GPO Access.

DAILY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

Online access to all Presidential speeches, remarks, interviews, and documents, starting on January 29, 2009.

WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

Online access to the weekly and annual cumulations from 1993 to January 29, 2009.

PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS

Covers 1991 to 2003, from FDSys.

PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS

Covers 1929 to 2001; from the University of Michigan.

American Presidency Project

Contains over 87,000 documents pertaining to the study of the U. S. Presidency, from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

Contains the full transcripts of all presidential debates (and vice presidential debates, when they were held): 1858; 1948; 1956; 1960; 1976 - 2008.

CQ Weekly Reports

This publication updates the CQ Almanac with a weekly reporting and analysis of congressional activity. Provides text and summaries of major legislation. This is good source for analysis of the relationship between the President and Congress.

Lexis-Nexis

Connections to full-text newspaper articles (including the New York Times and the Washington Post), business information, and legal resources. Also contains transcripts of radio and television news broadcasts.

New York Times

The New York Times (Sep 18, 1851 - Dec 31, 2004, full-text) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.

America: History and Life

Comprehensive bibliography of articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to present. Covers abstracts 1964 to the present.

Social Sciences Full Text

Indexes and abstracts over 400 English-language periodicals in all areas of the social sciences, including politics and economics.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

An index of all federal government publications from 1976 to the present.

IV. JOURNALS

PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES QUARTERLY

V.5-18 (1975-88) on MIcrofilm
V.19 (1989- 2008) in Print
V. 4, #2 (1974) to 4 years ago - available online at JStor
Also available 1999 to the present online

JStor

A full text archive that includes many major political science and history journals.