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Finding Aid: Congress and the Presidency

Encyclopedias and
Reference Sources		  Archives Searching the
Library Catalog
Periodicals Databases and
Indexes		 Web Sites
Legislation Statistics Videos

The following selective list of print and online resources has been compiled by the McGovern Library staff as a starting point for research on Congress and the Presidency. It is not a complete listing of the materials available, but is intended to serve as a guide to some of the resources available in the Library, and as a pointer to a variety of electronic resources.

Encyclopedias And Reference Sources

  • Checks and Balances: The Three Branches of the American Government -- (2005)
  • Congress A to Z : CQ's Ready Reference Encyclopedia Ref JK1067 .C67 1988
  • Congressional Districts in the 1990s Ref JK1341 .C64 1993
  • Congressional Quarterly Almanac Ref JK1 .C66
  • Congressional Quarterly's Guide to Congress Ref JK1021 .C565 2000
  • Congressional Roll Call Ref JK1 .C6635
  • Encyclopedia of the American Constitution -- (2000)
  • Encyclopedia of the Democratic Party REF. JK2312 .E53 1997
  • Encyclopedia of the Reagan-Bush Years Ref JK511 .L48 1996
  • Encyclopedia of the Republican Party Ref. JK2352 .E53 1997
  • The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress Ref JK1067 .E63 1995
  • Encyclopedia of Third Parties in America Ref. JK2261 .E474 2000
  • Facts About the Presidents Ref E176.1 .K3 2001
  • Guide to the Presidency Ref JK516 .C57 2002
  • Historic Documents
  • Major Acts of Congress -- (2004)
  • Official Congressional Directory
  • Political Parties & Elections in the United States: An EncyclopediaRef JK2261 .P633 1991
  • Political Corruption in America: An Encyclopedia of Scandals, Power & Greed -- (2008)
  • Political Theories for Students -- (2002)
  • Presidential Administration Profiles for Students Ref JK511 .P78 2000
  • Presidential Also-Rans and Running Mates, 1788-1980 Ref E176.1 .S695 1984
  • Presidents, Vice Presidents, Cabinet Members, Supreme Court Justices, 1789-2003Ref. JK6 .P74 2003
  • Running for President: The Candidates and Their Images Ref E183 .R96 1994
  • Speakers of the House of Representatives, 1789 - 2009 -- (2009)
  • United States Presidential Elections, 1788-1860  Ref. JK524 .D778 2002
  • Vital Statistics on American Politics 2001-2002 Ref. JK274 .S74 2001
  • Washington Information Directory Ref JK421 .W33
  • Women in Congress, 1917-2006 Ref. JK1030 .W66 2006
  • World Book Election 2000 Ref JK526 2000b
  • World Book of America's Presidents Ref JK511 .W67 2001

Online

  • GPO Access -- search multiple Government Printing Office resources

Archives

Senator Francis H. Case Collection and the Senator George S. McGovern Collection

Senator Case's political career stretched from 1936 through 1962.  Senator McGovern's political career spans the years 1956 through the present. (The library's holdings are not representative of Senator McGovern's entire political career).  Both collections may be used by appointment only.  For information regarding the collections or to schedule an appointment, contact:
Laurie Langland
University Archivist
Dakota Wesleyan University
1201 McGovern Avenue
Mitchell, SD 57301
605-995-2134
lalangla@dwu.edu

Databases and Indexes

Online Indexes

  • LexisNexis Primary Sources in U.S. History
    • Search by subject using the following terms:
      "Presidency of the U.S."
      "Presidential communications and messages"
      "Presidential elections"
      "Presidential studies"
      Any President's last name
  • Making of America: Full text of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction (1850-1877).
    • Search for keywords, proper names, places, etc.  Use Advanced Search options to focus your search.

  • EBSCO Megafile: citations, abstracts, and full text articles
    • Search the following subjects:
      United States -- Congress
      Presidents -- United States
      Executive Power -- United States
      Legislators -- United States
    • Use the browse People feature in Indexes to locate articles on specific elected officials and/or candidates.

  • Proquest: citations, abstracts, and full text articles
    • Search for specific names or search the following subjects in Advanced search mode:
      "Presidents"
      "Congress"
      "Presidential Elections"
  • US Congressional Bibliographies
    • This site, maintained by NCSU Libraries, includes Congressional committee meetings held since 1985 are ennumerated and described, along with information as to which meetings have been transcribed and printed, and which remain unprinted, and which documents have been released.
  • JSTOR: full text articles
    • Search for keywords, proper names, places, etc.  Use Advanced Search options to focus your search.
  • New York Times Historical: full text articles from the New York Times newspaper
    • Search for keywords, proper names, places, etc.  Use Advanced Search options to focus your search.

Print* indexes available in McGovern Library:

  • Essay and General Literature Index
  • International Index to Periodicals/Social Science & Humanities Index
  • Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature
  • Social Sciences Index
Note: print indexes are useful in locating articles on topics relating to Congress and the Presidency for years not covered by databases.

Searching the Library Catalog

  • Search the following subjects or use the names of specific candidates and/or elected officials:
    "United States Congress"
    "Presidents--United States"

Periodicals

Print journals available in McGovern Library (some may be on microfiche):

  • Annals of Congress
  • Congressional Digest
  • Congressional Record
  • CQ Weekly Report
  • Presidential Studies Quarterly

Full Text Electronic Journals via J-STOR
(NOTE: JSTOR content may not include the most current 1-5 years and is available on campus only.)

Web Sites

Legislation

  • THOMAS -- US Congress on the Internet

Statistics

Videos/Media

Belos are several titles available in McGovern Library's media collection, including titles from the Films on Demand video database. Many more videos can be located in Films on Demand by performing a search or browing the "Political Science" and "History" categories.

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