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Political Science 001 Introduction to American National Government

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Reference Books

Use reference books for an introduction and overview to your topic, background information, key people and dates, statistics, etc. The bibliographies in reference books will lead you to additional sources as well. This bibliography is in Turabian style for the footnoted format, (with the exception of the changes in font for the titles), with call numbers and selected brief annotations added. Books that are published annually are listed as "annual" and Berks receives the new edition each year.

General American Government
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
U.S. Political Parties
General Political Science

General

United States Government Manual. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, Annual.
Call#: Ref JK421.A3

As the official handbook of the Federal Government, this provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. Berks has latest edition only.

Federal Regulatory Directory, 8th ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1997.
Call#: Ref KF5406.A15F4

Comprehensive guide to all federal regulatory activities.

Wetterau, Bruce. Congressional Quarterly's Desk Reference on American Government.Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1995.
Call#: Ref JK274.W449 1995

"Over 600 answers to frequently asked questions."

Lipset, Seymour Martin, ed. The Encyclopedia of Democracy. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1995.
Call#: Ref JC423.E53 1995

Discusses countries, geographical regions, historical eras, important individuals, philosophical concepts, and issues related to democracy throughout the world. 4 volumes.

Greene, Jack P, ed. Encyclopedia of American Political History, Studies of the Principal Movements and Ideas. New York: Scribner, 1984.
Call#: Ref E183.E5 1984

Major issues, themes, institutions, processes, and developments in U.S. political history. 3 volumes.

Clucas, Richard A. Encyclopedia of American Political Reform. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1996.
Call#: Ref E839.5.C57 1996

Shafritz, Jay M. The HarperCollins Dictionary of American Government and Politics. New York: HarperPerennial, 1993.
Call#: Ref JK9.S43 1993

Executive Branch

Nelson, Michael, ed. Guide to the Presidency, 2d ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1996.
Call#: Ref JK516.C57 1996

Covers origins and development of the American presidency, selection and removal of the president, presidential powers, relations with the public and the parties, the executive branch, relation to other parts of the federal government, and biographies. Also includes texts of selected presidential documents. 2 volumes.

Levy, Leonard W., and Louis Fisher, eds. Encyclopedia of the American Presidency. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Call#: Ref JK511.E53 1994

Treats the origin, evolution, and constant unfolding of the American presidency in a multidisciplinary approach. 4 volumes.

Nelson, Michael, ed. The Presidency A to Z, a Ready Reference Encyclopedia. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1992.
Call#: Ref JK511.P775 1992

Essays on issues and events related to the presidency, plus brief biographies and statistics.

Ragsdale, Lyn. Vital Statistics on the Presidency : Washington to Clinton. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1996.
Call#: Ref JK518.R34 1995

Statistics and discussion on the presidents, their election, public opinion, the executive branch, policy making, congressional relations, and relations with the judiciary.

Presidential elections, 1789-1992. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1995.
Call#: Ref JK524.P678 1995

Statistics and discussion on the electoral college, popular vote, presidential primaries, and nominating conventions.

Legislative Branch

Bacon, Donald C., Roger H. Davidson, and Morton Keller, eds. The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
Call#: Ref JK1067.E63 1995

Congressional history, structure, powers, procedures, policies enacted, parties, elections, staffing, relation to other branches, the Capitol, and more. 4 volumes.

Silbey, Joel H., ed. Encyclopedia of the American Legislative System, Studies of the Principal Structures, Processes, and Policies of Congress and the State Legislatures Since the Colonial Era. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994.
Call#: Ref JF501.E53 1994

History, election, structure, processes, public policy, and relation to other political branches of both the national and state legislatures. 3 volumes.

Congress and the Nation. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Service, 1965-.
Call#: Ref JK1041.C66

A review of government and politics and legislation in the U.S. Nine volumes cover 1945-1996.

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to Congress, 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1991.
Call#: Ref JK1021.C56 1991

Covers origins and development of Congress, powers, procedures, pressures, housing, pay, qualifications, and relation to the electorate. Also includes appendices of statistics, House and Senate rules, and members through 1991.

Congress A to Z: A Ready Reference Encyclopedia, 2d ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1993.
Call#: Ref JK1067.C67 1993

Short essays on the structure and operations of the U.S. Congress.

How Congress Works, 2d ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1991.
Call#: Ref JK1061.H65 1991

Covers party leadership in Congress, the legislative process, the committee system, Congressional staff, and the pressures on members of Congress.

Judicial Branch

Biskupic, Joan, and Elder Witt. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, 3d ed. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1997.
Call#: Ref KF8742.W567 1997

Covers origins and development of the U.S. Supreme Court, relation to the other branches, modern role in relation to the individual, pressures, operation, members (including short biographies), major decisions through 1996, and key documents such as the Constitution.

Levy, Leonard W., and Kenneth L. Karst., eds. Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, 2d ed. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000.
Call#: Ref KF4548.E53 2000

Includes doctrinal concepts of constitutional law; people; judicial decisions, mostly of the Supreme Court; public acts, such as statutes, treaties, and executive orders; and historical periods, plus the text of the Constitution itself and other documents. 6 volumes.

Vile, John R. Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-1995. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1996.
Call#: Ref KF4557.V555 1996

The title says it all.

U.S. Political Parties

Kurian, George Thomas , ed. The Encyclopedia of the Republican Party, The Encyclopedia of the Democratic Party. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 1997.
Call#: Ref JK2352.K87 1997

Includes history, issues & ideology, biographies, conventions, platforms, and elections. 4 volumes.

Kruschke, Earl R. Encyclopedia of Third Parties in the United States. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1991.
Call#: Ref JK2261.K78 1991

Essays provide an introduction to 81 minor parties in the U.S. in the 19th & 20th centuries.

General political science resources

Goodin, Robert E. and Hans-Dieter Klingemann, eds. A new handbook of political science. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Call#: Ref JA66.N49 1996

Safire, William. Safire's new political dictionary, the definitive guide to the new language of politics. New York: Random House, 1993.
Call#: Ref JK9.S2 1993

Databases for Finding Journal Articles and More:
Links below will take you to the databases listed. To access these databases, you must have a Penn State access account and password, and you must be registered with the Penn State University Libraries. See the Remote Database Access page for more details if you have any difficulties.

ProQuest

A good place to look when beginning a search for a topic. Look here for current events as well as newspaper and periodical articles in buiness, arts and entertainment, politics and law, health, science and technology, sports, and newsworthy people.
Coverage: indexes thousands of general-interest journals and newspapers (1970-present)
Updates: Every few days
Search Type: Web interface

PAIS - Public Affairs Information Service Bulletin

Congressional/Legislative Resources

World News Connection

LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe

JSTOR

PolicyFile

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