Political Science 

American Politics & Government

• Legislative Branch
• Executive Branch
• Judicial Branch
• Other U.S. Government Links
• Other Sources on American Government & Politics
• Political Parties
• Interest Groups
• State & Local Politics

Legislative Branch

• Almanac of American politics

  • Profiles of every member of Congress and every governor; along with an overview of the history, demographics and political leanings of all 50 states and each of the 435 House districts. Includes committee memberships, interest group ratings, key votes and past election results.

  • Reference JK271 .A44

• Almanac of the unelected

  • Profiles of Congressional staff members: individuals who help elected officials establish political positions on issues, and draft legislation and government policy.

  • Most recent volume can be found in print at: Ref JK1083 .A77

• Biographical directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005

  • Subtitled: the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, inclusive.

  • Also available in print: Government Information Center, Reference Y 1.1/7:108-222

• Congressional Directory

  • Presents short biographies of each member of the Senate and House, listed by state or district, and additional data, such as committee memberships, terms of service, administrative assistants and/or secretaries, and room and telephone numbers.

  • Most recent volume can be found in print at: Ref JK1011 .U6

• Congressional Districts in the 2000s: a portrait of America

  • Ref JK1341 .C65 2003

  • See also United States Census 2000 Demographic Profiles and Consolidated Federal Funds Report, below.

• Congressional Quarterly almanac

  • Detailed coverage of important legislation and issues addressed by the U.S. Congress, from 1945 to the present day. The almanac is an annual publication that compiles the information gathered by the CQ Weekly Report (see below).

  • Ref JK8 .C71

• Congressional Quarterly’s guide to Congress

  • An overview of the history, powers and procedures of the U.S. Congress.

  • Ref JK1021 .C565 2008

• Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America

  • State demographics plus information about each state's governor, as well as information on each Federal district and its member of Congress. Includes election results, interest group ratings and key votes.

  • Ref. Desk JK1010 .P64

• Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report / CQ Weekly Online

  • Provides a weekly view of activity in the U.S. Congress. Covers legislation, floor action, roll call votes and major policy issues.

  • JA1 .C7 and online.

• Congressional Record.

  • The official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress.

  • Available from GPO Access, LexisNexis Congressional and THOMAS.

• Congressional Staff Directory

  • JK1012 .C6 [Latest edition at Reference Desk]

• The historical atlas of United States Congressional districts, 1789-1983 

  • Maps all congressional district boundaries since the first Congress. 

  • Map & Imagery Lab, Public Area, Oversize G1201.F9 M3 1982

• How our laws are made [pdf] / Revised and updated by John V. Sullivan. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2007.

• LexisNexis Congressional

  • Access to current and historic U.S. Congressional publications and information. See especially the collection of Committee Prints & Miscellaneous Publications (1830-present), Committee Hearings (1824-present), House & Senate Documents (1817-present), House & Senate Reports (1819-present), Legislative Histories (1969-present), and the Congressional Serial Set (1789-1969) - materials that are searchable under the Congressional Publications - Advanced Search tab.

• Project Vote Smart.  Voting Records.

  • U.S. Congressional and State voting records, as well as a collection of key votes, grouped by issue.

• THOMAS

  • Legislative information from the Library of Congress

• University of Michigan Library. Federal Government. Legislative Branch links.

• U.S. Census Bureau. United States Census 2000 Demographic Profiles

  • Choose "National Summaries by Geography" and use the contents guide to locate data by congressional district.

• U.S. House of Representatives

  • The official U.S. House of Representatives web site.

• U.S. Senate

  • The official U.S. Senate web site.

For additional links to Legislative Branch information sources, see the UCSB Library guide to Congressional Publications.

Executive Branch

• American Presidency Project

  • A collaboration between John Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the American Presidency Project archive contains over 86,000 documents related to the study of the Presidency.

• Congressional Quarterly’s guide to the Presidency

  • Information on the Presidents, as well as on the office.

  • Ref JK516 .C57 2002

• Facts About the Presidents

  • More information on the Presidents, as well as on the office.

  • Ref E176.1 .K3 2001

• Federal Agencies 

  • An extensive list of links of U.S. Federal Resources from the Washburn University School of Law.

• POTUS: Presidents of the United States 

  • Information on the Presidents plus links to other web resources.  From the Internet Public Library.

• The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States

  • An official series in which Presidential writings, addresses, and remarks of a public nature are compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration.

• The White House

  • The official White House web site.

For additional links to Executive Branch information sources, see the UCSB Library guide to Presidential Documents.

Judicial Branch

• Congressional Quarterly’s guide to the United States Supreme Court

  • A history of the Supreme Court, plus short biographies of each Justice since 1789 and information on important cases.

  • Ref KF8742 .W567 1997

• Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Institute,
  Supreme Court Collection

  • All opinions of the United States Supreme Court handed down since 1992, with over 600 earlier decisions selected for their historic importance and other materials.

  • See also the Legal Information Institute's Constitutions and Codes page, with links to the U.S. Code, the U.S. Constitution, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Uniform Commercial Code, Other Uniform Laws and State Constitutions & Codes.

• Emory University Law School. Federal Courts Finder.

• The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: their lives and major opinions. 

  • Ref KF8744 .F75 1995

• LexisNexis Academic 

  • Full-text access to 6,000 news, business and legal publications. Includes federal and state codes, regulations, court decisions and law review articles.

  • To locate information on law and the courts, select the Legal tab and then search for your topic in Law Reviews, Federal & State Cases, Shepard's Citations, Federal & State Codes, etc.

• National Center for State Courts. Court Web Sites.

  • Provides judicial branch links for each state, focusing on the administrative office of the courts, the court of last resort, any intermediate appellate courts, and each trial court level.  Look for the "Court Web Sites" link.

• U.S. Courts: the Federal Judiciary

  • Official portal to U.S. Federal Judiciary web sites.

• U.S. Supreme Court

  • The official U.S. Supreme Court web site.

• United States Supreme Court Digest, 1754 to date: covering every decision of the Supreme Court of the United States from earliest times to date.

  • Ref KF101.1 .U55

Other U.S. Goverment Links

• FedWorld.gov

  • Online guide to U.S. government information, from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).

• GPO Access

  • Official information from all three branches of the Federal Government.

  • See also the Federal Digital System (FDsys) - an advanced digital system that will the U.S. Government Printing Office will use to manage U.S. Government information.

• Laws and Regulations – General Reference Resources

  • A USA.gov site with links to the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, Public Laws, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register and much more.
    

• U.S. Census Bureau. Consolidated Federal Funds Report.

  • Provide data on Federal government expenditures by state, county, and sub-county area.

• United States government manual [online]

  • As the official handbook of the Federal Government, The United States Government Manual provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The Manual also includes information on quasi-official agencies; international organizations in which the United States participates; and boards, commissions, and committees.

  • Latest edition at Reference Desk JK421 .U6

• USA.gov

  • The official U.S. government web portal, with links to government information and services.

Other Sources on American Government & Politics

• American Political Dictionary

  • Brief information on terms, agencies, court cases, statutes, etc. important to an understanding of American government.

  • Ref JK9 .P55 2002

• Atlas of American politics, 1960-2000 

  • Statistics from the 1960-2000 U.S. Censuses and other data sources in more than 150 district, state and federal maps.

  • Map & Imagery Lab, Public Area G1201.F1 A8 2002 

• Center for American Women and Politics
  

  • A unit of the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics that is a leading source of scholarly research and current data about American women’s political participation.

• CQ Researcher

  • In-depth background reports on issues in the news.

• Encyclopedia of American Political History

  • Ref E183 .E48 2001 

• Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics

  • EGSL E184 .A1 E574 2000

• FactCheck.org

  • A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, FactCheck.org bills itself as a "nonpartisan, nonprofit 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics." It monitors the accuracy of what is said by major U.S. politicians and others in TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.

• Historical Guide to the U.S. Government

  • Ref JK9 .H57 1998

• National Security Archive (George Washington University)

  • "An independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The Archive also serves as a repository of government records on a wide range of topics pertaining to the national security, foreign, intelligence, and economic policies of the United States."

  • See especially the Archive's Electronic Briefing Books.

• PolitiFact.com

  • PolitiFact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times that aims to help readers find the truth in American politics. Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups and rate them on its Truth-O-Meter.

• Ron Gunzburger’s Politics1

  • A political blog and news sites published as "a non-partisan public service to promote fully informed decision-making by the American electorate."

• University of Michigan Library. Legislative History Chart.

  • Presents a chart showing how the Legislative branch makes laws, the Executive branch codifies laws and creates regulations, and the Judicial branch interprets laws.

  • Also shows the best sources for information for and from each step of the process.

• Washington Representatives

  • Profiles Washington, DC lobbyists and lobbying firms.

  • Latest edition in Ref JK1118 .D58 

Political Parties

• Democratic Party (www.democrats.org)

• Encyclopedia of Third Parties in America

  • Ref JK2261 .E474 2000

• Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections

  • Ref JK2261 .S218 2006

• Historical atlas of political parties in the United States Congress, 1789-1989

  • A record of party identity of every representative and senator in each Congress election from 1789 through 1988.

  • Map & Imagery Lab, Maps, Oversize G1201.F9 M26 1989

• Historical Dictionary of United States Political Parties

  • Ref JK2261 .B345 2000

• Political Parties and Elections in the United States: an Encyclopedia

  • Ref JK2261 .P633 1991

• Political Parties

  • University of Michigan Library portal to U.S. political party web sites.

  • You can find "State & Local Party Groups" at http://www.politicalindex.com/sect9.htm

• Republican Party (http://www.rnc.org) 

Interest Groups

• See "Interest Groups" in the "Public Policy" section of this guide.

State and Local Politics

• California Democratic Party

• California Republican Party

• California Government and Public Policy

  • UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies Library web site links to state agencies, legislature and legal information, statistical data and polls, local and regional governmental organizations, political parties, campaigns and elections, California media, and public policy resources.

• California Interest Groups 

  • Web site of the California Voter Foundation. Arranged as a list of issue areas. 

• California Voter Foundation

  • The California Voter Foundation is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization promoting and applying the responsible use of technology to improve the democratic process.

• Santa Barbara County Democratic Party

• Santa Barbara County Republican Party

• University of Michigan Library. Explore GovDocs.

  • Click on State Government or Local Governments links.