Research Guides: FP 130: U.S. Government & Constitutional Development: Find Government Sources

Online Government Sources

Congress
Use dropdown menu beside search box to limit to current or all congresses. You can search by bill number, name, or general topics.
House and Senate Documents
House and Senate documents contain various kinds of materials ordered to be printed by both chambers of Congress. Documents can include reports of executive departments and agencies, as well as committee prints, that were ordered to be printed as documents.
Legislative Histories from HeinOnline
Comprehensive federal legislative histories published by the U.S. GPO and private publishers, as well as a unique finding aid based on Nancy Johnson’s award-winning work, Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories
Congressional Committees
Links to all standing, special, select, joint, and other committees of Congress, as well as commissions and caucuses.
CQ Magazine
In-depth reports on public policy, politics, congressional legislation, elections, status of bills in play, behind-the-scenes maneuvering, committee and floor activity, debates and all roll-call votes. Goes back to 1983.
Voting and Registration
From Census Bureau: data and visualizations that includes voter turnout, age, race and origin.

Executive Orders
After the President signs an Executive order, the White House sends it to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR).
The OFR numbers each order consecutively as part of a series and publishes it in the daily Federal Register shortly after receipt.
Voting and Registration
From Census Bureau: data and visualizations that includes voter turnout, age, race and origin.

Supreme Court Collection
Contains all Supreme Court decisions full-text, biographies of Supreme Court justices, and the U. S. Constitution. The system also has useful "Cases in Context" for interesting public policy topics such as Capital Punishment, Federalism and Abortion.

Contains all Supreme Court decisions full-text, biographies of Supreme Court justices, and the U. S. Constitution. The system also has useful "Cases in Context" for interesting public policy topics such as Capital Punishment, Federalism and Abortion.
Supreme Court Compendium
Covers the history and development of the Supreme Court as an institution; its caseload and decision making; the backgrounds of the justices, their nominations, and confirmations; the relationship of the Court with the public, the media, and other governmental and judicial bodies; and public views on the Court and its decisions.

Covers the history and development of the Supreme Court as an institution; its caseload and decision making; the backgrounds of the justices, their nominations, and confirmations; the relationship of the Court with the public, the media, and other governmental and judicial bodies; and public views on the Court and its decisions.

Supreme Court Yearbook
Actions and opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court with clear, in-depth analysis of every decision made by the nation's highest court since the 1989-1990 term and the justices who ruled on them.

The Constitution
Explanatory text is paired with relevant section of the Constitution.
The Federalist Papers
A series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788 defending the new constitution.
The Founders' Constitution
Contains portions of documents used or written by the Framers and their contemporaries. Covering the early 17th century and up until 1835, find reasons and arguments for the Constitution and the first 12 amendments. These volumes present political arguments and debates as our founding principles were resolved. Find listings of cases cited, authors, and documents. See below for print versions.

The Founders' Constitution by Philip B. Kurland (Editor); Ralph Lerner (Editor)
Call Number: KF4502.F68 1987

ISBN: 0226463877

Publication Date: 1987-09-24

Print copy of the source above. Contains portions of documents used or written by the Framers and their contemporaries. Covering the early 17th century and up until 1835, find reasons and arguments for the Constitution and the first 12 amendments. These volumes present political arguments and debates as our founding principles were resolved. Find listings of cases cited, authors, and documents. There is a second set in the first floor reference section.

World Constitutions Illustrated
From HeinOnline, World Constitutions Illustrated: Contemporary & Historical Documents and Resources allows you to
access the current constitution for every country in its original language format along with an English translation, as well as substantial constitutional histories for each country.

Wisdom from the Fleet

"Because my briefing was an official communication from the U.S. government, everything needed to come from authorized, official primary sources."

—CDR, USN Naval Intelligence Officer serving as a defense attaché