Presidential Scandals |
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|| Starting with Encyclopedias || Finding Books and Other Media || Uncovering Primary Sources ||
|| Locating Government Publications || Using Secondary Literature || Getting Targeted Help ||
Want a refresher on determining what is a "Primary" vs. "Secondary" vs. "Tertiary" source? Take a look at the site, The Truth is Out There But Where: The Road to Research {source: Wesleyan University Library, Middletown, CT}
Getting Started - Encyclopedias
Look to these reference sources for overviews of the key players and time periods connected to a variety of U.S. Presidential scandals.
- American Presidency: A Bibliography JK511 M37 1987 (1st Fl. E.S. Bird Lib. Reference)
- Britannica Online (SU Library Subscription Database) * for example, search by name of scandal-i.e., "Teapot Dome," or by President's name-i.e., "Warren G. Harding."
- CQ Researcher (SU Library Subscription Database) *Search the phrase "Political Scandals" for a chronological overview of the topic--including references for further research.
- New Encyclopedia of American Scandal
E179 N53 2001 (1st Fl. E.S. Bird Lib. Reference)- Political Scandals and Cause Celebres Since 1945: An International Reference Compendium
JF1081 P65 1991
(1st Fl. E.S. Bird Lib. Reference)- Presidential Scandals E176.1 S353 2000
(1st Fl. E.S. Bird Lib. Reference)
Finding Books (& other media) About Presidential Scandals
and AdministrationsVisit the SUMMIT Library Catalog and:
- search for keywords involving a scandal of interest (e.g., Watergate) or a particular US President
(e.g., James A. Garfield)- search the President of interest as an "author" - last name, first name (e.g., Garfield, James A.). This will locate, within SU Library's collection, the books, memoirs, diaries, autobiographies and related documents they have written.
- Searching Tip: To locate a wide cross section of relevant books--when viewing a SUMMIT record--be sure to check the "detailed" record view--to identify Library of Congress Subject Heading(s) associated with books on that topic (e.g., for the Watergate scandal--this subject heading is "Watergate Affair"-and various narrower subheadings under that primary heading).
- media of interest (e.g., videorecordings, sound recordings, etc.)
- government documents @ SU Library (e.g., Congressional hearings, etc.)
Uncovering Primary Source Literature (newspapers, magazine articles and other sources published or recorded during the time period a scandal took place):
Search your topic (President or Presidential scandal) within these SU Library subscription resources:
- Lexis Nexis Academic (online database with vast collections of online magazines and newspapers--coverage varies: e.g., New York Times is abstracted back to 1969; Newsweek Magazine back to 1975)
- New York Times Index (print) (coverage beginning in 1913 through to recent years--with a "prior series" index covering 1851-1912)
AN43 NN65 (1st Fl. E.S. Bird Lib. Reference) -
SU Library holds back issues of the NY Times: 1857 - current issues: See Microfilm Reel(s) 96 -
(Lower Level - Media Services - E.S. Bird Lib.)- Nineteenth Century Masterfile (an online database where one can search for magazines and newspapers published during the 1800s--including the New York Times)
- Readers Guide Abstracts (1983-present - an online database that indexes and abstracts articles from popular magazines. Includes some links to online full-text versions)
- Readers Guide Retrospective (1890-1982: an online database that indexes pre-1980s popular magazines. Coverage is primarily within the 20th Century)
- WilsonSelect Plus (1994 - current: Another online database that indexes and abstracts popular magazines. Much of the article content is available full-text online, HTML format)
- See also search tips under "finding books"
Locating Primary Government Document Sources
(e.g., Congressional hearing transcripts, Presidential statements, speeches and executive orders, etc.)
- Legislative Branch Resources
- Hearings
- Congressional Hearings
Archive of full hearings, 1997 (105th Congress) to present.- LexisNexis Congressional
Two databases: Testimony: Prepared statements and selected question & answer transcripts (1988-present) and Congressional Indexes, 1789-1969/indexes to Unpublished Hearings Through 1980.- Serial Set
House and Senate Documents and Reports; reports usually concerning proposed legislation or issues under investigation. Documents address many topics and may include reports of executive departments and independent organizations or reports of special investigations made for Congress. Note: SU Library has almost every volume of the Serial Set.
- CIS U.S. Serial Set Index
Print index to the Serial Set, 1789 - 1969. Also useful for executive publications because many were required by law to be transmitted to Congress. Continued by LexisNexis Congressional and CIS index to publications of the United States Congress.
- CIS US Serial Set Index (1789-1969)
- Z 1223. Z9 C65 1975
- Bird-Govt Info-Indexes, 3rd Floor
- Index Carrels 2E and 2F
- Congressional Record
Transcripts of all discussion and debate from the floor of Congress. Note: SU Library has all of the Congressional Record (and its predecessors) on microfiche in the Maps and Government Information Department, 3rd floor Bird Library.
- Public Papers of the President
Volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton are included in the Public Papers series. This web site includes the Clinton papers, and one volume from each of the Bush administrations. To locate print volumes held by SU Library, perform a title search in Library Catalog, with the following words: public papers of the president.
- Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (WCPD)
The WCPD is published every Monday and is the official publication of presidential statements, messages, remarks, and other materials released by the White House Press Secretary. It began publication in 1965 and is available from this web site from 1993 forward. Most of WCPD is contained in the Public Papers of the President (once they are published).
Print volumes:
- J80 .A286
- Bird-Govt Info Reference, 3rd Floor
- Executive Orders
Executive Orders (EOs) are directives given by the President to Federal Administrative Agencies. They have the same legal weight as laws passed by Congress, but they do not require any Congressional approval to take effect. EOs are numbered consecutively and published in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.
- Presidential Libraries System
The PLS is made up of 10 libraries which function as repositories for preserving and making available the papers, records, and other historical materials of U.S. Presidents since Herbert Hoover.
- Digital National Security Archive
Over 40,000 important primary documents that pertained to foreign policy and national security, and led to policy decisions.
- National Security Archive
DSA is an independent non-governmental research institute and library that collects and publishes declassified documents pertaining to U.S. foreign policy, acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
- Freedom of Information Clearinghouse
This site provides technical and legal assistance to individuals, public interest groups, and the media who seek access to information held by government agencies. Includes background information, related resources, useful tips on writing requests, statistics on requests, and more.
- Freedom of Information Act
The FOIA applies only to federal agencies and not to records held by Congress, the courts, or by state or local government agencies. Requestors must identify the agency that likely holds the information and make a request in writing. There is no one central source to send such requests to. For a list of FOIA contact people, see Department of Justice's Principal FOIA Contacts at Federal Agencies. For state and local records, consult the state's own public access laws.
- Transactional Records Clearinghouse (TRAC)
Much of TRAC's information comes from FOIA requests. This service monitors federal enforcement, staffing, and spending. Agencies include: DEA, ATF, FBI, INS, Customs, and the IRS. TRAC is based at Syracuse University.
Identifying Secondary Literature for:
- help in identifying Primary Sources of interest
- critical analysis and overviews of the scandals
Search your topic (President or Presidential scandal) within these SU Library subscription databases:
- America: History and Life (1964-present)
*Articles written by historians. Time periods discussed include all US historical periods.- Expanded Academic ASAP (primarily 1990s forward) *An Interdisciplinary database with a high volume of full-text online articles from popular magazine sources as well as academic journals.
- JSTOR (late 19th century - recent years) *Online archival repository of full-text academic journal literature in a wide variety of disciplines, including history and political science.
- PAIS (1972-present) *Indexes and abstracts scholarly literature in public affairs and political science.
- PA Research II (primarily 1980s forward)
*An online database that includes full-text and abstracted popular magazine and newspaper sources as well as academic journal articles.- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
(1975-present) *A core database that abstracts scholarly publications in the field of political science
Need Additional Research Help?
Check out these sources of assistance:
- Political Science Librarian, Michael Pasqualoni (email or call-x3-3715 to arrange a private research consultation)
- Maps and Government Information Department @ SU Library (Offers a full slate of reference help connected to locating desired U.S. government publications, and resources from other national, state and local governments, as well as international organizations). Lesley Pease, Government Publications Librarian
- In person and online reference and research assistance (go here for reference desk hours, telephone numbers, links to email reference and to SU Library's real time, interactive, LIBCHAT reference service).
Source for presidential images: Associated Press Multimedia Archive (SU Library Subscription)
