Image from the National Archives (USA)

Lecturer: Guy Charlton

Contact Subject Librarian 

Arts Information Services
Level 1
General Library
University of Auckland

Department of Political Studies

Course description 

The course surveys American politics and policy, paying particular attention to: historical origins of the American political system and political culture; political actors such as political parties, and interest and pressure groups and their participation in the political processes, such as the electoral process; political institutions such as the Supreme Court, the Presidency, Congress and state governments and the relationships between them; policy issues such as those relating to health-care, social welfare, and retirement provision and social issues such as gay and lesbian rights and gun control.

Prescribed text

Wilson, James Q., and John J. DiIulio, with Meena Bose. American Government: Institutions and Policies. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2010.

Library copy

Reference books

Reference books are a good place to start researching a topic because the information is brief and written by experts. Dictionaries and encyclopedias help you define your topic and identify keywords to use when you are searching databases. Articles in encyclopedias provide an overview of a topic. Many reference books are available online. See the databases segment for reference databases.

History

Blanco, Richard L., and Paul J. Sanborn, eds. The American Revolution, 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia. New York : Garland, 1993.

Library copy

Kutler, Stanley I., ed. Dictionary of American History. 3rd ed. New York: Charles Scribner's, 2003.

Library copy

Lea, David, and Collette Milward, eds. A Political Chronology of the Americas. London: Europa, 2001.

Library copy

Pendergast, Tom, and  Sara Pendergast, eds. UXL American Decades. Detroit: UXL, 2003.

E-book

Rose, Cynthia, ed. American Decades Primary Sources. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 

Library copy

Boyer, Paul S., ed. The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

E-book

Politics

The Almanac of American Politics. Boston: Gambit. (2008)

Library copy

Benenson, Bob, ed. Elections A to Z. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 2008.

Library copy

Hill, Kathleen Thompson, and Gerald N. Hill. The Facts on File Dictionary of American Politics. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001.

Library copy

How Government Works: Selections from the Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, the Encyclopedia of the American Presidency, the Encyclopedia of the American Judicial System. New York, N.Y. : Macmillan Library Reference USA, 1999.

Library copy

Nelson, Michael, ed. Guide to the Presidency. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2008.

Library copy | E-book

Ness, Immanuel, and James Ciment. Encyclopedia of Third Parties in America. Armonk, N.Y. : Sharpe Reference, 2000.

Library copy

Peters, Gerhard, and John T. Woolley, eds. The Presidency A to Z: A Ready Reference Encyclopedia. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 2008.

Library copy

Shelley, Fred M., and others. Atlas of American Politics, 1960-2000. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2002.

Library copy

Woronof, Kristen. American Inaugurals: The Speeches, the Presidents, and their Times. San Diego: Blackbirch Press, 2002.

E-book

Political institutions

Cartwright, Rita Cantos, and H. Victor Condé. Human Rights in the United States: A Dictionary and Documents. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2000.

Library copy

DeConde, Alexander, Richard Dean Burns, and Frederick Logevall, eds. Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy: Studies of the Principal Movements and Ideas. 2nd ed. New York: Scribner, 2002.

E-book

Hall, Kermit L., ed. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

E-book

---. The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

E-book

Patrick, John J. , Richard M. Pious, and Donald A. Ritchie. The Oxford Guide to the United States Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

E-book

Databases 

America:  History and Life
Use to find journal articles on U.S. history, culture, government, political science and current affairs.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Use to find articles on United States politics.

Newspapers

NewspaperSource
Newspaper Source includes the news from United States regional newspapers.

Proqust Historical Newspapers
Full text, searchable archive of the New York Times; Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post.

Press Display

Proquest Newspapers

Online Reference Databases

CQ Electronic Library see especially CQ Political Handbook of the World.

Internet sites 

Historical Documents

Anti-Federalist Papers (1787-89) — Various essays criticizing the proposed Constitution and urging changes. html

Brandeis, Louis D. 1932. New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann.

Declaration of Independence   html   

Federalist papers   html  

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. 1848. Seneca Falls Declaration html

History  

American Memory
Pimary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States.

Online exhibits at NARA (National Archives and Records Administration).

Liberty Library of Constitutional Classics

The Public Papers of President Ronald W. Reagan

Presidential Elections, 1860-1912
Political cartoons and prints from "Harper's Weekly," "Vanity Fair," "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper," "Puck," and the Library of Congress political print collection.

Political Institutions

Supreme Court of the United States

THOMAS: legislative information on the Internet
The full text of bills (103rd Congress and after), laws, Congressional Record (103rd and after), and most committee reports.

US House of Representatives

United States Senate

White House

Politics

American Women's History: A Research Guide

Foreign Relations of the United States
Compiled by the Office of the Historian of the US Department of State.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project

US presidential election maps : 1860-1996

Referencing information

Check the Student Learning Centre website Referencite for help with referencing. 

Consult the 15th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style if you are using either of the Chicago styles. Also available online.