HI 353: Presidential Elections

• Presidents--United States--Biography.
• Presidents--United States--History.
• United States--Politics and government.

Find Encyclopedias

Specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works can provide good background information on your topic.

Guide to the Presidency REF JK516 .G83 2008 Historical atlas of U.S. presidential elections 1788-2004 REF G1201.F9 H5 2006 Presidential elections, 1789-2008 : county, state, and national mapping of election data REF JK524 .D47 2010 U.S. presidential candidates and the elections : a biographical and historical guide REF JK528 .H38 1996 Credo Reference Search online encyclopedias, atlases, dictionaries, etc.

Use Reference Universe to search for other reference material in the library's collection.

Find Primary Sources

Primary Sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred.

1. Search the Library Catalog to find primary sources in the SMC Library or WorldCat to find primary sources at another library. Type in keywords from your topic and any of the following terms.

Example Library Catalog Search:

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Newspapers/Magazines

Historical Newspapers
Provides access to New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post from the 1850's to the 1980's.

Reader's Guide Retrospective
Index of general interest/popular magazines and journals from 1890-1982.

Chronicling America: Historical American Newspapers
Access selected digitized American newspapers from 1836-1922 or search the US Newspaper Directory, 1690-present.

American Periodicals Online Series
Search American magazines from 1741-1900.

Making of America
19th c. books and magazines

Government Documents

Congressional Record
Record of the proceedings of Congress.  See overview of the Congressional Record.

• U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates from the American Memory project. (1774-1875)
• Search Thomas (1989-present)
• Search Google Books
• Search Internet Archive
• Search government publications at FDSys
• Consult UVM Library

Selected Digital Collections

American Presidency Project
Searchable archives of presidential documents sponsored by University of California, Santa Barbara.  The archives includes The Public Papers of the Presidents from 1789-1913 and 1929-present and has a media archives. 

Presidential Libraries
Links to the Presidential Libraries.

American Memory Project
Primary documents in American History from the Library of Congress.

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Search or browse the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) on selected topics to find digital images. Other search interfaces available include Access to Archival Databases and the Online Public Access Catalog.

Find other digital collections on your president by doing a Google search such as theodore roosevelt digital collection. You can also restrict your searches by using the Google Advanced search and limiting to the .edu, .org, or .gov domains. 

Multimedia/Speeches

American History & Video
Search both secondary and primary sources ranging from PBS documentaries to newsreels from the 1940's.

U.S. Presidential Audio Recordings
Sound samples of presidents from Michigan State University's Vincent Voice Library.

Vital Speeches of the Day
Click on search within this publication and add a person's name to the search. (i.e. Reagan search)

Evaluating Sources

Consider the following factors when evaluating your sources.

Currency - Is the timeliness of the information appropriate? Check the publication date of the website, book, or article. Date may not be an issue with historical topics unless you are looking for primary sources.

Relevance - Does the information fit your assignment/research question? Look at abstract, table of contents, introduction, cited references, and index to determine relevance. Is it a popular or scholarly source?

Authority - Who is taking responsibility for the source?--subject specialist, news reporter, organization. Where did they obtain their information? Is a bibliography or reference list provided? Look at author credentials, about us links on websites, etc.

Accuracy - Never rely on one source. Compare facts with additional sources.

Purpose - What is the intent of the article/author?--to persuade, to inform, to influence your opinion.

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Maintained by Stacey Knight