American Political Parties

Professor: Richard Skinner ( )
Librarian: Ginny Hopcroft ( )
Fall 2005
  

Getting Started

The Getting Started section of the Library's web site has valuable information for those both new and old to the research process at Bowdoin. Library contacts, tips on database searching, and citation formats are just a few of the useful items found there.

U.S. Political Parties -- Reference Books

American Politics from the Beginning to Date
Main Ref JK2261.C8 1883
Covers the first eight or so decades of American politics; includes history of political parties and party platforms.

Encyclopedia of the Democratic Party
Main Ref JK2312 .E55 1997

Encyclopedia of the Republican Party
Main Ref JK2352 .E56 1997

National Party Platforms
Main Ref JK2255 .J64 1978
Covers 1840-1956.

Guide to Political Platforms
Main Libr JK2261 .C48 1977

Note on party platforms: Congressional Quarterly Almanac (Govt Index JK 1 .C66), 1945- prints the platforms of the Democratic and Republican parties; Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report (Main Periodical), 1964- prints the platforms after the nominating conventions. Platforms also can be found online at individual party Web sites.

Political Parties and Civic Action Groups
Main Ref JK2260 .S36
Historical chronicle of American political organizations.

Parties on the Web
-Politics1.com - Directory of U.S. Political Parties
-Mondo Politico - Political Party Directory

For more books on political parties, try these subject headings in the library's catalog:
Political Parties -- United States
Third Parties -- United States
Republican Party (U.S.)
Democratic Party (U.S.)

Congress

Congress and the Nation, 1945-
Main Ref JK411 .C6
Comprehensive summary of legislation and politics during each four-year presidential term.

Guide to Congress
Main Ref JK1021 .C565 2000
Origins & development; powers; procedures; pressures; and more.

Encyclopedia of the United States Congress
Main Ref JK1067 .E63 1995
Describes and explains the major elements of Congress as an institution: rules; powers; political parties; history; staff

Almanac of American Politics
Main Ref JK1012 .A44
Political overview for each state with biographical and political analysis for each senator, representative and governor.

Politics in America
Main Ref JK1010 .P64
Summary profiles of House and Senate members; profiles of state politics; election data; campaign finance; voting records; interest group ratings.

Electoral Statistics

A Statistical History of the American Electorate
Main Ref JK1967 .R87 2001

Statistical History of the American Presidential Elections, 1789-1960)
Main Ref JK1967 .P4 1963
Interesting articles and tables on the role of parties

Vital Statistics on American Politics
Main Ref JK274 .S74 1988
Elections & political parties; campaign finance; PACs; public opinion and more

America Votes (1954- )
Main Ref JK1967 .A8
Primary & general election results for Senate, House, and Gubernatorial races

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections
Main Ref JK1967 .C662 2001

America at the Polls: 1960-2000
Main Ref JK524 .M33 2001

United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997
Main Ref JK1967 .D77 1998

For more books on electoral statistics, try this subject heading in the library's catalog:
Elections -- United States

Opinion Polls

The Gallup Poll
Main Ref HN90.P8 G35
Covers 1935-

Polling the Nations
Covers 1986-

LexisNexis Academic--Polls and Surveys under "Reference"
Covers 1935-

For more books on opinion polls, try this subject heading in the library's catalog:
Public opinion polls

Book Catalogs

Use these catalogs to find additional books on your topics:

Bowdoin College Library Catalog

Maine InfoNet
Includes the holdings of most Maine libraries. It has an online request button -- requests from Bates and Colby take 1-2 days.

WorldCat
Combined database of many library catalogs nationwide. To request books in WorldCat, first check Maine InfoNet, then use the Interlibrary Loan service.

Article Databases

Some of these databases are strictly bibliographic, i.e. they provide citation only. Others contain the full text of the journal articles. To find whether Bowdoin Library either has the print journal or provides access to the full text, click the "check availability" link in the database. If the journal is not available through Bowdoin Library, use the Interlibrary Loan service to obtain the article.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Indexes scholarly journals of U.S. and international political science.

LexisNexis Academic
Full-text database of news and legal information, with up to 20 years of retrospective coverage. Also includes poll data from the Roper Center from 1935 on.

America: History and Life
Comprehensive, scholarly index of the literature of history for the U.S. and Canada.

PAIS International
-1915 to 1976
-1972 to present
Index focused on public policy and social issues, globally.

Academic Search Premier (Coverage: 1980's- )
Multi-subject index covering the humanities, social sciences and sciences.

New York Times Archive (1851-1999)

Reader's Guide Retrospective (1890-1982)
Comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States. America.

Citing Sources

It is important to properly cite articles, books, etc. that you have used to write a paper. Click here for a good overview of what you need to know.

GH 10/05