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U.S. Public
Policy: Sources for Historical Analysis
Background and Overview
These reference tools are useful for getting a quick overview of a topic. Use these resources to familiarize yourself with the important issues, terms, dates, and trends in the subject area. Also look for encyclopedias on the aspect of public policy you choose to research.
These encyclopedias cover public policy generally:
Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy. - REF JK9 .E526 2003
Encyclopedia of American Public Policy. - REF JK468.P64 J33 1999
Encyclopedia of American Social History. - REF HN57 .E58 These encyclopedias cover the development of public policy in the various branches of government:
Congress and the Nation - REF JK1021 .C64 (1965-2001)
Congressional Quarterly Almanac. - REF JK1 .C66 (1958-date)
Encyclopedia of the American legislative system: studies of the principal structures, processes, and policies of Congress and the state legislatures since the colonial era. - REF JF501 .E53 1994
Encyclopedia of the American Presidency. - REF JK511 .E53 1993
Federal Agency Profiles for Students. - REF JK421 .F42 1999 Subject Headings
The library catalog uses Library of Congress Subject Headings. The list of authorized subject headings is available in the 5-volume set at the Reference Desk. However, you can start with keyword searches to gather some relevant titles, then look at their subject headings to discover the official terms to use. Here are some subject headings related to policy history: Child welfare -- Government policy -- United States
Civil rights -- United States
Environmental policy -- United States -- History
Family policy
Medical policy -- United States -- History
Science and state -- United States
Social legislation
United States -- Economic policy
United States -- Emigration and immigration -- Government policy
United States -- Foreign relations
United States -- Military policy
United States -- Social policy
Welfare state -- United States More on Subject Searching:
Big business -- Government policy -- United States -- History
You may also wish to browse the Reference Collection to see what special
sources are available. A basic outline of the Library of Congress Classification Scheme is at
http://library.uncwil.edu/web/research/topic/callnumbers.html . For more detail, see the outline from the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html
U.S. Government Documents, discussed in more detail below, use a different classification scheme. The Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) Classification Scheme puts publications together by the agency that released them. Browsing by subject is more difficult, but may still be possible. For instance, foreign policy would be covered in "S" (State Department) but would also be found in many other agencies, such as congressional hearings and presidential papers. An outline of the SuDoc scheme is at
http://library.uncwil.edu/web/research/topic/sudocs.html
Journal Databases Indexes
Use these databases and journal indexes to search for articles in journals and magazines. America: History & Life Indexes and summarizes articles and reviews published since 1954 in over 2,000 history journals.
A guide to its use is at http://library.uncwil.edu/web/research/databases/guides/america.html
PAIS International UNCW Index JA1 .P76 Library has 1915-1996. Online coverage begins 1972.
JSTOR Full-text searching of an archive of over 40 history and 25 political science journals. Typically excludes the latest 3-5 years of publication. More Databases
These databases lead to other useful information. The descriptions provide details on the publications types they lead to: WorldCat The union catalog of over 9,000 member libraries. Over one billion bibliographic records for books, periodicals, videos, manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, and internet resources. Includes information on which libraries own an item, and links to the Randall Library Interlibrary Loan system (ILLiad).
Biography & Genealogy Master Index This resource indexes more than 12.7 million biographical sketches in more than 3,400 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world. After you find which resources contain a biographical sketch you need, search the online catalog for the book. References to Biography Index (Index CT100 .B6) will ultimately lead to books, book chapters or periodical articles. Bibliographies & Guides to the Literature Also look for bibliographies on the aspect of public policy you choose to research. The American Presidency: A Bibliography. - REF JK 511 .M37 1987
The United States Congress: A Bibliography. - REF JK1061 .G575
The United States Congress: An Annotated Bibliography, 1980-1993. - REF JK1061 .M285 1995 U. S. Government Documents as Primary Sources
For primary sources in public policy history, you will depend heavily on government publications. Randall Library shelves most of its US government documents in a separate collection on the 2nd floor. The library has been a depository library (that is, we automatically get certain series of documents) since 1965 . We have some series of government documents prior to 1965, e.g., Congressional Record and Council on Foreign Relations documents, but 1965 is when the bulk of the collection begins. We can borrow documents not in our collection through Interlibrary Loan. UNC-Chapel Hill is the nearest full, long term depository library. Before beginning your search for primary sources, it is a good idea to do background reading on the topic in secondary sources. Look for specific dates related to policy discussions and decisions, names of agencies or congressional committees responsible for action, persons directly involved, and the numbers and names of bills and acts that set policy in place. Keep in mind that the terms we now use to refer to policies may not have been the terms used at the time the policy was being debated and enacted. Even if those terms were used in the popular press, they may not appear in the official documents. Randall Library did not include U.S. documents in the main library catalog until 1990. Use these online databases and print indexes to search for government documents. Catalogue of the Public Documents (Print). - Index Z1223.A187. Indexes publications from all branches of government, 1893-1940.
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (Print). Index Z1223 .A18. Indexes publications from all branches of government, 1940-1976.
Lexis Nexis Congressional Universe (Online). Congressional documents only. Provides indexing back to 1789.
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe: Legal Research. (Online). Full text of U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. District Court cases since 1790. Presidential Primary Sources:
Public papers of the Presidents of the United States . - General Collection J82
Codification of Presidential proclamations and executive orders. - REF KF70 .A473 1945/1989
Presidential executive orders : numbered 1-8030, 1862-1938. - Microfiche J80.A73 N48 1978 Congressional Record:
The verbatim record of debate on the floor of the House and Senate is now called the Congressional Record. However, the title has changed over the years. The titles (and format of our holdings) are listed below in chronological order. Microfilm is filed with the periodicals on microfilm (1st floor): Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States.
1789-1823 Register of Debates in Congress.
1824-1837 Congressional Globe
1833-1873 Congressional Record.
1873-1934; 1953-1967 Both houses of Congress have historical web sites:
Senate Historical Office
House of Representatives Office of the Clerk Congressional History More Primary Sources See the guide Finding Primary Resources for Historical Research" for a more complete discussion of the library's resources. For public policy history, be sure to consider the following searches and sources: Search the Randall Library catalog and WorldCat for policy makers' names as authors . This should retrieve their memoirs, diaries and correspondence. As you search subject topics in the catalog and WorldCat, note that the following subdivisions indicate primary source material: correspondence *
diaries *
interviews *
personal narratives
pictorial works
songs and music
sources
speeches, addresses, etc.*
treaties New York Times Archive Full-image online access for the NYT back to 1851. More Web Resources The free web is becoming a rich resource for primary source material. In particular, try these resources: American Memory Project http://memory.loc.gov/
The Library of Congress digital contains text, photographs, audio and video on U.S. History. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/nfhtml/nfhome.html In the First Person: An Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories and Personal Narratives
http://www.alexanderstreet6.com/firp//
An index to English language personal narratives published or available on the web. It aims to be "the most comprehensive archive of social memory ever created." Miller Center of Public Affairs http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/ From the University of Virginia, the Miller Center specializes in the history of the presidency.
Of particular interest is the Scripps Library Multimedia Archive, which includes audio files of presidential speeches, oral histories and secret recordings beginning
with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy http://www.pubpol.duke.edu/
Located at Duke University, this site provides full text access to reports from its scholars. While they are more contemporary than historical, they can help you
select ideas for your research. Select the "Policymakers" link and look for the Working Papers Series.
Last Update: March 13, 2006
Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy. - REF JK9 .E526 2003
Encyclopedia of American Public Policy. - REF JK468.P64 J33 1999
Encyclopedia of American Social History. - REF HN57 .E58 These encyclopedias cover the development of public policy in the various branches of government:
Congress and the Nation - REF JK1021 .C64 (1965-2001)
Congressional Quarterly Almanac. - REF JK1 .C66 (1958-date)
Encyclopedia of the American legislative system: studies of the principal structures, processes, and policies of Congress and the state legislatures since the colonial era. - REF JF501 .E53 1994
Encyclopedia of the American Presidency. - REF JK511 .E53 1993
Federal Agency Profiles for Students. - REF JK421 .F42 1999 Subject Headings
The library catalog uses Library of Congress Subject Headings. The list of authorized subject headings is available in the 5-volume set at the Reference Desk. However, you can start with keyword searches to gather some relevant titles, then look at their subject headings to discover the official terms to use. Here are some subject headings related to policy history: Child welfare -- Government policy -- United States
Civil rights -- United States
Environmental policy -- United States -- History
Family policy
Medical policy -- United States -- History
Science and state -- United States
Social legislation
United States -- Economic policy
United States -- Emigration and immigration -- Government policy
United States -- Foreign relations
United States -- Military policy
United States -- Social policy
Welfare state -- United States More on Subject Searching:
- From the selected list above, you can see that sometimes "United States" is the first element of a subject heading and sometimes it is a subdivision. Fortunately, the subject search hits at all segments of the subject heading. For instance, a subject search on "Government policy" retrieves items with the following subject headings:
Big business -- Government policy -- United States -- History
- Also try searches on specific reform movements, e.g., Sex discrimination against women -- United States -- History
- Catalogers use the most precise subject heading to describe a publication. For instance, a book on U.S. government policy on birth control will carry the subject heading "Birth control -- Government policy -- United States" probably won't also have the heading "Family policy -- United States." However, some publications on family policy may contain information about birth control policy. Searching both broad and narrow headings and looking for related headings will yield better results.
- Just because an item's subject heading does not include "History" as a subdivision does not mean it has no history in it. In particular, look at the publication date. It may be a source contemporary to the period, i. e., a primary source.
- Even if you are doing a keyword search, using phrases from the subject headings typically improves the relevance of your results.
You may also wish to browse the Reference Collection to see what special
sources are available. A basic outline of the Library of Congress Classification Scheme is at
http://library.uncwil.edu/web/research/topic/callnumbers.html . For more detail, see the outline from the Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html
U.S. Government Documents, discussed in more detail below, use a different classification scheme. The Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) Classification Scheme puts publications together by the agency that released them. Browsing by subject is more difficult, but may still be possible. For instance, foreign policy would be covered in "S" (State Department) but would also be found in many other agencies, such as congressional hearings and presidential papers. An outline of the SuDoc scheme is at
http://library.uncwil.edu/web/research/topic/sudocs.html
Journal Databases Indexes Use these databases and journal indexes to search for articles in journals and magazines. America: History & Life Indexes and summarizes articles and reviews published since 1954 in over 2,000 history journals.
A guide to its use is at http://library.uncwil.edu/web/research/databases/guides/america.html
PAIS International UNCW Index JA1 .P76 Library has 1915-1996. Online coverage begins 1972.
JSTOR Full-text searching of an archive of over 40 history and 25 political science journals. Typically excludes the latest 3-5 years of publication. More Databases
These databases lead to other useful information. The descriptions provide details on the publications types they lead to: WorldCat The union catalog of over 9,000 member libraries. Over one billion bibliographic records for books, periodicals, videos, manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, and internet resources. Includes information on which libraries own an item, and links to the Randall Library Interlibrary Loan system (ILLiad).
Biography & Genealogy Master Index This resource indexes more than 12.7 million biographical sketches in more than 3,400 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world. After you find which resources contain a biographical sketch you need, search the online catalog for the book. References to Biography Index (Index CT100 .B6) will ultimately lead to books, book chapters or periodical articles. Bibliographies & Guides to the Literature Also look for bibliographies on the aspect of public policy you choose to research. The American Presidency: A Bibliography. - REF JK 511 .M37 1987
The United States Congress: A Bibliography. - REF JK1061 .G575
The United States Congress: An Annotated Bibliography, 1980-1993. - REF JK1061 .M285 1995 U. S. Government Documents as Primary Sources
For primary sources in public policy history, you will depend heavily on government publications. Randall Library shelves most of its US government documents in a separate collection on the 2nd floor. The library has been a depository library (that is, we automatically get certain series of documents) since 1965 . We have some series of government documents prior to 1965, e.g., Congressional Record and Council on Foreign Relations documents, but 1965 is when the bulk of the collection begins. We can borrow documents not in our collection through Interlibrary Loan. UNC-Chapel Hill is the nearest full, long term depository library. Before beginning your search for primary sources, it is a good idea to do background reading on the topic in secondary sources. Look for specific dates related to policy discussions and decisions, names of agencies or congressional committees responsible for action, persons directly involved, and the numbers and names of bills and acts that set policy in place. Keep in mind that the terms we now use to refer to policies may not have been the terms used at the time the policy was being debated and enacted. Even if those terms were used in the popular press, they may not appear in the official documents. Randall Library did not include U.S. documents in the main library catalog until 1990. Use these online databases and print indexes to search for government documents. Catalogue of the Public Documents (Print). - Index Z1223.A187. Indexes publications from all branches of government, 1893-1940.
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (Print). Index Z1223 .A18. Indexes publications from all branches of government, 1940-1976.
Lexis Nexis Congressional Universe (Online). Congressional documents only. Provides indexing back to 1789.
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe: Legal Research. (Online). Full text of U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. District Court cases since 1790. Presidential Primary Sources:
Public papers of the Presidents of the United States . - General Collection J82
Codification of Presidential proclamations and executive orders. - REF KF70 .A473 1945/1989
Presidential executive orders : numbered 1-8030, 1862-1938. - Microfiche J80.A73 N48 1978 Congressional Record:
The verbatim record of debate on the floor of the House and Senate is now called the Congressional Record. However, the title has changed over the years. The titles (and format of our holdings) are listed below in chronological order. Microfilm is filed with the periodicals on microfilm (1st floor): Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States.
1789-1823 Register of Debates in Congress.
1824-1837 Congressional Globe
1833-1873 Congressional Record.
1873-1934; 1953-1967 Both houses of Congress have historical web sites:
Senate Historical Office
House of Representatives Office of the Clerk Congressional History More Primary Sources See the guide Finding Primary Resources for Historical Research" for a more complete discussion of the library's resources. For public policy history, be sure to consider the following searches and sources: Search the Randall Library catalog and WorldCat for policy makers' names as authors . This should retrieve their memoirs, diaries and correspondence. As you search subject topics in the catalog and WorldCat, note that the following subdivisions indicate primary source material: correspondence *
diaries *
interviews *
personal narratives
pictorial works
songs and music
sources
speeches, addresses, etc.*
treaties New York Times Archive Full-image online access for the NYT back to 1851. More Web Resources The free web is becoming a rich resource for primary source material. In particular, try these resources: American Memory Project http://memory.loc.gov/
The Library of Congress digital contains text, photographs, audio and video on U.S. History. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/nfhtml/nfhome.html In the First Person: An Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories and Personal Narratives
http://www.alexanderstreet6.com/firp//
An index to English language personal narratives published or available on the web. It aims to be "the most comprehensive archive of social memory ever created." Miller Center of Public Affairs http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/ From the University of Virginia, the Miller Center specializes in the history of the presidency.
Of particular interest is the Scripps Library Multimedia Archive, which includes audio files of presidential speeches, oral histories and secret recordings beginning
with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy http://www.pubpol.duke.edu/
Located at Duke University, this site provides full text access to reports from its scholars. While they are more contemporary than historical, they can help you
select ideas for your research. Select the "Policymakers" link and look for the Working Papers Series.
Last Update: March 13, 2006