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Watergate: Political Scandal HIST5459 (FR) Guide Ask Us

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Reference Sources

 When researching a new topic it is often necessary to get an overview, explanations of unfamiliar terms, or brief factual information. The print and electronic resources listed below include selected reference materials (dictionaries, encyclopaedias, handbooks, guides, and standards) for the field of American History. To find additional reference materials, check UNB WorldCat (the library catalogue).

Key Resources

  • Eyewitness to Watergate : a documentary history for students

    Chronological collection of articles from Congressional quarterly weekly reports pertaining to Watergate originally published in 1973 and 1974.

  • Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States
    Through the examination of case law, the 1,100 peer-reviewed articles in this encyclopedia focus on the substance of American law, the processes that produce its legal principles, and the history of the Supreme Court, from its creation to the present. Overview essays written in accessible language address the legal history and the social and political context of such topics as citizenship, due process, Native Americans, racism, and contraception.Electronic version of the five-volume Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States edited by David S. Tanenhaus and first published in print by Macmillan Reference in 2008.
    Purchased multi-user unlimited access
  • American national biography [HIL-REF CT213 .A68 1999]
  • Keesing's contemporary archives [HIL-REF D410 .K4 v.32 1986]

    Textual holdings: v. 1 1931/34-v. 32 1986

  • Dictionary of American History [HIL-REF E174 .D52 2003 vols. 1-10]

    This 2003 edition contains 4,400 articles, 1,200 photos, and 252 maps and includes 8,940 new topics and 1,400 rewritten articles. These cross-listed and newly-illustrated entries of 100-8,000 words are aimed at college students and reach into the future with a 1500-word essay on "9/11." Volume nine, a wonderful addition, contains archival maps and primary documents (with introductions) such as the anonymous story (c. 1745) of the league of five nations (Cayugas, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas); an excerpt from Francis Grund's (1837); and Henry Ford's "Advice to the Unemployed in the Great Depression" (1932). Volume nine's other distinctive feature is a division of the into chronological chunks that correlate entries, maps, and documents with relevant chapters in three Wadsworth textbooks: (2000), (2001); and (2002). A six-page guide provides tips on historical research. The over 2000 contributors are from American academies. One caution: the dictionary does not contain biographical entries. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

  • Encyclopedia USA : the encyclopedia of the United States of America, past & present [HIL-REF E174 .E52 vols. 1-18]
  • The New York Public Library American history desk reference [HIL-REF E174 .N48 1997]

    Here is the comprehensive yet quick-answer guide to one of the most popular topics in home reference: American history. With succinct, clearly written topical overviews, timelines, and capsule biographies, accompanied by sidebars and illustrations, this single volume incorporates all major events and contributions from the earliest inhabitants of North America to the present age. 90 illustrations. 10 maps. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

  • Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online
    Wiley/Blackwell Reference Online "is a vast new online library giving instant access to the most authoritative and up-to-date scholarship across the humanities and social sciences. With more than 350 reference volumes to be published in Blackwell Reference Online by the end of 2008, it is the largest academic reference collection available online and includes the critically-acclaimed Blackwell Companions and Handbooks, major reference works such as the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management and the Companion to Syntax, and a whole host of other valuable reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias and concise companions."
  • Oxford Companion to United States History
    see also [HIL-REF E174 .O94 2001 ]

    Here is a volume that is as big and as varied as the nation it portrays. With over 1,400 entries written by some 900 historians and other scholars, it illuminates not only America's political, diplomatic, and military history, but also social, cultural, and intellectual trends; science, technology, and medicine; the arts; and religion.Here are the familiar political heroes, from George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, to Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. But here, too, are scientists, writers, radicals, sports figures, and religious leaders, with incisive portraits of such varied individuals as Thomas Edison and Eli Whitney, Babe Ruth and Muhammed Ali, Black Elk and Crazy Horse, Margaret Fuller, Emma Goldman, and Marian Anderson, even Al Capone and Jesse James. The Companion illuminates events that have shaped the nation (the Great Awakening, Bunker Hill, Wounded Knee, the Vietnam War); major Supreme Court decisions (Marbury v. Madison, Roe v. Wade); landmark legislation (the Fugitive Slave Law, the Pure Food and Drug Act); social movements (Suffrage, Civil Rights); influential books (The Jungle, Uncle Tom's Cabin); ideologies (conservatism, liberalism, Social Darwinism); even natural disasters and iconic sites (the Chicago Fire, the Johnstown Flood, Niagara Falls, the Lincoln Memorial). Here too is the nation's social and cultural history, from Films, Football, and the 4-H Club, to Immigration, Courtship and Dating, Marriage and Divorce, and Death and Dying. Extensive multi-part entries cover such key topics as the Civil War, Indian History and Culture, Slavery, and the Federal Government.A new volume for a new century, The Oxford Companion to United States History covers everything from Jamestown and the Puritans to the Human Genome Project and the Internet--from Columbus to Clinton. Written in clear, graceful prose for researchers, browsers, and general readers alike, this is the volume that addresses the totality of the American experience, its triumphs and heroes as well as its tragedies and darker moments. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Additional Resources

  • The Reader's companion to American history [HIL-REF E174 .R43 1991]

    The Reader's Companion to American History offers a fresh, absorbing portrait of the United States from the origins of its native peoples to the nation's complex identity in the 1990s. Covering political, economic, cultural, and social history, and combining hundreds of short descriptive entries with longer evaluative articles, the encyclopedia is informative, engaging, and a pleasure to read. The Reader's Companion is sponsored by the Society of American Historians, an organization dedicated to promoting literary excellence in the writing of biography and history. Under the editorship of the eminent historians John A. Garraty and Eric Foner, a large and distinguished group of scholars, biographers, and journalists -- nearly four hundred contemporary authorities -- illuminate the critical events, issues, and individuals that have shaped our past. More than a reference book to be consulted simply for the dates or details of an event, the Companion offers a history of ideas. It distinguishes itself from conventional encylcopedias by featuring several hundred thematic articles. A chronological account of immigration, for example, is complemented by a conceptual article on ethnicity. Similarly, the Bull Moose party and the Know-Nothings, examined in individual entries, are also placed within a larger context in an article on third parties in American politics. And readers consulting entries on specific religious groups, leaders, and movements will be led to an article offering an overview of religion in America. Linking discrete facts, dates, and events through its interpretive essays, the Reader's Companion presents the overarching themes and ideas that have animated our historical landscape. Over the past twenty years, the study of history has undergone a metamorphosis. Political history, once the primary avenue for exploring the past, has given way to the "new social history." Focus has shifted from key events and leaders to everyday life in America, including the history of the family, women and the work force, race relations, and community life. The Reader's Companion to American History reflects this broader vision of our past. Interweaving traditional political and economic topics with the spectrum of America's social and cultural legacies -- everything from marriage to medicine, crime to baseball, fashion to literature -- the Companion is certain to engage the curiosity, interests, and passions of every reader. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

  • Reader's guide to American history [HIL-REF E178 .R42 1997]

    There are so many books on so many aspects of the history of the United States, offering such a wide variety of interpretations, that students, teachers, scholars, and librarians often need help and advice on how to find what they want. The Reader's Guide to American History is designed to meet that need by adopting a new and constructive approach to the appreciation of this rich historiography. Each of the 600 entries on topics in political, social and economic history describes and evaluates some 6 to 12 books on the topic, providing guidance to the reader on everything from broad surveys and interpretive works to specialized monographs. The entries are devoted to events and individuals, as well as broader themes, and are written by a team of well over 200 contributors, all scholars of American history. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

  • Evidence explained : citing history sources from artifacts to cyberspace [HIL-REF D5 .M55 2007]

    Family historians, to their dismay, frequently encounter publications containing incomplete or cryptic citations to sources not always thoroughly evaluated by their authors. In her newest book, lecturer and author Mills offers solutions to alleviate these frustrating situations. Building upon her earlier Evidence!: Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian (Genealogical, 1997), she provides guidelines to evaluate and cite properly sources involved in genealogical and historical research. Not intended to replace classical citation guides like Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Univ. of Chicago, 7th ed. rev., 2007), Mills's book focuses instead on nontraditional sources such as militia rolls, frakturs, censuses, and railroad pension files. Recognizing that an increasing amount of those materials is produced and offered online, Mills also addresses e-newsletters, podcasts, databases, and digital images. The book begins with two chapters on the fundamentals of evidence analysis and citation, followed by chapters on particular record types. Each record chapter starts with a list of "QuickCheck" models; more detailed guidelines and examples of source-list entries, first reference notes, and subsequent notes for each record type follow. Separate citation examples for print, film, and electronic formats are included when applicable. Mills's thoroughness is exemplified in the chapter on cemetery records, in which she explains the importance of accurate citations to cenotaphs and memorial plaques, churchyard, urban and rural grave markers, digital images of grave markers, as well as rural grave markers located by GPS. A glossary of terms, a bibliography of citation guides, a general index, and a separate index to the QuickCheck models complete the book. BOTTOM LINE While Richard Lackey's Cite Your Sources: A Manual for Documenting Family Histories and Genealogical Records (Univ. Pr. of Mississippi, 1980) covers most of the same basic record types as Mills's book, it does not include the many electronic formats so prevalent in current genealogical and historical research. This is an essential resource for family historians; highly recommended for all libraries. Elaine M. Kuhn, Kenton Cty. P.L., Covington, KY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

  • Oxford Guide to the United States Government, The
    "Compiled by three leading scholars, it contains the key figures, events, and structures that have animated U.S. government for more than 200 years. In addition to coverage of the 2000 Presidential race and election, it features biographies of all the Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Supreme Court Justices, as well as notable members of Congress, including current leadership; historical commentary on past elections, major Presidential decisions, international and domestic programs, and the key advisors and agencies of the executive branch; in-depth analysis of Congressional leadership and committees, agencies and staff, and historic legislation; and detailed discussions of 100 landmark Supreme Court cases and the major issues facing the Court today. Other entries define legal terms and phrases and elaborate on the wide array of government traditions."
    Collection limited to subscribed 5-user access
  • Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions, The (2 ed.)
    "This dictionary includes all 400 entries on major Supreme Court cases through history published in the acclaimed Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, in addition to approximately 45 new entries for the post-1991 decisions. It also gives entries on the U.S. Constitution, and the nominations and successions of justices. Terms covered in the Companion are briefly defined and explained, and a complete case list is given."
    Collection limited to subscribed 5-user access

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Last modified on March 28, 2024 12:15