Federal Law/Government

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Federal Law/Government

The Federal Law/Government page includes books in the library containing the text of the Constitution, commentary on the Constitution, statutes, administrative regulations, and executive proclamations and orders. The Federal page also includes books on Congress, legislative history, the Supreme Court, and Federal courts. There are links to Web sites containing the text of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, amendments to the Constitution, Presidential and Congressional activity, Court decisions, and administrative regulations.

Books

Constitution | Congress/Legislation | Judiciary

Constitution of 1787: A Commentary / George Anastaplo.: Explains the Constitution through the 26th Amendment.
342.7302 116
Constitution of the United States: An Introduction / Floyd G. Cullop.: Provides an explanation of the Constitution through the 26th Amendment.
342.73023 Cullop
CQ’s Guide to the U.S. Constitution / Ralph Mitchell: Overview of history and organization; includes text of the Constitution.
REF 342.73023 M682c
Creation of the Constitution: Opposing Viewpoints / Greenhaven Press.: Presents differing views of constitutional issues.
342.73029 Creation
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, 4 Vols. / Edited by Leonard W. Levy: Collection of over 2,000 articles in alphabetical order. Covers doctrinal concepts of constitutional law, people, judicial decisions, public acts (statutes, treaties, executive orders), and historical periods. Includes subject, name, and case indexes.
342.7302303 En56a
Living U.S. Constitution / Saul K. Padover, Rev. by Jacob W. Landynski.
: Includes complete texts of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Important Supreme Court cases are discussed.
342.7302 Padover
Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787 / Catherine Drinker Bowen.: Discusses events leading up to the signing of the Constitution.
Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution / Jack N. Rakove.: Discusses the issues facing the framers of the Constitution.
Origins of the American Constitution: A Documentary History Michael Kammen, editor.: Includes private correspondences and selected Federalist and Anti-Federalist writings.
1787: Drafting the U.S. Constitution, 2 Vols. Wilbourn E. Benton, editor.: Text of the original Constitution (Preamble and seven articles), and comments from members of the Constitutional Convention.
U.S. Constitution For Everyone / Mort Gerberg.: Basic explanation of the Constitution; all 27 amendments included.
United States Code Service Lawyers Cooperative/Lexis Publishing: Includes the Constitution, constitutional amendments, and statutes governing the nation.
Organized in 50 titles (subjects); index.
United States Code Congressional and Administrative News West Publishing.: Contains laws, legislative history, administrative regulations, committee reports, and executive proclamations and orders.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971.: Biographical information on members of Congress from the first through ninety-first Congress.
Congress A to Z: A Ready Reference Encyclopedia / Congressional Quarterly: Comprehensive encyclopedia through 1992. Includes tables of historical data and the Constitution. Describes how a bill becomes a law, and provides tips for writing to Congress.
Congress and Its Members (7th Edition) / Roger H. Davidson & Walter J. Oleszek: Details the history of the Congress. Focuses on the relationship between Congress and the president, the bureaucracy, and organized interests. The federal budget deficit problem and foreign policy are also examined in depth.
Congress and the Nation, 9 Vols. / Congressional Quarterly: Provides detailed coverage of the policies enacted in each four year presidential term, beginning with Volume 2 (1965-1968). Volume 1 covers 1945-1964.
Congressional Quarterly Almanac Congressional Quarterly, Inc.: Each volume provides comprehensive coverage of a congressional session. Every recorded vote and public law for the year is included, as are important presidential statements and congressional responses. CQ Weekly articles are compiled into each volume.
History of the House of Representatives / George B. Galloway & Sidney Wise: Includes the evolution of House rules, the development of the Committee system, party government in the House, legislative functions, relations with the Executive Branch, and more.
In Defense of Congress / Fred R. Harris.: A sympathetic examination of Congress from a former U.S. Senator.
United States Congressional Districts, 1788-1841 Stanley B. Parsons, William W. Beach, Dan Hermann.: Presents the county compositions, boundaries, and selected statistical information pertaining to every congressional district in the United States between 1788 and 1841.
Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court: Comprehensive overview to 1990. Discusses origins and development, the Court and the federal system, the Court and the individual, pressures on the Court, the Court at work, members of the Court, and major decisions.
The Supreme Court: A History / William H. Rehnquist: The current Chief Justice examines the history and operation of the Court. Specific areas include the relationship of the constitution to economic and social change, the relationship between the executive and judicial branches, and the process of choosing cases to hear.
The Supreme Court of the United States: Its Beginnings & Its Justices 1790-1991 / Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution.: Provides biographical information about each of the Justices through 1991. Includes tables of succession, Chief Justices, and Associate Justices. William Rehnquist wrote the preface and Warren Burger wrote the foreward.
A People's History of the Supreme Court / Peter Irons: Discusses the origin of the Court, controversial rulings, each of the Justices, and individuals at the center of important cases.
A History of the Supreme Court / Bernard Schwartz: Examines the history of the Court under different Chief Justices, and four important cases: Dred Scott v. Sandford, Lochner v. New York, Brown v. Board of Education, and Roe v. Wade
U.S. Constitution: This complete version from FindLaw includes a keyword search and extensive annotations explaining constitutional issues.
Original Constitution: This electronic version of the Constitution "as originally adopted" without the Bill of Rights is from the Library of Congress American Memory site. An introduction precedes the seven Articles of the Constitution.
Bill of Rights: The text of the first ten amendments to the Constitution, ratified in 1791 and in their original form. From the National Archives and Records Administration Web site.
Amendments 11-27: The amendments to the Constitution subsequent to the Bill of Rights. Includes the dates the amendments were passed by Congress and ratified. From the National Archives and Records Administration Web site.
Public Laws: 1973 -: THOMAS allows for searching of public laws by law number and bill number from the 93rd Congress to the present Congress. After a bill has been passed by Congress and accepted by the President (with or without a signature), it is assigned a public law number and issued in print as a slip law. Public (slip) laws are organized in chronological order for each congressional session in the Statutes at Large before entering the United States Code.
United States Code: The official compilation of public laws organized by 50 titles (subjects). This version is at the site of the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Sections of the code are downloadable. Users may perform a word(s) search or search various fields such as title and/or section. If a search for a specific section is made (as opposed to a word search), an update feature will provide notice of any changes to the specific section that have not been incorporated into its main text. If Congress passed a law within a very recent period of time, it may not be reflected in the update feature. Thus, the public laws for the current congressional session on THOMAS (listed above) should be checked. Classification tables show the last public law incorporated in the Code update feature. For commentary and historical references associated with specific Code sections, users may want to consider consulting the print version of the U.S. Code in the library.
U.S. House of Representatives: Information on House operations, the legislative process, updates on current activity, links to Representatives' Web sites, and more.
U.S. Senate: Links to Senators' Web sites, Senate Committees, legislative activities, and contact information.
Congressional Record: A near verbatim account of congressional activity available daily when Congress is in session. THOMAS has coverage beginning in 1989; a page explains the Record in further detail.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: Information about members of Congress from 1774 to the present. The site is searchable by last name, first name, position, and state.
The White House: Provides biographical information about the President, current news, a government overview, White House history, and information about tours.
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents: The print version is a service of the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. The Weekly Compilation is published each Monday, and contains messages, statements, and other materials released by the White House. GPO Access hosts the electronic version.
Executive and Independent Regulatory Agencies: A list of Executive and independent regulatory agencies, whose rules and regulations appear in the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations. See FirstGov's A-Z Index of Federal Departments and Agencies for a complete list that includes departments in the legislative and judicial branches.
Federal Register: Contains rules and regulations, proposed rules, notices, Presidential documents, and Sunshine Act meetings (agency meetings that are open to the public, with some exceptions). These rules and regulations are not law until published in the print version of the Federal Register, which is published Monday - Friday. The online version has coverage beginning in 1994.
Code of Federal Regulations: The codified rules and regulations of regulatory Executive Branch and independent agencies and Presidential documents organized into 50 titles (subjects). These rules, regulations, and documents are originally printed in the Federal Register. To see if an agency has issued a rule since the CFR was last updated, check the Current List of CFR Parts Affected.
Regulations.gov: The site allows for the public's review and comment on proposed federal regulations. The regulations are searchable by the government agency issuing them and by keyword.
Federal Judiciary: Includes new developments in the Court system, frequently asked questions, court links, educational outreach, and employment opportunities.
Judges of the United States Courts: The Federal Judicial Center offers a searchable database of biographical information on all judges who have served on the Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. Circuit Courts, and U.S. District Courts since 1789. An alphabetical index also assists in locating information.
PACER - Public Access to Court Electronic Records: This site provides case and docket information from Federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. The U.S. Party/Case Index allows for searches to determine whether a party is involved in federal litigation. Some federal courts are non-participants. PACER use requires registration; there is a charge of $.07 per page accessed.
U.S. Supreme Court: The official Web site of the Supreme Court. Contains Court opinions back to 1991, information about opinions, links to sites with decisions, and further information about the Court.
Supreme Court Decisions from 1893 - Present: From FindLaw; includes all published Supreme Court decisions since 1893
Selected Historic Supreme Court Decisions: From the Legal Information Institute; browse through over 600 of the most important Supreme Court decisions.
G.O.P. Republican National Committee: Information on important issues, recent news, the party, RNC leadership, state parties, voting, redistricting, and more.
Democratic National Committee: Learn about politcal issues, local politics, contributions, voter involvement, and more.
Google Web Directory of U.S. Political Parties: Includes parties such as the Centrist Party, the Democratic Patriotism Party, and the United Party