CMC Government 90: Introduction to Constitutional Law: National Powers 
Professor Ralph Rossum

If you have questions about any of these resources or if you would like to schedule an appointment to work on your particular research topic, please contact Mary Martin in Honnold/Mudd Library, ext.18923 (621-8923) mary.martin@libraries.claremont.edu. 

Finding Information in Constitutional Law

• General Information
• Selected Subject Headings in Constitutional Law
• Finding Books
• Finding General and Popular Articles Using Database Indexes
• Finding Information on Constitutional Law
• Finding Historical Resources

General Information

• Help With Library Research - This links to a page  that contains general help specific to research using library resources, many of which are electronic.
• Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (1999-2000 ed.) by Peter W. Martin [WWW site] A site which provides guides to citing legal sources, both in traditional and electronic format.
• Law Resources on the Government Publications Department Home Page - This page has been developed specifically for the use of students, faculty and staff of the Claremont Colleges. Provides links to departmental information, Government Agencies, specific subject guides, alphabetical lists popular sites, and several more specific pages. resources, the following site is extremely helpful.

Selected Subject Headings in American Government & Politics

Back To Contents List

Finding Books

• Blais - the online catalog of the Libraries of the Claremont Colleges (DEN, HON, SGM, SPR), is searchable by keyword, author, title, subject, and call number. Books can be searched by author, title, or subject. Subject searching requires use of Library of Congress Subject Headings. A list of possible subject headings is provided above.
• LINK+ - Union catalog and book request service that allows Claremont Colleges students, faculty and staff to borrow books unavailable at our Libraries. This new service is expected to provide faster delivery of materials than traditional Interlibrary Loan Services.
• WorldCat on FirstSearch - Union catalog of over 36 million records of any type of material cataloged by OCLC member libraries. Includes manuscripts written as early as the 11th century. FirstSearch has holdings of most libraries in North America and the U.K.. These materials may be borrowed through ILL.

Finding General and Popular Articles in Journals and Newspapers Using Database Indexes

Use the List of Databases by Title or Subject or the appropriate Subject Research Guide for more suggestions on the best databases for your research.

Here are some databases appropriate for your research:

• ABC Pol Sci see Worldwide Political Science Abstracts Citations with table of contents from more than 300 journals worldwide in political science and government.
• America: History and Life Citations and abstracts of articles from over 2,100 journals, book reviews, and dissertations on the history and culture of the U.S. and Canada.
• Index to Legal Periodicals Provides access to citations to articles in over 260 legal journals, yearbooks, institutes, bar association organs, law reviews, and government publications worldwide from 1981-present; (1926-1994 in print) 
• LexisNexisAcademic This is a full-text database consisting of millions of articles covering the fields of business, law and legislation, and general news. There is also a connection to Lexis-Nexis via telnet to the Library Services Menu that is useful if you want to use the complete Shepards' Citations.
• Omnifile(Wilson's Reader's Guide Abstracts to Periodical Literature) General, multi-disciplinary index. Contains records for general and popular articles in all subjects. 1972 to current online and in paper back to the turn of the century, New Library South. Preceded by 19th Century Readers Guide covering 1890-1899, and Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, covering 1802-1906, also New Library South.
• Omnifile (Wilson Social Sciences Abstracts) covers subjects in the social sciences (economics, psychology, government, etc.). Coverage begins in the 1980's. Coverage for earlier years is available in paper indexes.
• PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) Index to public policy and social issues, information in a wide range of subjects. 1972 to current. Contains selected citations to journal articles, books, government documents and reports. Also indexes foreign language publications. Library has paper and electronic sources, although limited coverage in electronic format. Available in paper back to the early 1900's.
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts Citations with table of contents from more than 300 journals worldwide in political science and government. [Available only to users at the Claremont Colleges or connecting to a Claremont Colleges proxy server or modem pools.]

Finding Information on Constitutional Law

• Cornell Legal Information Institute: Supreme Court Collection This site provides access to all Supreme Court cases back to 1990, and 600 selected cases Back to 1793. Searchable by party name, topic, and opinion author.
• Library of Congress The Library of Congress Web site includes links to the American Memory Project with links to full-text Journals of the Continental Congress, Annals of Congress, and other resources. Also links to Thomas (see below).
• LexisNexisAcademic This is a full-text database consisting of millions of articles covering the fields of business, law and legislation, and general news. There is also a connection to Lexis-Nexis via telnet to the Library Services Menu that is useful if you want to use the complete Shepards' Citations.For Shepards' Citations, see Academic Universe and/or Lexis/Nexis.
• National Political Index non-profit, non-partisan index of substantive political information, tactical and logistical information for political activist organizations
• Thomas (House of Representatives through Library of Congress). Includes: Bill Text, Congressional Record Text, Bill Summary & Status, Hot Bills, now called "Congress This Week" and "Major Legislation"), the Congressional Record Index, and the Constitution (now found, along with other historical Congressional documents, under the "Historical Documents" category on the THOMAS home page). Enhancements in the types of legislative data available, as well as in search and display capabilities, have been continuously added.
• United States Government Printing Office: Keeping America Informed - GPO Access Describes the mission of the U.S. Government Printing Office. Provides links to GPO Access: sites for the Federal Register, Congressional Records, bills, and GAO reports. Indexes federal government publications since January 1994 and will ultimately provide links to federal depository libraries receiving those publications. Indexes Dept. of Energy and GPO sales publications.

Finding Historical Resources

• American Government Resource Guide. This is another excellent guide to resources in Government available electronically for current sources, and in paper for historical government Publications sources.
• Archiving Early America Here you will find original newspapers, maps and writings from 18th Century America. An array of authentic documents that form an historical record of a significant time in the American experience-- the Colonial Period, the War of Independence, and the presidencies of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
• Constitution links Here you will find different sites that include the U.S. Constitution, Amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and even scanned copies of the original Constitution.
• The Federalist Project Vote Smart's compilation of links to historic documents includes the Federalist Papers.
• The Declaration An online exhibit presented by the Library of Congress detailing the chronology of the Declaration of Independence, with some graphics.
• U.S. Constitution (Hypertext Version) Here you will find the text of the U.S. Constitution, Amendments, and the Bill of Rights, in a hypertext format that permits a fuller understanding of the original meaning of the Constitution. It also includes links to other Founding Documents (incl The Federalist Papers). Also has links to other pertinent sites such as the Supreme Court are also included.