Research & Subject Guides: HIS 411: Life Stories in Historical Context: GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

Print Resources

1774-1881
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Government Publications of the United States, September 5, 1774-March 4, 1881, compiled by Ben Perley Poore.

Executive, legislative and judicial federal documents arranged chronologically according to publication's date of issue; includes a general index. Continued by John Ames' work Comprehensive index to the publications of the United States government, 1881-1893 (see below).

Locations: Government Documents - Reference - xx Z1223 .A1885 1962 and Main Library Reference xx Z1223 .A1885 1962

1789-1909
Checklist of United States Public Documents 1789-1909, Congressional: to close of Sixtieth Congress; departmental: to end of calendar year 1909, compiled by Mary A. Hartwell.

Lists of congressional and departmental publications dating from 1789 thtough 1909; arranged by agency and classification number where applicable, 1707 pages

Location: Main Library Reference - Encyclopedias - J83 .C16 1990

1789-1970
Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1970: Indexes, compiled by Daniel W. Lester and Marilyn A. Lester.

Five volume work

v. 1. Superintendent of Documents classification author-organizations. Table of contents of microfilm reels.
v. 2. U.S. Government author-organization index.
v. 3. Departmental keyword indexes to U.S. Government author-organizations.
v. 4. U.S. Government serial titles, 1789-1970.
v. 5. Master keyword index to the publication-issuing offices of the U.S. Government, 1789-1970.

Locations: Government Documents Z1223.Z7 L45 - x and Main Library Reference Z1223.Z7 L45 - x

1789-1976
Cumulative Title Index to U.S. Government Publication, 1789-1976, compiled by Daniel Lester, Sandra Faull, Lorraine Lester

Sixteen volumes contains alphabetical listing of documents titles.

Location: Government Documents - Reference - Z1223 .Z7 C8 - No Loan

1881-1893
Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government, 1881-1893, by John G. Ames.

Comprehensive index of government publications from 1889 to 1893 that continues Poore's Descriptive Catalogue. Arranged alphabetically by subject area with a personal name index in volume 2.

Location: Government Documents - Reference - Z1223 .A125 - x

1893-1940
Document Catalog, 1893-1940

Entries are under both personal and governmental authors, subject, and title. Includes a complete list of executive order covered in the period covered.

Location: Government Documents - Reference - Z1223 .A13 - x

1900-1971
Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1900-1971

Fifteen volumes provide subject access to the Monthly Catalog.
Location: Main Library Reference - Encyclopedias - Z1223 .A18 Cum. subject index

Online Resources

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)
The CGP is the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online. Users can search by authoring agency, title, subject, and general key word. Advanced searching is also available.
The CGP is the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online. Users can search by authoring agency, title, subject, and general key word, or use "Advanced Search" for more options.

Census Bureau: Census of Population and Housing (1790-2000)
Census of Population and Housing data ranges from the 2000 census to the historical decennial census conducted throughout the decades. Some of the data were scanned as an effort to make historical census information available to the public. The display of data will continue as historical census records become available.
Congressional Publications
1789 to present. Provides access to a variety of information by and about the United States Congress. It indexes Congressional publications and provides access to Legislative Histories for public laws (1969-); testimony from congressional hearings (1824-); bill texts and status (1989-); the Congressional Record (1985-); and the Federal Register (1980-); and information about members and committees.

Congressional Record (1994-2011)
Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. Published daily when Congress is in session. GPO Access contains Congressional Record volumes from 140 (1994) to the present. At the back of each daily issue is the "Daily Digest," which summarizes the day's floor and committee activities. The current year's Congressional Record database is usually updated daily by 11 a.m., except when a late adjournment delays production of the issue.
Digital National Security Archive
1942-present. Fulltext. Over 63,000 of the most important declassified documents central to U.S. foreign and military policy since 1945. Includes presidential directives, memos, diplomatic dispatches, meeting notes, White House communications, email, confidential letters and other secret material.
Historical Statistics of the United States
Fulltext. Statistical information on American history, covering population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, governance, and international relations, all from the earliest times to the present. New topics include American Indians, slavery, poverty, non-profit organizations, race and ethnicity.

Journals of the Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress met from September 5 to October 26, 1774. The Second Continental Congress ran from May 10, 1775, to March 2, 1789. The Journals of the Continental Congress are the records of the daily proceedings of the Congress as kept by the office of its secretary, Charles Thomson. This complete edition, published by the Library of Congress from 1904 to 1937, is based on the manuscript Journals and other manuscript records of the Continental Congress in the Manuscript Division.

Census Information

The quickest and easiest way to access Census Records is to use Ancestry.com or HeritageQuest Online (available to NY State Employees via the NY State Library.)

Ancestry.com is available for free to guests at Port Jefferson Free Library. Contact your local public library to see if they have it. Many do. You can also do a 14-day free trial. (You will have to use your credit card to set up the trial and you must cancel it before 14 days or they will begin to charge you monthly.)

You can also search on the internet to see if a specific state or municipality has made census records available online.

Also, try: The USGenWeb Census Project - a national Census Project that has many years and counties online.

HIS 411: Life Stories in Historical Context: GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

Print Resources

Online Resources

Census Information

Library

Resources

Follow Us