Library Guides: Activism and Lawmaking in the United States: Background Information

Intro

Getting started with a new topic and need some basic background? The encyclopedias and reference resources below are designed to provide reliable overviews and suggestions for further reading.

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of American Social Movements by Immanuel Ness (editor)
Call Number: E-Book
Publication Date: 2015
This four-volume set provides background for major U.S. social movements in 16 categories: Antislavery; Civil Rights; Women's; Labor; Native American; Rural, Social, and Political; Moral Reform; Religious, Utopian, and Health; Antiwar/Protest; Radical and Poor People's; Student; Ethnic and Group Identity; Environmental; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender; Conservative, Nativist, and Right-Wing; and Global Justice.

Federalism in America: An Encyclopedia
This encyclopedia provides a comprehensive reference explaining the major concepts, institutions, court cases, epochs, personalities, and policies that have shaped, or been shaped by, American federalism. It describes federalism's creation and evolution, and its influence on local, state, and national governmental institutions, procedures, and policies. The models used to explain the various historical eras in the development of federalism are also included.

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History This link opens in a new window
The Oxford Research Encyclopedia (ORE) of American History offer synopses of key historical topics and themes in the history of the U.S. and its connections to other nations and regions. Each encyclopedia article includes overview information, a discussion of the scholarly literature, a list of key primary sources, links to digital resources, and suggestions for further reading.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics This link opens in a new window
The Oxford Research Encyclopedia (ORE) of Politics offer synopses of key topics and themes in a wide range of subjects: contentious politics and political violence; governance and political change; groups and identities; history and politics; international political economy; policy and administration; politics and law; postmodern and critical politics; public opinion; world politics; quantitative and qualitative methodologies; and political anthropology, behavior, communication, economy, institutions, philosophy, psychology sociology, and values and ideologies.

Handbooks

The Book of the States
The Council of State Governments published the Book of the States yearly from 1933 to 2021. It provides state-by-state comparisons on such topics as state constitutional changes; federalism and intergovernmental relations; state legislative, executive, and judicial branches; elections; state finance; state management, administration, and demographics; and selected state policies and programs.

The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government by Donald P. Haider-Markel (Editor)
Call Number: E-Book
Publication Date: 2014
A reference for background and literature reviews in key areas of the study of state politics. The chapters covers the main areas of study in subnational politics and policy, such as education, criminal justice, the environment, and social welfare.

Reference Databases

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference is a database that allows you to discover and access hundreds of reference books, such as encyclopedias and historical dictionaries, from high-quality publishers.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
In-depth, authoritative reports on a full range of political and social-policy issues extending back to 1923. Each report is footnoted and includes an overview, background section, chronology, bibliography and debate-style pro-con feature, plus tools to study the evolution of the topic over time.
SAGE Knowledge This link opens in a new window
A social sciences digital library that includes a range of SAGE eBook and eReference content, including scholarly monographs, reference works, handbooks, series, professional development titles, videos, and more.