Executive - President - Government Information - Subject & Research Guides at Connecticut College

The President

American President
Profiles of each of the presidents, with overviews of their families, elections, administrations, affairs, and key events. Produced by the Miller Center at the University of Virginia.
The Presidents
A list of all of the US presidents with a brief overview of their administration. Produced by whitehouse.gov
The Presidents: A Reference History
Presents in-depth profiles of each American president, his administration, a new history of the White House, and a general introduction to the presidency.

Departments & Agencies

A to Z index of Government Agencies
From USA.gov
US Government Manual
Comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasi-official agencies; international organizations in which the United States participates; and boards, commissions, and committees.

The Manual begins with reprints of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

See the US Government Manual listing on the Essential Titles tab of this guide for back issues available in print from Shain Library.

Foreign Relations of the US (FRUS)

The official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication.

FRUS begins with the administration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861. There are two cumulative indexes covering 1861-1899 and 1900-1918. Each volume has a subject and author index. There is also typically a table of sources and abbreviations at the beginning of each volume.

The organization of FRUS is generally chronological, but the dates of the volumes do not necessarily reflect the dates of documentary history.

from state.gov
Truman (1945) - Carter (1980), with pre-Truman coverage starting in 1861.
from UWDC
Lincoln (1861) - Eisenhower (1960).
Shain Library - Gov Docs Location
Truman (1945) - Carter (1980).
Shain Library - Dewey Location
Andrew Johnson (1866) - Franklin Roosevelt (1943).
Forthcoming Volumes

Presidential Elections

The American Presidency Project
A large collection of information by and about the presidents, including daily and weekly compilations of presidential documents, messages and papers of the presidents, inaugural addresses, proclamations, signing statements, approval ratings. See the section on Elections for convention speeches, presidential debates, party platforms, and voting data.
CQ Press Library
The CQ Press library includes background information on the presidency and each president in US history, voting and elections data, policy summaries, and so much more.
Debate Transcripts (Commission on Presidential Debates)
Unofficial transcripts of most presidential and vice presidential debates from 1960 -
Electoral College (NARA)
Explore the history of elections and voting, with historical election results and state laws and requirements.
The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials, 1952-2020
An online exhibition of hundreds of television commercials from every presidential election year since the beginning of televised campaign ads.
Presidential Inaugurations
From the American Memory Project at the Library of Congress, a collection of primary source documents relating to the inaugurations of each of the presidents, including their inaugural addresses. Additional sources for inaugural addresses are the Public Papers of the Presidents (listed below) and the American Presidency Project (listed above).

Public Papers

The appendixes in each Public Papers volume provide listings of:

A digest of the President's daily schedule and meetings, when announced, and other items of general interest issued by the Office of the Press Secretary;
The President's nominations submitted to the Senate;
A checklist of materials released by the Office of the Press Secretary that are not printed full-text in the book; and
A table of Proclamations, Executive orders, and other Presidential documents released by the Office of the Press Secretary and published in the Federal Register

Each Public Papers volume also features a foreword signed by the President, and a portfolio of photographs selected from White House Photo Office files, as well as subject and name indexes, and a document categories list. *

The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents first began in 1965 as a printed pamphlet. From 1977 onward, all material appearing in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation is incorporated into the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. *

HeinOnline Presidential Library
The US Presidential Library in the HeinOnline Academic database includes messages and papers of the presidents, daily and weekly compilations of presidential documents, public papers of the presidents, documents relating to impeachment, Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and a host of other related works.
Public Papers of the Presidents
Print holdings in Shain Library (1929 - ). Please note that the papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt were published separately and are listed separately in the library catalog.
Cumulated Indexes to the Public Papers of the Presidents
Print holdings in Shain Library (1953-2001). These make finding desirable content in the print or digitized versions of the papers much easier. Browse for the title in OneSearch.
Public Papers of the Presidents (University of Michigan Digital Library)
Covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover (1929-1933) through Clinton (1993-2001).
Public Papers of the Presidents (American Presidency Project)
Covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover (1929-1933) onward. The Public Papers of the Presidents contain most of the President's public messages, statements, speeches, and news conference remarks. Documents such as Proclamations, Executive Orders, and similar documents that are published in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, as required by law, are not included for all presidents.
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
Print holdings in Shain Library (1965 - 2000). The official publication of Presidential statements, messages, remarks, and other material.
Compilation of Presidential Documents (FDsys)
Successor to the Weekly Compilation, these are the official publications of materials released by the White House (1993 - ).
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789-1897
An incomplete compilation of the official papers of the presidents.

Executive Orders

Executive orders are official documents, numbered consecutively, through which the President of the United States manages the operations of the Federal Government.

The text of Executive orders appears in the daily Federal Register as each Executive order is signed by the President and received by the Office of the Federal Register. The text of Executive orders beginning with Executive Order 7316 of March 13, 1936, also appears in the sequential editions of Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations. *

Executive Orders Disposition Tables (NARA)
Disposition Tables contain information about Executive Orders beginning with those signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933). The Disposition Tables include the Executive order number; the date of signing by the President; Federal Register volume, page number, and issue date; amendments (if any); and current status.
The American Presidency Project
Executive orders from J. Q. Adams (1826) to present.
Compilation of Presidential Documents:
- Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
  Includes all documents and statements issued by the White House. Print holdings in Shain Library (1965 - 2000).
- Compilation of Presidential Docduments (FDsys)
  Includes all documents and statements issued by the White House (1993-).
Executive Orders and Other Presidential Documents (LLSDC)
Attempts to lay out and link to all major sources for these materials which includes Presidential directives, proclamations, signing statements, executive orders, memoranda, and other documents. The site also links to many sources, such as CRS reports, that explain these documents.
Code of Federal Regulations:
- Code of Federal Regulations, Title 3 (the President [FDsys])
  FDsys has (1997-)
- Code of Federal Regulations, Title 3 (the President)
  Print holdings in Shain Library, shelved in the Gov Docs Law Area. For Title 3 (1936-2012)
- ProQuest Congressional (1980-)
Federal Register:
- Federal Register (1994-)
- FDsys (1994-)
- Print holdings in Shain Library, shelved in Gov Docs Ref (Jan. 2012 - Mar. 2013; Indexes: 1983 - Feb. 2013)
- Lexis Nexis Academic (1936-)
- ProQuest Congressional (1980-2012)

Subject Guide

Andrew Lopez

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Contact:

Charles E. Shain Library
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The Government Documents librarian is available for:

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Government Information: Executive - President