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"All
Legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."
(Article
I, Section 1, of the United States Constitution)
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ACSC Member Sites
Congressional Sites
Congressional Archives
Related Organizations
ACSC Member Sites
Arizona
Historical Foundation
The Arizona Historical Foundation was founded in 1959 by Senator Barry
Goldwater. The Foundation is a 501(c) (3) organization housed within the
Hayden Library at Arizona State University. They are a private, non-profit
repository of historical documents and primary source materials. As a
heritage institution and part of the collecting community in Arizona,
their goal is to selectively collect, preserve and make available historically
relevant material to current and future generations of researchers. The
Arizona Historical Fondation's holdings include over 130 manuscript collections,
12,000 photographs and ephemera, books, artifacts, film, videos, maps,
oral histories, political cartoons, microfilm and several distinctive
card catalogs. While some material dates back to the 1860s, the bulk of
the collections document 20th and 21st century life in Arizona.
Barry
University
The Monsignor William Barry Memorial Library serves the Barry University
students, faculty, and staff. The Barry University archival program was
established in the fall of 1991 to manage and preserve University records
that have administrative, historical, or legal value, and to make them
available for use. The Historical Collections contain papers, photographs,
and memorabilia of the Barry University founders, Congressman William
Lehman's papers, and documents of social, cultural, or religious events
that have affected the institution.
Bates
College: The Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library
The Edmund S. Muskie Archives documents the late senator's exemplary career
in public service, from his first election to the Maine House of Representatives
in 1946 to his appointment as U.S. secretary of state in 1980 by President
Jimmy Carter. The Muskie Archives is especially strong in documentary
evidence on the political history of Maine and the nation from World War
II to the early 1990s.
Baylor
University - Collections of Political Materials
The Baylor Collections of Political Materials is
part of Baylor University Libraries, functioning as a research facility
which collects congressional records and personal papers related to the
political history of Central Texas. It was established in 1979 in honor
of Congressman W.R. Poage, Baylor alumnus and retired public official
whose career spanned over fifty years.
California
State University, Fresno - Central Valley Political Archive
The Central Valley Political Archive (established in 2000) of the Henry
Madden Library at California State University, Fresno, collects the papers
of congressmen representing California's Central Valley in addition to
documenting the contributions of state officeholders and the activities
of local political organizations.
Carl
Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center
The Albert Center performs four primary functions. First, it offers unique
academic programs in congressional studies at both the graduate and undergraduate
levels, including a Congressional Fellowship for graduate students and
an Undergraduate Fellowship. Second, the Center promotes original scholarship
by faculty and students into various aspects of politics and the Congress.
Third, it serves as an important resource on the history of Congress,
primarily through its Congressional Archives, a collection of twentieth
century congressional papers. Finally, the Center fosters a wider understanding
and appreciation of the Congress through a public outreach program, which
includes lecture series, exhibits, and publications.
Center
for American History
The Center for American History is one of the nation's premier historical
research institutions. People come to the Center to study the outstanding
collections that University of Texas has assembled since its founding
in 1883. The Center's Congressional History Collection acquires, preserves,
and makes available for research archival materials for studies in congressional
history, with a special focus on the Texas Congressional delegation. This
collection component contains papers relating to the careers of more than
fifty-five former members of Congress. The Center also manages two museums
documenting congressional careers.
Center
for Congressional and Presidential Studies
The Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (CCPS) is located
in the nation's capital at American University. Under the sponsorship
of the School of Public Affairs, CCPS provides an integrated teaching,
research, and study program focusing on Congress and the presidency and
the interactions of these two basic American institutions.
Center
for Legislative Studies
Established in 1997, the Center for Legislative Studies is housed within
the Department
of Political Science at Bridgewater State College. It operates within
the context of a dynamic educational environment that encourages research,
teaching, and community service.
Center
on Congress
The central goal of the Center is to improve public
understanding of Congress by explaining the work and role of Congress.
What sets us apart from other institutions concerned with Congress is
that we want to explain Congress to ordinary people. We are not a think
tank on Congress. We are not producing detailed position papers on Congress
with a lot of technical suggestions. We are not aiming our work at Members
of Congress, the Washington press corps, or PhDs in political science.
Instead, our unique niche is trying to explain Congress to the average
citizen.
Congressional
and Political Research Center -- Mississippi State University Libraries
This site includes information on Congressional operations and politics
through biographical sketches, oral histories and access to collections
of personal papers, including those of U. S. Senator John C. Stennis and
several U. S. Representatives, including G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery,
David Bowen, Chip Pickering, Mike Espy, and Charles Griffin. These and
other collections of personal papers and oral histories reflect public
service at national, state, and local levels. Numerous links provide further
access to cooperative outreach projects with the John C. Stennis Institute
of Government and the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service and to
various other congressional centers, as well as local, state, and federal
government information.
The
Dirksen Congressional Center
The Center is a non-partisan, non-profit educational organization named
for the late U.S. Senator from Illinois and Minority Leader Everett M.
Dirksen (1896-1969). Six sites make up the Web suite. The
Dirksen Congressional Center site provides information about the range
of services and programs offered by The Center and includes online historical
materials drawn from The Center's archival collections. CongressLink
is directed to teachers of American Government and civics. It is multi-featured,
offering original content (including lesson plans and historical materials)
and up-to-the-minute information about Congress. AboutGovernment
features links to hundreds of Web sites dealing with the federal government
and national politics generally, and Congress in particular. Congress
for Kids links students of all ages to Internet-based, interactive
activities that "teach" about Congress, the federal government,
and civic duty. Congress
in the Classroom® Online is an online workshop that provides content
about Congress presented by experts, content to use and adapt in classrooms.
Communicator
keeps subscribers up-to-date on developments with the other five sites,
provides guidance for using the sites, and reports on Dirksen Center news.
Elmer
E. Rasmuson Library, Alaska & Polar Regions Collection
The Alaska and Polar Regions (APR) Department acquires, preserves and
provides access to materials that document the past and present of Alaska
and the polar regions, both Arctic and Antarctic. Geographically the Arctic
includes northern Canada, Greenland, northern Scandinavia, Iceland, and
northern Russia (Siberia and the Russian Far East).
Hawaii
Congressional Papers Collections
The goal of the Hawaii Congressional Papers Collection is to collect,
preserve and make available for the citizens of Hawaii and the worldwide
scholarly community the papers of Hawaii delegates to the U.S. Congress
from the time of statehood in 1959 to the present.
Illinois
State Archives
The Illinois State Archives, founded in 1922, collects the records of
all Illinois state agencies and local governments. The website contains
full text search of a guide, detail on local records, the plats of the
original federal land surveys, and databases on public domain land sales,
veterans, and blacks. Illinois State Archives has access to its legislative
records through the 600's of the record groups in its guide.
John
Joseph Moakley Archive and Institute on Public Policy and Political History
The John Joseph Moakley Archive and Institute is dedicated to the preservation,
study, interpretation and celebration of the late congressman's legacy
of service and political and public policy leadership.
Maine
Political Papers Network
The Maine Political Papers Network (MPPN) exists to facilitate access
to and promote preservation of the papers of Maine lawmakers and other
elected officials. This informal collaboration of libraries and archives
includes the Maragaret Chase Smith Library, the Edmund S. Muskie Archives
at Bates College, the George J. Mitchell Papers at Bowdoin College, the
William S. Cohen Papers at the University of Maine, the Maine State Archives,
and the Maine Historical Society. The MPPN website provides links to these
institutions and a comprehenisive list of Maine's governors and members
of Congress.
South Carolina Political Collections
South Carolina Political Collections is a division of the University of South Carolina Libraries. Established in 1991, it collects, preserves, and encourages research in private papers documenting South Carolinians and their government at the national and state levels in the post-World War II era. An active collecting program targets the records of members of South Carolina's congressional delegation, leaders in the General Assembly, the state's political parties, and other persons and organizations playing substantive roles in, or affecting, government. Holdings include manuscripts, audio-visual records, and electronic media. On ongoing oral history program supplements the collected documentary record. Interview subjects include legislators, staff, and family members.
Richard
B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University
of Georgia Libraries
The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the
University of Georgia Libraries was established in 1974 through the efforts
of the Richard B. Russell Foundation, Inc., the Georgia General Assembly,
and the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. The Library’s
original mission was to collect and preserve materials that document the
life and career of the late Richard B. Russell, United States Senator from
Georgia from 1933 to 1971. In the space of little more than three decades,
the holdings of the Russell Library have expanded to include more than
one hundred and fifty additional collections of papers of post-1900 elected
officials, political appointees, and individuals and groups representing,
persuading, or observing the political and public policy processes in Georgia
and the Nation.
With particular emphasis on the role of Georgia and
the U. S. Congress, the Russell Library serves as a center for research
and study of the modern American political system. Collection development
and programming focus on the dynamic relationship of politics, policy,
and culture—generated wherever public interest intersects with
government. The breadth and depth of the Library’s collections
provide an interconnected framework of perspectives and experiences for
understanding the increasingly diverse people, events, and ideas shaping
Georgia’s modern political landscape. The Library is also dedicated
to developing and presenting public programming and educational materials
that facilitate and encourage research, raise public awareness of the
Library and its collections and services, and provide learning opportunities
for the communities it serves. The Russell Library pursues alliances
and opportunities for collaboration with individuals and organizations
that advance its mission.
The
Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies
A private, nonpartisan and nonprofit educational organization administered
by the Congressional Education Foundation with facilities on the campus
of Shepherd University in
Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The mission of the Center is to help
foster a better understanding of the United States Congress, the Constitution
and representative democracy both historically and in a contemporary
setting. The Center has an archival section that contains the papers
of U.S. Senator Robert
C. Byrd and other political collections.
Special
Collections of the LSU Libraries
1985, the LSU Libraries organized the Special Collections
division to administer the rare books, manuscripts, and other special
research collections already held by the libraries. The Louisiana and
Lower Mississippi Valley Collections houses a number of political papers
collections, with an emphasis on elected officials at the state and national
levels. The collection includes the personal papers of many of the most
important figues in the political history of the region, including those
of Huey Long, Russell Long, and other Long family members. The collection
also contains papers focusing on party politics and individuals associated
with political office, such as political consultants, staff members, lobbying
groups, and state-wide parties.
Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars
This site contains reports and related documents on seminars held at the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for scholars on aspects of the policy
process in Congress. Each seminar brings together current or former members
or staff from the Congress from each party, a congressional scholar who
prepares a paper on the subject, and a journalist who covers The Hill.
In addition, the Congress Project director prepares an introductory essay
to put the seminar in historic context.
Congressional Sites
Biographical
Directory of the U.S. Congress
This site gives online access to the Biographical Directory of the U.S.
Congress, with entries for all who have served in the House or the Senate,
as well as updated versions of the House and Senate guides to research
collections and bibliographies of Senators. The House Legislative Resource
Center maintains the site and is preparing bibliographies of House members.
C-SPAN
Online
Viewers of C-SPAN's cable TV coverage of the proceedings of the House
and Senate and public affairs programming know the quality and impartiality
of coverage for which C-SPAN has earned a much deserved reputation. C-SPAN
Online continues this fine tradition. C-SPAN Online provides online lesson
plans, special features, a glossary of congressional terms, frequently
asked questions about the Capitol, the activities of the C-SPAN School
Bus, and C-SPAN in the Classroom.
C-SPAN Lesson Plans
provide teachers with interesting and useful classroom tools. This site,
already among the very best on the Internet, is getting better all the
time.
Center
for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives is the official repository of the records of House
and Senate committees. If you are interested in learning how to access
the records of Congress, this site is the place to begin. Particularly
valuable are the online guides to the committee records of the House and
Senate, which provide excellent summaries of the history and purpose of
each congressional committee. This site also has links to other sites
of interest to students, historians, archivists, and political scientists.
CongressLink
CongressLink provideds information about the U.S. Congres -- how it works,
its members and leaders, and the public policies it produces. The site
also hosts lesson plans and reference and historical materials related
to congressional topics. The Dirksen Congressional Center, a non-profit,
nonpartisan research and educational organization, designed the site as
a service for teachers of American government, history, and civics.
Congressional
Committee Meetings Index
The Congressional Bibliographies compiled at the NCSU Libraries has introduced
a new feature, the U.S. Congressional Committee Meetings Index, available
at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/senatebibs/DDintro.html.
The Meetings Index is a searchable database of the committee meeting
descriptions found in the Congressional Record's Daily Digest sections.
From its search page you may query a database of 57,000 Senate and House
committee meeting records that begins with the 99th Congress (1985-86)
and continues to the present. New records will be added to the Meetings
Index monthly.
Congressional
Mega Sites
This Library of Congress Internet Resource Page is a clearinghouse of
other sites related to Congress, including the House and Senate Web pages;
GPO Access, the U. S. Government Printing Office Home Page with resources
on Congressional publications; The
Congressional Record; and the Congressional
(Pictorial) Directory, which has photographs of all current members
of Congress. Also on this site are links to House and Senate Web pages.
Congressional
Pictorial Directory
Provides brief biographical sketches of each member of the current Congress
and a picture of each member of the House and Senate. The Congressional
Pictorial Directory requires the use of the Acrobat Reader in order to
view the pictures. Conveniently, the GPO site provides an easy way to
download the Acrobat Reader at no charge for use with any file in the
Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
The
Congressional Record via GPO Access
The Congressional Record is a fascinating official daily record of the
floor proceedings of the House and Senate. It reports on all floor debates,
including material submitted by the members in support of their positions
on various bills and issues of the day. The Congressional Record can be
accessed from several places on the Internet including the Library of
Congress's THOMAS
site. The U. S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is the publisher of The
Congressional Record, and offers an online searchable database of it for
1995, 1996, and 1997. You may search a topic or search for the floor speeches
of individual members of the House or Senate. User-friendly.
Congressional
Research Service Reports
The Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., Inc. (LLSDC) makes
available on its Legislative Source Book Web site a new Web page entitled
"Selected Congressional Research Service Reports on Congress and
Its Procedures" which includes some 36 alphabetically arranged CRS
reports, most of which have never before been made available on the Web.
The site also links to most all other CRS Reports on the Internet as well
as proposed current and past federal legislation that requires CRS reports
to be made available on the Internet. The bulk of the reports on the new
site were optically scanned into PDF documents from paper copies.
Congressional
Sources on the Internet
This site contains links to some of the best Web sites on Congress. A
notable feature of interest to researchers is its listing of collections
of congressional papers held at various archival repositories across the
country. This list features the private and personal papers of former
House and Senate members listed alphabetically by the name of the institution
holding the papers.
First
Federal Congress Project
One of the most interesting features of this site
is an online exhibit that covers fourteen topics related to the work and
accomplishments of the first Congress. The site will eventually have an
online teacher's guide but even in its present form it provides a wide
array of original sources, engravings, portraits, etc., all of which are
placed in historical context. This exhibit will help users understand
the critical role played by the First Federal Congress in providing stability
for the new government and completing the work of the Constitutional Convention.
Government
Printing Office
This site offers a wealth of information about Congress, including the
following subparts:
Congressional
Bills. All published versions of bills from
the 108th (2003-2004), 107th (2001-2002), 106th (1999-2000), 105th (1997-1998),
104th (1995-1996) and 103rd (1993-1994) are available. The 107th Congress
database is updated by 6 a.m. daily when bills are published and approved
for release.
Congressional
Directory. Presents short biographies of each member of the Senate
and House, listed by state or district, and additional data, such as
committee memberships, terms of service, administrative staff, and room
and telephone numbers. It also lists officials of the courts, military
establishment, and other Federal departments and agencies, including
DC government officials, governors of states and territories, foreign
diplomats, and members of the media.
Congressional
Hearings. A limited number are available, but there is a search
feature.
Congressional
Record. The Congressional Record is the official record
of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is
published daily when Congress is in session. Helpful Hints provide instructions
for searching the Congressional Record database, 1995-current.
The index to the Congressional Record is at http://www.access.gpo.gov/gpoaccess/aces/aaces190.html
Congressional
Reports. Contains House, Senate, and executive reports, 104th Congress
to present.
History
of Bills. Lists legislative actions on bills that are reported in
the Congressional Record, 1983-present.
Public
Laws. Contains laws signed by the President, 1995-present.
The
Hill
Capitol Hill is the most important small town in the world, whose 100
Senators, 435 House Members and 40,000 aides affect the lives of individuals
and businesses throughout the world. The Hill's targeted circulation
includes these influential 40,535 residents plus the executive branch,
cabinet departments, the news media, trade associations, public-interest
groups and lobbyists. The Hill reports and analyzes the actions
of Congress as it struggles to reconcile the needs of those it represents
with the legitimate needs of the administration, lobbyists and the news
media. We explain the pressures confronting policy-makers, and the many
ways - often unpredictable - that decisions are made. But Capitol Hill
is more than the focal point of the legislative branch of government.
It is also a community not unlike a small city, and The Hill reports
on its culture, social life, crime, employment, traffic, education, discrimination,
shopping, dining, travel and recreation.
The Library
of Congress
All students and teachers should be familiar with
this site. While the Library of Congress location does not focus on Congress
the way THOMAS (see below) does, it offers students of history and government
interesting places. The American
Memory project is bringing online important congressional records
and publications. "A
Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation" is a web site designed
to make these records more accessible to students, scholars, and interested
citizens, and it will bring together the records and acts of Congress
from the Journals of the Continental Congress through The Congressional
Globe, which ceased publication in 1873. Documents dated 1774-1805 are
currently available. Additional materials will be added to the site every
few months. Educators also will find useful resources on The
Learning Page, including a teaching unit, In
Congress Assembled, and information on presidents and presidential
inaugurations. The Library of Congress Home Page also provides research
tools, including the incomparable catalog of the Library of Congress,
and links to other Library of Congress Internet resources. Special collections
include material on the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention;
Votes for Women, 1848-1921; and African American Perspectives, 1818-1907.
Photographic collections include Civil War Photographs, Portraits of Presidents
and First Ladies, and Washington as It Was, 1923-1959.
Office
of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
At this site, you can obtain copies of bills and other House documents,
find historical information about the House, and learn about the services
provided by the Office of the Clerk. The Clerk maintains, for example,
a brief biography of every former Member which includes a bibliography
and photographs or illustrations.
Roll
Call On Line
Roll Call covers the inside stories on events in Congress and on
Capitol Hill, ranging from the best of in-depth reporting to rumors and
gossip. The newspaper is widely read by everyone on Capitol Hill and by
those who closely follow the workings of Congress. Roll Call Online
Home Page provides some of the features and the flavor of the newspaper
and includes late breaking news, contests and quizzes, and profiles of
freshmen members of Congress. If you want to know what Capitol Hill is
like from its own neighborhood newspaper, this site is a good place to
begin.
Speaker.gov
Hosted by the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, this site
has information about the history, duties, and selection of the Speaker.
THOMAS
Named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, this site is the best single source
of online information about Congress. THOMAS, a service of the U. S. Congress,
is maintained by the Library of Congress. It offers a wide range of materials,
including current activities of the House and Senate, access to major
bills under consideration or recently enacted into law, the text of the
daily Congressional Record for the past five years, information on House
and Senate committees, legislative workload statistics back to the 91st
Congress, historical documents such as the Constitution and the Federalist
Papers, information on the legislative process in the House and Senate,
and links to other government sites related to Congress, the executive
branch, the judicial branch, and state and local government. Users of
CongressLink will find that we refer often to the resources on THOMAS.
U.S.
Congressional Bibliographies
This site may be mis-named. It consists of comprehensive lists of hearings,
prints, and publications printed by the Senate, 1983 to present. For the
House, it lists committee meetings recorded in the Congressional Record's
Daily Digest, 1985 to present. The site also has compiled productivity
measures of various sorts.
U.
S. House of Representatives
Just as the House and Senate are different, although closely related,
institutions, the Web sites of the House and Senate also differ. The House
site focuses on current events and activities of the House, including
schedules for floor activity and for House committees. The House site
provides links to the House leaders' offices, the Library of Congress,
C-SPAN, and other related locations. You can learn how to write to your
representative, and if you do not know who your representative is, that
person can be found by supplying your zip code. The House site also supplies
information of interest to visitors to the Capitol, including an online
tour of the Capitol building. For the precedents that guide rulings on
floor debate and procedures, consult the online version of Hind's
Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States.
U.
S. Legislative Branch
is another very useful service of the Library of Congress. It provides
information on each member of the current Congress, including e-mail addresses,
voting records, congressional committees, House and Senate rules, history
and facts about Congress, and visitor information. One link,Grolier Online,
provides a good overview of what Congress does and how the legislative
process works. Other information About the U. S. Congress is derived from
the official U. S. Government Manual.
U.S.
Senate
The Senate site contains many features similar to those offered on the
House site, including floor schedules and committee information, but the
focus is obviously on the Senate and its members. In many ways the Senate
site is richer and more rewarding than its House counterpart; it contains
more history and background on the Senate, and more information of use
to students and teachers. One valuable feature of the Senate site is Learning
About the Senate, which is a marvelous brief introduction to the Senate
and its history. Included are a list of publications, a glossary of terms,
virtual tours, background on the Senate Historical Office, and an introduction
to the art and historical collections from the Office of Senate Curator.
This site is updated regularly with the latest information and new features
about the Senate and its history.
University
of Michigan Documents Center
The University of Michigan site was developed as a guide for class assignments.
In addition to general information about the legislative process, it includes
a section on “Choosing a Topic” and on sources, including reports
from the Congressional Research Service which have not been officially
released to the public.
Congressional Archives
Congressional
Collections at Archival Institutions
The history of the U.S. Congress is documented in the
official records of Congress, the private and personal papers of members
of Congress, and many other sources. Official records and some personal
papers are located in the National Archives at the Center for Legislative
Archives, but most personal papers are geographically dispersed in repositories
around the country. This site provides a searchable database of those
collections.
Related Organizations
Congressional
Papers Roundtable
The Congressional Papers Roundtable of the Society
of American Archivists is composed of members of the Society and others
who work with or have an interest in the papers of members of Congress
and the records of Congress. The roundtable provides a forum for news,
for discussion of issues and developments, and for setting standards and
advocating action in the preservation and management of congressional
papers and records. |
