Library Research Guides: POLITICAL SCIENCE: Find U.S. Law & Government Resources

GovInfo

GovInfo This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents from all three branches of the U.S. Federal government, including bill history, budget, Congressional Record, Supreme Court decisions, and Economic Reports of the President.

Presidency & Executive Branch

The White House
Press releases, proclamations, and information on presidential policies.
American Presidency Project
Nearly comprehensive database of U.S. presidential documents, speeches, press conferences, candidate debates, and more.
Miller Center: American President
Details about each administration. Transcripts and recordings of speeches. Locations and links to relevant primary source collections.
Presidential Libraries & Museums
Links to all of the Libraries. From the National Archives.
Official U.S. Executive Branch Web Sites
From the Library of Congress.
Regulations.gov
Rules, comments, and supporting documents related to proposed federal regulations.

Legislative Branch

Congress.gov
Official website for U.S. federal legislative information. Replaces THOMAS.

ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Full text of bills (1989+), committee prints (1993+), Congressional documents (1995+), selected Congressional hearings (1988+), Congressional reports (1989+), and the Congressional Record (1985+).

U.S. Senate
Members, committees, hearing schedules.
U.S. House of Representatives
Members, committees, hearing schedules.

CQ Almanac This link opens in a new window
Original analysis and data on major legislation and political dates during each Congressional session, 1945 to present.

Judiciary

U.S. Supreme Court
Recent opinions, historical cases, and docket calendar.
Oyez
Oyez (oh-yay) is the authoritative source for Supreme Court audio (oral argument and opinion announcements) since the 1955 installation of a recording system. Offers searchable, transcript-synced audio, plain-English case summaries, and detailed information on every justice.
SCOTUSblog
Comprehensive, non-partisan coverage of the Supreme Court.

Westlaw Campus Research This link opens in a new window
Includes federal and state cases, as well as federal and state statutes and regulations, and EU and other International Law.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Includes federal and state cases, as well as federal and state statutes and regulations. Select Cases, then Federal Cases or State Cases. Or, go https://advance.lexis.com/api/permalink/9f107d55-b5c3-4816-b679-ff60a60f1f45/?context=1516831>Advanced Search for a more targeted search.

American Jurisprudence (AM JUR 2d)
Major encyclopedia of legal topics.
Black's Law Dictionary
Comprehensive definitions of legal terms & abbreviations.

State Government

USA.gov Directory of State Government
Links to state government agencies.
National Conference of State Legislatures
Track bills and initiatives across state legislatures.
Tribal, Local, and State Government Links
Contact information for tribal, state, and local governments.

Foreign Relations & Declassified Documents

Foreign Relations of the United States
Official historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions, declassified (meaning a significant delay) and edited for publication. Complete run available via HeinOnline.
Avalon Project
Key documents in law, history, and diplomacy.

Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window
Declassified primary source documents covering U.S. governmental policy regarding world and national events, including topics such as the Cold War, Vietnam, and 9/11.
Dates: 1945 CE-Present

CIA Freedom of Information Act Reading Room
Electronic access to previously released documents.
FBI Vault
Electronic access to previously released Freedom of Information Act documents.

More Legal and Government Resources

The databases listed here are only a portion of our legal and government collections. See the Legal Studies and Government Docs guides for a more complete list.