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HIST 2302 / HIST 3301/6303: Historian's Craft / Historical Methods (Govt Docs)

HIST 3301/6303: Historical Methods - Research U.S. Government Documents

Bulletin - Cold War International History Project

The CWIHP (Cold War International History Project) Bulletin was published infrequently by the Wilson Center from 1992-2012, but has issues such as The Global Cuban Missile Crisis at 50.

For more recent Cold War research and analysis, go to its Cold War International History Project.

Popular Names Tables - Find an Act/Amendment

The short name or nickname of an act of an amendment may not be included in the current stututes found in the United States Code. Use the USC "Popular Names Tables" to find a current or historical act or amendment.

Online content of the Popular Names Tables may be found for free in:

Use a citation to the Statutes at Large, to find the original text of the act or amendment passed by Congress.

Example: 97 Stat. 749

  • 97 = volume 97
  • Stat. = United States Statutes at Large
  • 749 = page 749

Notable Sets and Series

Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Government
  • PREX 3.11/2: (Online)
  • Was published until 2020.
Statutes at Large
  • v. 1 (1789-1799) - v. 62 (1948) - Gov Docs/Microfilm - AE 2.111:
  • v. 50 (1937) - v. 62 (1948) - Gov Docs/US Docs - S 7.9:
  • v. 63 (1949) - v. 97 (1983) -Gov Docs/US Docs - GS 4.111:
  • v. 98 (1984) - v. 125 (2011) - Gov Docs/US Docs - AE 2.111:
U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets (formerly Background Notes)
  • Various countries, such as Cuba. From U.S. Dept. of State.  Online via library catalog. Includes section on country’s U.S. relations
  • S 1.123: (Online)
  • Ceased January 2025?
  • Some archived content is available for 2021-2024.
  • Some editions of Background Notes are available from 2001-2012.
United States Code
  • Gov Docs/Reference Shelves - U.S. Code
World Fact Book – CIA (print, microfiche, and online)

Titles Within Sets

Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS)

  • Cuba 1961-1962 Gov Docs/US Docs - S 1.1:1961-1963/V.10
  • Cuban Missile Crisis and Aftermath - Gov Docs/US Docs - S 1.1:1961-1963/V.11

Country Studies/Area Handbook Series

Books in the Country Studies series have comprehensive information about the historical background and the social, economic, political conditions of select countries throughout the world. From the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, most were published from 1986 through 1998.  You may browse for specific countries.

Each book chapter has a lengthy bibliography.

The books are available online and also shelved alphabetically in the Cornette Library under the SuDoc D 101.22:550-

Titles include:

  • Chile
  • Columbia
  • Costa Rica
  • Cuba
  • Dominican Republic and Haita
  • Ecuador
  • Haita
  • Mexico
  • Panama
  • Peru
  • Venezuela

Individual Titles

  • Cuba and the United States:  Thirty Years of Hostility and Beyond - Gov Docs/US Docs - Y 4.F 76/1:C 89/13
  • Cuba, Latin America, and Communism - Gov Docs/US Docs - S 1.26:86
  • Guide to Materials on Latin America in the National Archives of the United States [1974] - Gov Docs/US Docs - GS 4.6/2:L 34a/1974
  • Latin America (1963) - Gov Docs/US Docs - S 1.26:83
  • Major Statements on Latin America by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger... - Gov Docs/US Docs - S 1.26:110
  • U.S. Charges of Soviet Military Buildup in Cuba - Gov Docs/US Docs - S 1.26:82
  • U.S. Policy Toward Cuba - Gov Docs/US Docs - S 1.26:88
  • U.S. Policy Toward Cuba - Gov Docs/US Docs - Y 4.F 76/2:C 89/5/973
  • U.S. Response to Soviet Military Buildup in Cuba - Gov Docs/US Docs - S 1.26:80

Congressional Research Service

Part of the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) is the non-partisan policy research arm of the United States Congress.  While CRS publications are rarely distributed to federal depository libraries, the library does have a commercially published set:

Print Holdings

Major Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service
  • has publications from 1916 - 2004
  • on microfilm
  • some, but not all indexes, to the microfilm
  • located in stand-alone microform cabinet next to the Monthly Catalog (in US Docs)

Example

Soviet Union in the Third World, 1980-1982:  An Imperial Burden or Political Asset? A Selected Bibliography (5/85)

Accession number is 1985/86-7:0308. (Presents an annotated bibliography on Soviet policy toward and involvement in the Third World in general, and in selected world regions.)

  • 1985/86 = microfilm supplement (published for 1985/1986) to the original set
  • 7 = Reel #7 (Foreign and Defense Issues)
  • 0308 = First page of the document is on microfilm frame number 308

Online Resources

Many recent CRS reports and memorandums are available online for free from a variety of sources.  Examples include the Proposals for Intelligence Reorganization 1949-1996 and Cuba after Fidel Castro: Issues for U.S. Policy.