Constitution of the United States: Home

Why Reference Sources?

Is your research topic too big to cover in a short paper?  Is your topic so specific that sources will be hard to find?

Before you even begin your research, start the process with reference sources-- in the Library's Reference Section or online in our databases.  Reference books, like subject encyclopedias, can give you a head start and make your research easier in the long run.  Use reference sources to:

• find a topic
• narrow your topic
• find keywords
• get background information on your topic

Use the menu below to find the reference tool that will best help you start the research process.

• The American Heritage History of the Bill of Rights.  Reference  KF 4558 1st .K 55 1991
• The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation. Reference KF 4527 .U 54
• Constitutional Amendments Encyclopedia
• The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America's Founding. Reference KF 4520 .Z 9 V 55 2005
• Constitutional Historical Timeline.
• Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Reference KF 101 .D4x
• Encyclopedia of Abortion in the United States. Reference HQ 767.5 .U 5 P 35 2002
• The Encyclopedia of American Political History. Reference E 183 .E 48 2001
• Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America. Reference JC 599 .U 5 E 53 2005
• Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-1995. Reference KF 4557 .V 555 1996
• Encyclopedia of Democracy. Reference JC 423 .E 53 1995
• Encyclopedia of Gun Control and Gun Rights. Reference HV 7436 .U 88 2000
• Encyclopedia of Political Science.
• Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. Reference KF 4548 .E 53 2000
• Equal Protection:  Documents Decoded
• The Evolving Constitution: How the Supreme Court has Ruled on Issues from Abortion to Zoning. Reference KF 4548 .L 54 1992
• Federalism:  A Reference Guide to the U.S. Constitution
• Freedom of Speech:  Documents Decoded  General  KF 4770 .F 765 2017
• The Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law
• The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions. Reference KF 4548 .O 97 1999
• Political Theories for Students. Reference JA 81 .P 617 2002
• Powers of the U.S. Congress
• Presidential Power:  Documents Decoded   General  JK 516 .P 728 2016
• Privacy Rights in the Digital Age:  An Encyclopedia
• Supreme Court Drama: Cases That Changed America. Reference KF 4550 .Z 9 B 73 2001
• Using Government Information Sources. Reference J 83 S 4 2001

List of COD Library Databases on Statistics

Abortion

Constitutional Law

Death Penalty / Capital Punishment

Discrimination

Equal Employment

Gun Control

Religious Freedom

Voting Rights

Women's Rights

• COD CITIZENSHIP Continuing Education Courses
• The American Constitution: A Documentary Record.
• The Articles of Confederation.
• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids, Historical Documents.
• Congress.Org. Directories of members of Congress and congressional committees.Find your representatives by zip code and send them e-mail. Look up current legislation.
• Constitution Day, Inc. This is the web site that helps sponsor and coordinate activities for this official celebration.
• Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789).
• Executive Branch Web Sites
• The Federal Courts and Constitution Day.
• The Federal Judiciary
• The Federal Register announcement of Constitution Day.
• The Federalist Papers.
• First Amendment Center for the Freedom of Speech. http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org
• Foreign Language Versions of the U.S. Constitution. (Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese)
• GPO Monthly Catalog (FirstSearch) (1976-present) Catalog of federal government publications.
• How Our Laws are Made.
• Interactive Constitution.
• The Magna Charta (1215).
• National Center for Constitutional Studies
• National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
• National Constitutions
• The Online Library of Liberty. This site has free online texts of hundreds of classic books and essays in the fields of government and political science. From the Liberty Fun.
• Public Law 108-477, official "Celebrating Constitution Day" Congressional authorization
• United States Legislative Branch
• U.S. Constitution in other Languages. (Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese)
• U.S. Constitution Net. This site has many links to a wide variety of information on this topic.
• U.S. Flag Etiquette.
• U.S. National Archives Resources on the Constitution.
• U.S. Senate Resources on the Constitution.