Research Guides: Presidential Elections in U.S. History: Introduction

Introduction

This guide provides a starting point for those engaged in the study of U.S. Presidential elections.

Databases

Databases and E-Resources

Academic Search Complete
Full-text journal, magazine, and news articles in all academic disciplines.
America: History and Life with Full Text
Index of scholarly literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present.
American History
Online encyclopedia of American history.
Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history, highlighting the important people and events of the American experience. Includes biographies, events and topics, primary sources, timelines, images and videos, maps and charts. All full text.
American Women's History Online
Online encyclopedia of the history of women in the United States.
Covers the important people, events, legislation, and issues relevant to the study of women's history in the United States. Includes biographies, events and topics, primary sources, time-lines, images and videos, maps and charts. All full text.
CQ Press Library
Collection of reference works on American government, current affairs, politics and public policy.
Contains resources on American government, current affairs, history, politics, public policy, and data analysis for the social sciences. Individual resources available in the Library include the following: CQ Almanac; CQ Researcher Plus Archives; CQ Weekly; Political Handbook of the World; Politics in America; and the Supreme Court Yearbook.
JSTOR
Archive of full-text scholarly journal articles and ebooks in a broad range of academic disciplines.
PAIS Index
Articles, papers and reports on international public affairs topics.
Contains continually updated records for over half a million journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, web content, and more. Newspapers and newsletters are not indexed. In addition to English, some of the indexed materials are published in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and other languages.
Project MUSE
Full text database of current scholarly journals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
JSTOR can also be searched simultaneously using the advanced search feature on the Project Muse page.

Accessible Archives
Archives of searchable historical primary source materials. Note: This content has moved to the History Commons platform, but still contains the Accessible Archives collections subscribed to by Rowan University.
AM Explorer
Primary source collections across the entire portfolio of Adam Matthew Digital, spanning content from the 15th-21st centuries.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Primary source documents from the Eighteenth Century.
Contains English and foreign language titles printed in the United Kingdom in the Eighteenth Century, including thousands of works from the Americas.
Primary Sources (Gale)
Search across multiple GALE databases of primary sources.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online (Gale Primary Sources)
Primary source materials about the Nineteenth Century.
Includes books, newspapers, periodicals, diaries and personal letters, manuscripts, photographs, pamphlets, maps and musical scores.
Primary Sources Collection (Proquest)
Multidisciplinary resources providing access to thousands of primary source documents, including archival collections, government documents, periodicals, newspapers, and video.
Statistical Abstract of the U.S.(Proquest)
Authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political and economic conditions of the United States.
U.S. Declassified Documents Online
Provides access to a broad range of previously classified U.S. federal records spanning the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Includes sensitive documents from all the presidential libraries and numerous executive agencies.
Covers major international events from the Cold War to the Vietnam War and beyond.

African Newspapers, Series 1
Diverse African newspapers from 1800-1922.
Civil War Collection
Online archive of newspaper articles published in and books during the U.S. Civil War.
Contains the full text of major articles from The New York Herald, The Charleston Mercury and the Richmond Enquirer, published between November 1, 1860 and April 15, 1865. Included are descriptive news articles, eye-witness accounts and official reports of battles and events, editorials, advertisements and biographies.
Historical Newspapers (Proquest)
Newspaper digital archive of many significant U.S. and some international newspapers dating back to the 18th Century.

Digitized Newspapers at the Library of Congress
Newspapers range from 1789 to 1922, which are years for which the content is copyright clear in the U.S.

Web Resources

General Web Resources

4President.org
Provides access to presidential campaign and candidate information including speech texts, campaign websites, and television advertisements.
10 of the Most Bizarre Elections in American History (CNN article)
Updated 8:26 AM ET, Mon March 14, 2016. CNN Politics
The American Presidency Project
A non-profit and non-partisan large public database of presidential documents available on the internet, hosted at the University of California - Santa Barbara.
American President: A Reference Resource
Background information on each of the U.S. Presidents. From the Miller Center, a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia specializing in presidential scholarship, public policy, and political history.
ANES (American National Election Studies)
A collaboration of Stanford University and the University of Michigan, with funding by the National Science Foundation. Conducts surveys and analysis on on voting, public opinion, and political participation.
Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress: Reports
CSPC is an non-partisan, non-profit organization that seeks to promote leadership in the US Presidency and Congress. Reports on current and historical civic and political issues
Congress.gov
From the US Congress, a starting point for government resources on Congressional activities, bills and laws, and people.
The Electoral College (National Archives)
Current and historical information about the electoral college.
Harvard Election Data Archive: Sharing & Improving Election Data
Data on election results, voting behavior, and electoral politics, particularly in the U.S. Emphasis on state, county, and district level election returns for all recent state and federal elections in the U.S.
League of Women Voters
Non-partisan civic organization provides information on voter rights, elections, and other civic issues.
Presidential Election History from 1789-2008 (ProCon.org)
Provides number of electoral and popular votes received by presidential candidates for every election from 1789 to 2008.
U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign finance law. Provides legal resources and Presidential campaign information.
Vice President of the United States (U.S. Senate)
Background on the position of U.S. Vice President. Part of the History section of the U.S. Senate website.
The Whitehouse.gov
Official website of The White House. Current and historical information, including biopics of past U.S. Presidents.

Historical Primary Sources

The American Presidency Project
Party platforms beginning in 1840, inaugural addresses since 1789, public papers since 1929, signing statements, state of the union addresses, etc. (hosted by University of California, Santa Barbara)
Contenders (C-Span video series)
Selected video biopics of 14 Presidential Contenders, who lost the Presidential Elections but who played a significant role in influencing the direction of the government and the country.
The Federalist Papers
A series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788. Originally published anonymously in various newspapers to urge New Yorkers to ratify the proposed United States Constitution.
Songs of Politics and Political Campaigns (Library of Congress)
Presidential Elections, 1789-1920: Resource Guides (Library of Congress)
Primary source materials from the Library of Congress.
4President.org
Provides access to presidential campaign and candidate information including speech texts, campaign websites, and television advertisements.

Election Maps & Statitics

270 to Win
Interactive maps, polls, and historical timelines on U.S. federal elections.
Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
Aggregates official election results, polls, and more from all 50 states and Washington, DC. Election data from 1789-present
Electoral Statistics, 1920 to Present
Official federal election vote counts since 1920, gathered by the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Harvard Election Data Archive: Sharing & Improving Election Data
Data on election results, voting behavior, and electoral politics, particularly in the U.S. Emphasis on state, county, and district level election returns for all recent state and federal elections in the U.S.
Voting America: United States Politics, 1840-2008
From the University of Richmond Digital Scholarship Lab. Animated maps allow for comparisons of voting data across time.
ANES (American National Election Studies)
A collaboration of Stanford University and the University of Michigan, with funding by the National Science Foundation. Conducts surveys and analysis on on voting, public opinion, and political participation.