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GVPT 309C: U.S. Foreign Policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean

Web page created by Gerri Foudy, Social Sciences Team, UM Libraries
Instructor: Dr. Dorith Grant-Wisdom

The University of Maryland Libraries has many resources that will help with research for your this class. If you need additional information, please contact Gerri Foudy, the Government & Politics Librarian or speak with a Reference Librarian at McKeldin Library's Service Plus Information Desk or at the Government Documents and Maps Unit desk.

Table of Contents

Library Catalog

  • UM Libraries Catalog
    The Libraries' catalog provides information about the holdings of all libraries in the University System of Maryland.
    To search all of the UM System libraries, click on "multi-campus search."
    Books owned by other libraries in the system can be ordered at the computer for delivery to College Park (or elsewhere); click on the yellow "Request" button on the record's availability screen.

    Search the online catalog for books and documents on your topic. Start with a keyword search.
    Example: "United States" and Venezuela and relations

    Once you have found some relevant records by using a keyword search, you can use the subject headings in the records to find more materials.
    Example: United States -- Foreign relations -- Venezuela

    You must also use the catalog to find out whether the Libraries subscribe to a particular journal. Use the "title beginning with" for the journal title (not the article title).
    Example: Latin American Politics and Society

Journal Databases

When accessing subscription databases from off-campus, you will be prompted to enter your last name and the 14-digit number on the back of your UM student id card.

News and Current Events Databases

When accessing subscription databases from off-campus, you will be prompted to enter your last name and the 14-digit number on the back of your UM student id card.
  • World News Connection
    Online version of the federal government's Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS); full-text summaries and translations from foreign newspapers and news services.

  • Ethnic News Watch
    Full-text bilingual (English/Spanish) database of 200 publications of the ethnic, minority, and native press. 1990 to the present.

  • Keesing's Record of World Events Online
    Culled from the world's press and information services, Keesing's distills political, economic and social events from 1960 onward into concise, detailed reports.

  • Lexis-Nexis Academic
    To search world news, go into "Guided News Search" and in "STEP ONE" select World News and in "STEP TWO" choose a region.

  • LANIC: Latin American Newspapers
    Links to regional and national news sources.

  • National Newspapers
    Includes the full-text of the Baltimore Sun (1990- ), Washington Post (1997- ), New York Times (1999- ), Wall Street Journal (1984- ), and Christian Science Monitor (1990- ).

  • Washington Post Historical
    The Washington Post Historical archive (1877-1988) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.

  • New York Times Historical (1851-2001)
    offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.

Primary Sources

"Primary resources provide firsthand evidence of historical events. They are generally unpublished materials such as manuscripts, photographs, maps, artifacts, audio and video recordings, oral histories, postcards, and posters. In some instances, published materials can also be viewed as primary materials for the period in which they were written. In contrast, secondary materials, such as journal articles, synthesize and interpret primary materials." - UCLA Insitute on Primary Resources

Listed below are some resources that you will help you find primary source materials for this class. Here is a primer and search guide for finding primary sources.

When accessing subscription databases from off-campus, you will be prompted to enter your last name and the 14-digit number on the back of your UM student id card.

  • (Lexis-Nexis) Congressional Universe
    Comprehensive access to US legislative information including legislative histories and an index of congressional publications from 1970 to the present, congressional hearing testimonies, bill tracking, full-text versions of the Federal Register and CFR, as well as full-text access to the U.S. Congressional Serial Set from 1789-1969.

  • Avalon Project at Yale Law School
    Full text of documents on U.S. law, history, and diplomacy. Arranged by decade, and can be searched by keyword, author, subject or title. List of major collections.

  • Digital National Security Archive
    Most comprehensive collection available of significant primary documents central to US foreign and military policy since 1945. Nearly 40,000 of the most important, declassified documents - totaling more than 250,000 pages - are included in the database. Many are published now for the first time.

  • Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS)
    Official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Selected volumes are available online from 1945 to the Nixon administration. Printed volumes are available in McKeldin Library Government Documents department - CALL NUMBER: SU DOC S 1.1:; from 1861 to 1968.
    http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/history/fruswhat.html

  • Department of State Bulletin
    The official record of U.S. foreign policy from 1939-1989. McKeldin Library Government Documents Department has print holdings for v.1-75,v.80-89 (1939-1976,1980-1989) at CALL NUMBER SU DOCS S 1.3: and microfilm for v.76-77,v.79 (1977,1979) - CALL NUMBER JX232 .A33.
    Succeeded by the Department of State Dispatch CALL NUMBER SU DOCS GP 3.35:DOS DISP/ 1990 - 1999.

  • HeinOnline U.S. Presidential Library
    Full-text access to a wide variety of Presidential documents, including: Messages and Papers of the Presidents (Washington to McKinley); Compilation of Messages and Papers of the Presidents (Washington to Hoover); Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (Hoover to George W. Bush); Inaugural Addresses of Presidents of the United States (various U.S. Presidents); Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (1965-2006); Economic Reports of the President (1947-2006); List and Index of Presidential Executive Orders, 1789 to 1941; and Presidential Executive Orders (1862-1938).

  • U.S. Department of State
    Includes links to daily press briefing, country background notes and commerical guides, and an international issues guide.
    http://www.state.gov/

  • American Foreign Policy Current Documents
    Series begun by the State Department in 1950. Contains principal foreign policy statements, messages, addresses, press briefings, etc. made by the executive branch of the U.S. government.
    LOCATION: McKeldin Library Government Documents Reference
    CALL NUMBER: SU DOC S 1.71/2: (1950-1967; 1981-1989)

  • Core Documents of U.S. Democracy
    Selective listing.

  • American Governments on the Web
    Links to national governmental web sites.

  • Latin American and Caribbean Government Documents on the Web
    "Organizes and describes the many Latin American and Caribbean official documents appearing on the Internet."

  • Organization of American States (OAS)
    Online publications, documents, and reports.

  • Latin American Statistical Sources
    Links to national statistical bureaus and international statistical sources.

  • Statistical Yearbook for Latin American and the Caribbean
    The main statistical series available on economic and social trends in the countries of the region, from 1997 to 2004.

  • International Historical Statistics: the Americas, 1750-2000. London, MacMillan: 2003.
    Includes time series data, as well as demographic, labor force, economic, financial, and educational statistics by country.
    LOCATION: McKeldin Reference Stacks
    CALL NUMBER: HA175 .M55 2003

  • World Development Indicators Online
    Provides direct access to more than 550 development indicators, with time series for 200 countries and 18 country groups from 1960, where data are available. Data export options in Excel or ASCII. 1960 -.

Finding Speeches

I have listed some sources to help you find speeches. Also, remember that speech texts may be replicated in newpaper articles or in biographies and memoirs (see Primary Sources guide).

For speeches made before the U.S. Congress or its committees, look in (Lexis-Nexis) Congressional Universe and for U.S. Presidential speeches, try the HeinOnline U.S. Presidential Library.

  • (U.S.) Presidential Speech Archive
    Selected number of speeches available in full text.

  • Castro Speech Database
    Speeches, interviews, and articles, 1959-1996.

  • American Rhetoric
    Free website with an online speech bank, "Index to and growing database of 5000+ full text, audio and video (streaming) versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, other recorded media events, and a declaration or two."

  • Academic Search Premier database
    In the Advanced Search, change the drop-down box to "Author" (example: Clinton, William) and in the Documentation Type box choose Speech. You may also limit your search by date, however, remember that the speech may be published after the date it was given.
    This database includes the publication Vital Speeches of the Day from its first issue published in 1934.

  • Speech Index and supplement.
    Search by subject or author. Each speech indexed has a short descriptive title, followed by one or more letter/number codes. (Example HIB:116.) The codes refer to an alphabetical list in the front of the volume. If you look up HIB, you will find Hibbett, George W., ed. The Dolphin Book of Speeches. ... 1965. You would then look in the library catalog to see whether the library has that book. The number after the colon in the code is the page number in the book.
    Location: McKeldin Reference Stacks
    Call number: AI3 .S85

  • Famous Speeches by Eminent American Statesmen.
    Location: McKeldin Reference Stacks
    Call number: E660 .H63 1929

  • Representative America Speeches. 1937/38 to present.
    Location: McKeldin Periodical Stacks (latest edition in McKeldin Reference Stacks)
    Call number: PS668 .B3

  • Voices of Multicultural America : Notable Speeches Delivered by African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Americans, 1790-1995. Includes the full text of the speeches.
    Location: McKeldin Reference Stacks
    Call number: PS663.M55 V64 1996 

  • The World's Great Speeches.
    Location: McKeldin Reference Stacks
    Call number: PN6121 .C6 1958

Country Information

  • CIA World Factbook
    Includes information about the people, government, economy, military, and transnational issues of individual nations.

  • Library of Congress Country Studies
    "The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world."

  • US Department of State Background Notes and Links to Country Information
    "Includes facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty."

Electronic Journals

When you have a citation to an article and want to see if it is available in full-text online, you can look for it in Research Port.
Click on the e-journal link - then type in the title of the journal - and click on the yellow "Find It" button to go to the database which has the article.

Citation Guides
 

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Last modified: September 07, 2006

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