Guides: Politics Research Guide: Primary Sources

Data Sets

Data Axle - Consumers/Lifestyles This link opens in a new window
Survey consumer demographics by state, city, zip code, or even neighborhood. Retrieve information on housing, median income, age, and spending habits and internet use. Use the Lifestyles menu to filter by many patterns such as purchase behavior or charitable giving.

U.S. Census Bureau -- Voting and Registration
For every national election since 1964, we collected data on the characteristics of American voters. Find out how many citizens of voting age are registered, and how many vote, by age and sex, race and ethnicity, and more.
Data.gov
Here you will find data, tools, and resources to conduct research, develop web and mobile applications, design data visualizations, and more.
Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.

Historical Statistics of the U.S. This link opens in a new window
A source for the statistics of American history, Historical Stats arranges the data by population; work and welfare; economic structure and performance; economic sectors; and government and international relations.

Library Databases

HeinOnline's Social Justice Suite This link opens in a new window
A growing suite of databases that includes Slavery in America and the World, Gun Regulation and Legislation in America, Civil Rights and Social Justice, Open Society Justice Initiative, LGBTQ+ Rights databases.
GovInfo This link opens in a new window
GovInfo is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is a Federal agency in the legislative branch.
GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. GovInfo replaced the FDsys website in December 2018

These collections from Archives Unbound include diplomatic communications, letters, memoranda, and other government records for an inside look at the issues.

Afghanistan and the U.S., 1945-1963: Records of the U.S. State Department Central Classified Files This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of 9,674 documents from the U.S. National Archives.
America in Protest: Records of Anti-Vietnam War Organizations, The Vietnam Veterans Against the War This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of 20,117 documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Library.
The American Indian Movement and Native American Radicalism This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of 14,195 documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Library.
Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of 87,391 images from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Library.
Additional search help is available at: http://solutions.cengage.com/gale-training/video/archives-unbound/
Federal Surveillance of African Americans, 1920-1984 This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of 88,021 documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Library.
Japan at War and Peace, 1930-1949: U.S. State Department Records on the Internal Affairs of Japan This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of 114,304 documents from the U.S. National Archives.
Records of the Persian Gulf War This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of 49,569 documents from the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.
Tiananmen Square and U.S.-China relations, 1989-1993 This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of 19,137 images from the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.
Women’s Issues and Their Advocacy Within the White House, 1974-1977 This link opens in a new window
A digital collection of 54,111 documents from the Gerald R. Fold Presidential Library.
Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Open access reports on homeland security and emergency preparedness including border security, pandemics, natural disasters, and cyber security. The White House, Congress, Defense, GAO, CDC, FEMA, and think tanks have authored these documents.
The Bush Presidency and Development and Debate Over Civil Rights Policy and Legislation This link opens in a new window
This collection contains materials on civil rights, the development of civil rights policy, and the debate over civil rights legislation during the administration of President George H.W. Bush and during his tenure as vice president. Contents of this collection includes memoranda, talking points, correspondence, legal briefs, transcripts, news summaries, draft legislation, statements of administration policy (SAP’s), case histories, legislative histories and news-clippings covering a broad range of civil rights issues.

Collections at Regis

Notarianni Political Collection
The collection of presidential campaign memorabilia spans the presidency of John Adams, 1796 to the Obama- McCain campaign of 2008. In addition to campaign items of successful presidential candidates, the collection also includes hopefuls who threw their hat in the ring but were not chosen to represent their parties.The range of memorabilia is broad, such as buttons, broaches, silk lapel ribbons, walking sticks, banners, license plates, dinner ware, jewelry, pharmaceuticals, lithographs, posters, and a variety of household items.

Open Internet Collections

Yale School of Law -- Avalon Project
Digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government, back to 4000bce.
C-SPAN Video Library
Here you'll find C-SPAN programs by frequently searched categories, a selection of most popular searches, some well-received "fast finds", and a look into the archive at the most popular programs (by online views) for each day of the year. To customize your search of the C-SPAN Video Library, please type a keyword, a name, the organization or congressional bill you're seeking, into the search box near the top of any page on C-SPAN.org.
FOIA/CIA reading room
Here you can view documents released through the FOIA and other CIA release programs. If you would like to view our previously released documents and collections, visit the Historical Collections page to Browse the Collections, which includes links to all collections previously found on the CREST: 25-Year Program Archive and Freqeuently Requested Records pages, as well as individual collections of documents on historically significant topics compiled by our office.
The Miller Center
The Miller Center is a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship, public policy, and political history, providing critical insights for the nation's governance challenges.
The American Presidency Project
Non-profit and non-partisan, the APP is the source of presidential documents on the internet. Our archives also contain data related to Midterm Elections, U.S. Party Platforms (from 1840), Statements of Administration Policy, White House Press Briefing Transcripts, and Presidential Debate transcripts. We are hosted at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The National Security Archive
The National Security Archive organizes its main research activities through projects that focus on U.S. policy toward specific geographic regions, significant historical episodes, or topics of broad interest in the areas of foreign affairs or national security. We choose projects based on their expected contribution to public understanding of either a particular subject or the U.S. policy process in general, especially if there's a likelihood of breaking free important new records (chiefly through the Freedom of Information Act).