Finding background information
Library reference sources are a great place to find objective background information on your topic. They can also help you narrow your topic and discover keywords for further searching. A great source for background information subject specific encyclopedias. These sources provide cultural, political, and religious perspectives that help you understand topic all all of its significance.
The books highlighted below are examples of subject encyclopedias that provide detailed information on the United States Government.
Encyclopedia of American Government and CivicsArticles herein address not only basic subjects covered in the study of American government -- from the Bill of Rights through voting processes--but also a wide range of contemporary issues such as abortion, capital punishment, and Social Security
The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History. (Two Volume Set)A comprehensive and authoritative encyclopedia of U.S. political history.
Topics
Topics related to Federal and State legislation:
Gun Control
Abortion
Inflation
Student Loan Forgiveness
Recycling (commercial and organic waste)
Low-income housing
Homelessness
Hydraulic fracturing
Below are library resources that will provide you with background information as well as give you some insight into these topics.
The Gun Debate by Call Number: REF KF 3941 .A68 G86 2019 v.2Beginning with the drafting of the Constitution itself up to the present day, there have been intense arguments made both for and against the rights of citizens to form a "well-regulated militia" as set forth in the Second Amendment.
Abortion in America: Roe v. Wade to the Present by Call Number: KF 3771 .Z54 2020The first comprehensive legal history of a vital period, Abortion and the Law in America illuminates an entirely different and unexpected shift in the terms of debate.
Firefighting by Call Number: HG 540 .B47 2019From the three primary architects of the American policy response to the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression, a magnificent big-picture synthesis--from why it happened to where we are now.
Indentured Students: How Government-Guaranteed Loans left Generations Drowning in College Debt by Call Number: LB 2342.4 .U6 S54 2021Elizabeth Tandy Shermer untangles the history that brought us here and discovers that the story of skyrocketing college debt is not merely one of good intentions gone wrong. In fact, the federal student loan program was never supposed to make college affordable.
State Marijuana Legalization: Issues and Effects by An increasing number of states have adopted laws that legalise marijuana for medical or recreational purposes under state law, yet federal penalties remain.
Resisting Garbage: The Politics of Waste Management in American Cities by Resisting Garbage presents a new approach to understanding practices of waste removal and recycling in American cities, one that is grounded in the close observation of case studies while being broadly applicable to many American cities today.
Federal Housing Assistance Programs for Low-Income Households by The Congressional Budget Office report, provided in this book, discusses the ways in which the federal government provides housing assistance to low-income households, examines how that assistance has changed since 2000, and provides information about the households that receive assistance.
Citizens Without Shelter by Feldman's book brings political theories together (including theories of sovereign power, justice, and pluralism) with discussions of real-world struggles and close analyses of legal cases concerning the rights of the homeless.
Hydraulic Fracturing: Legal Issues an Relevant Laws by This book focuses on selected legal issues related to the use of hydraulic fracturing. It examines some of the requirements for hydraulic fracturing contained in major federal environmental laws and also provides an overview of issues involving state preemption of local zoning authority, as well as state law.
