Students, scholars, librarians, or anyone else seriously interested in world affairs or politics in search of primary documents on major topics need look no further than Historic Documents, which has been published yearly since 1972 by Congressional Quarterly Press.
This valuable series housed in the reference collection in the History, Travel & Maps Department of the Central Library brings together what would otherwise take an enormous amount of time and effort to locate. CQ Press is noted for its objectivity, breadth and depth of coverage.
The researcher will easily find documents which deal with the most significant events of the year, including presidential speeches, international agreements, United States government reports, scientific findings, and cultural discussions.
Putting these documents in perspective, the editors have written an introduction to each entry.
Just to give two examples of what is covered in this publication, we selected a possible research subject from the 2000 volume, the presidential election, and from 2001, a global warming document from the United Nations.
For those of us who remember the controversy of the hanging chads in the presidential election of 2000, Historic Documents 2000 covers the election in detail bringing together party platforms, convention acceptance speeches, presidential and vice-presidential debates.
Also included is the controversial Supreme Court decision on the Florida recount which had the effect of naming George W. Bush as the president-elect of the United States. The majority opinion, as well as a concurring opinion and four dissenting opinions are made available.
Researching global warming is made easier with Historic Documents of 2001 which offers a summary of the United Nations Scientific Panel on Global Warming.
The CQ editors point out that the Bush administration withdrew the United States from signing the treaty. The administration, despite being rebuffed by leading scientists, doubted the reality of global warming and vigorously attacking the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change treaty of 1997. Offering no specific alternatives and emphasizing continued economic growth, the administration chose to delay any action on the part of the United States to deal with climate change. The researcher can draw his or her own conclusions about the administration’s stance.
As an additional aid, the editors publish an index to the volumes at intervals of every five years.
~ Brenda T., Central Staff
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