Political Articles for Students: Resources and Research

For students delving into the intricate world of politics, a wealth of resources exists to aid in research, understanding, and critical analysis. This article explores a variety of such resources, encompassing databases, archives, and discussion platforms, designed to enhance the learning experience for students of political science.

Accessing Scholarly Databases

Comprehensive Legal and Government Resources

HeinOnline stands out as the world's largest fully searchable, image-based government document and legal research database. It offers treaties, collections of classic treatises, presidential documents, and access to the full text of state and federal case law. This database is invaluable for students researching legal aspects of political issues.

Interdisciplinary Research Tools

For broader academic research, resources like JSTOR provide a collection of over 3,000 academic journals and over 70,000 ebooks in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. It also includes over a million images, letters, and other primary sources. Most journals are covered from their first issue up to 3-5 years from the current year, including previous titles. Note that there are some journals in JSTOR for which full-text access may not be available.

Exploring Diverse Perspectives

To gain insight into differing points of view on current social issues, specialized databases provide full-text access to various perspectives. This can aid in developing a nuanced understanding of complex political debates.

Sociology and Related Fields

A comprehensive sociology research database abstracts more than 1300 journals back to 1895 and contains full text for more than 860 journals back to 1908. This database also includes full text for more than 830 books and monographs, and full text for over 16,800 conference papers.

In-Depth Reports on Political and Social Policy

For in-depth, authoritative reports on a full range of political and social-policy issues extending back to 1923, CQ Researcher offers detailed analysis of various topics.

Analyzing Primary Sources and Historical Events

The Supreme Court Database

"[A] multimedia archive devoted to making the Supreme Court of the United States accessible to everyone. It is the most complete and authoritative source for all of the Court’s audio since the installation of a recording system in October 1955. Oyez offers transcript-synchronized and searchable audio, plain-English case summaries, illustrated decision information, and full-text Supreme Court opinions (through Justia). Supreme Court. The Database contains over two hundred pieces of information about each case decided by the Court between the 1791 and 2022 terms.

Examining Historical Turning Points

Historical events often shape political landscapes. Resources that provide primary source documents and analysis of these events are invaluable for students.

For example, the Nat Turner's Rebellion of 1831 led to both public debate and a tightening of laws and policies. Nat Turner was an enslaved man who had learned to read and write and become a religious leader despite his enslavement; following what he took to be religious signs, he led other enslaved people in an armed uprising. The violence of the uprising and Turner’s ability to escape and hide for approximately six weeks following the event led to changes in laws and policies and also led to a widespread climate of fear among white slaveholders. Enslaved people in far-flung states who had no connection to the event were lynched by white mobs.

The Gag Rule of 1836, which stated that all petitions regarding slavery would be tabled without being read, referred, or printed, further fueled the anti-slavery movement. The enactment of the Gag Rule, rather than discouraging petitioners, energized the anti-slavery movement to flood the Capitol with written demands. Activists held up the suppression of debate as an example of the slaveholding South’s infringement of the rights of all Americans.

The Mexican-American War also had significant political ramifications. The pact set a border between Texas and Mexico and ceded California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming to the United States. The acquisition of so much territory with the issue of slavery unresolved lit the fuse that eventually set off the Civil War in 1861.

Understanding Key Figures and Texts

Reading excerpts from influential figures and texts can provide valuable insights into historical and political thought.

Students would benefit from reading an excerpt of the text of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - but in addition, the cover itself is an interesting artifact, and students can discuss its details and its possible impact upon publication in 1845.

Frederick Douglass raises critical questions about patriotism, citizenship, and the nation’s ideals in this address. “I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

The years of 1854-1861 were a turbulent time in Kansas territory. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 allowed the residents of these territories to decide by popular vote whether their state would be free or slave. This concept of self-determination was called popular sovereignty'. Three distinct political groups occupied Kansas: pro-slavers, free-staters and abolitionists. Violence broke out immediately between these opposing factions and continued until 1861 when Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29th.

John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry fits into Lincoln’s foretelling of a crisis and further spurs the start of the Civil War. John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry: John Brown, an abolitionist, led the Raid on Harper’s Ferry, a federal arsenal, in an effort to start an armed insurrection against slavery. The event, which took place after Lincoln’s “a house divided” speech, serves as an example of the violence Lincoln foretold. Brown echoed Lincoln’s sentiments, explaining in 1859, “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.

The Women’s Rights Convention

The Women’s Rights Convention: The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 is a significant event in the fight for women’s rights and for women’s suffrage, though activists at the convention itself debated whether suffrage should be the center point of their platform. In addition, the Seneca Falls Convention is now widely understood to represent some tension between the women’s rights movement and the abolitionist movement; some activists at the time felt that the right to vote should not go to black men before white women.

Strategies for Effective Research

Keyword Selection and Boolean Operators

Break your topic into key concepts and identify terms for each concept. Use Boolean connectors like AND, OR, and NOT to connect keywords.

Examining Subject Terms and Abstracts

Look at the subject terms or descriptors that are used for articles that appear relevant. Think about which individuals or groups of people or organizations are associated with your topic. Look at subject terms applied to relevant articles. Look at the abstract.

Evaluating Sources

In which journal or periodical was this article published? What is the journal's or magazine's reputation? When was the article published? Who is the author of the article? What are the author's credentials?

Addressing Contemporary Political Issues

Navigating Sensitive Discussions

Times of political strife can create challenging classroom dynamics, and as an instructor, your action or inaction sends a message to students. During these tense times, students often cannot focus on their academic work and appreciate it when their instructors acknowledge all that is happening outside of class. Some students find it distracting when their instructor doesn’t mention or address the particular situation and wonder why they pretend this impactful event did not happen. Consider how or whether a conversation about the election aligns with your learning goals or your discipline’s role in the issues raised during the election. Facilitating these kinds of conversations may be challenging because not all disciplines have explicit ties to politics or government policy, and you may have little practice in leading such conversations. Emotions-of students and instructors-can run hot. Students may have concerns that require expertise that you do not have, including questions about impacts on their immigration status or mental health concerns. Different things are at stake in these conversations for different people, and those whose identities are regularly the targets of political rhetoric are likely to feel particularly unsafe. Classroom discussions about the election may trigger or reproduce the harmful effects of this rhetoric.

Experience of Vulnerability: Might this discussion bring to the surface students’ deeply held beliefs, assumptions, and worldviews? Might it make visible their personal experiences or their political investments? Belonging & Exclusion: What are the stakes of this discussion for students from marginalized and underrepresented groups? What are the stakes for you if you are a member of such a group? Experience of Harm: What forms of harm could be produced in real-time for students during this election discussion? What harms related to systemic injustice should be avoided?

Some students may initially be hesitant to discuss the election, particularly if you are leading this conversation in the days after election day. As you consider your class schedule, think carefully about when you want to facilitate this conversation during a class session. If you plan a conversation before the election, it may be best to save it for the end of class so that students are not worked up or distracted while trying to learn.

Mention that the discussion is optional (students do not need to participate) and that difficult topics may be discussed.
How are you feeling? During this time, your role is not to respond to every student’s concern at the moment, but to say that you hear them and make a note of common themes or resources you can direct students to. Share discussion guidelines that foreground valuing all students.
If you are comfortable, share your reflections or reactions with students. Think carefully about the extent to which you want to share these opinions.
The most comprehensive collection of available resources can be found via Division of Student Life, Student Support Services (S^3) for undergraduate students, or GradSupport for graduate students.
With the same intentionality that you planned for this conversation with your students, consider how you will guide students back to refocusing on your class content.

Exploring Current Events

Student Opinion: Do You Love Learning About History? What about studying the past, in or out of school, excites you?

Civics LessonLesson Plan: Emergency Powers and Presidential AuthorityIn this lesson, students consider what qualifies as a national emergency and decide how much power presidents should have.

current events conversationWhat Teenagers Are Saying About Lowering the Voting Age to 16Students react to news that Britain plans to enfranchise 16- and 17-year-olds.

Student OpinionShould 16-Year-Olds Be Allowed to Vote?Britain is lowering its voting age to 16. Is it time for the United States to do the same?

Winner of Student Open Letter ContestTrump: Don’t Delete the History That Makes Us AmericanWe are honoring the Top 10 winners of our Student Open Letter Contest by publishing their entries.

Examining Government Funding and Open Educational Resources

Government Fund Scientific Research?American investment in science has led to important breakthroughs, but the Trump administration is slashing its funding.

Open textbooks are textbooks that have been funded, published, and licensed to be freely used, adapted, and distributed. These books have been reviewed by faculty from a variety of colleges and universities to assess their quality. These books can be downloaded for no cost, or printed at low cost.

OpenLearn is a free learning platform, delivered by The Open University as part of its Royal Charter commitment to support the wellbeing of the community.

Journals

Policy Design and Practice is an international, open access peer-reviewed journal acting as a key source for the best new ideas and lessons from practice for people creating, leading, and transforming policies throughout the world.

The American Review of Politics publishes original research on American politics and the American political process.

Resources at the University Library

Political science materials have been collected by the University Library since 1867. Initially the political science collection was housed with the main collection. In 1964-65 the political science collection was separated from the History collection and merged with education, psychology, sociology, and social work to form the Education and Social Science Library. In 2012, the Education and Social Science Library merged with the Applied Health Sciences Library to form the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library (SSHEL). Currently the political science collection numbers approximately 185,000 volumes in areas such as American government and politics, comparative government and politics, international relations, political behavior, and public policy.

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