Research Guide: American Speeches & Speechmakers


| Web Resources | Reference Books | CONSULS Catalog | Databases & Indexes | Locating Periodicals | Interlibrary Loan | Questions? |


Resources on the World Wide Web

Here is a list of links to help you explore Internet resources related to the rhetoric of American issues:

For tips on citation format, please see Diana Hacker's Research and Documentation Online (www.dianahacker.com/resdoc).


Reference Books for Background Information

Reference books are shelved by Library of Congress call number in the reference stacks on the first floor of the Ruth Haas Library. They may not be checked out, but photocopiers are available for student use on the first and third floors of the Haas Library.

American History

American Decades (1900 - present)Ref E 169.12.A419 1994
The American Revolution: An Enyclopedia. 2 volumes.Ref E 208.A433 1993
Civil Rights in the United States. 2 volumes.Ref E 184.A1.C47 2000
Cold War America, 1946-1990Ref E 741.G75 2003
Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery Ref E 441.D53 1988
Dictionary of American Diplomatic History. Second edition.Ref E 183.7.F5 1989
Dictionary of American History. Third edition. 10 volumes.Ref E 174.D52 2003
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. 5 volumes + supplement.Ref E 185.E54 1996
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History. 3 volumes.Ref E 169.1.E624 2001
Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy. 3 volumes.Ref E 183.7.E52 2002
Encyclopedia of American History. 11 volumes.Ref E 174.E53 2003
Encyclopedia of American Political History. 3 volumes.Ref E 183.E5 1984
Encyclopedia of American Political ReformRef E 839.5.C57 1996
Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 volumes.Ref HN 57.E58 1993
Encyclopedia of Southern Culture Ref F 209.E53 1989
Encyclopedia of the American Civil War. 5 volumes.Ref E 468.E53 2000
Encyclopedia of the American Presidency. 4 volumes.Ref JK 511.E53 1994
Encyclopedia of the American Legislative System. 3 volumes.Ref JF 501.E53 1994
Encyclopedia of the American West. 4 volumes.Ref F 591.E485 1996
Encyclopedia of the Civil War. 5 volumes.Ref E 468.E53 2000
Encyclopedia of the Democratic Party. 2 volumes.Ref JK 2352.K87 1997
Encyclopedia of the Great Depression. 2 volumes.Ref E 806.E63 2004
Encyclopedia of the Republican Party. 2 volumes.Ref JK 2352.K87 1997
Encyclopedia of the United States Congress. 4 volumes.Ref JK 1067.E63 1995
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth Century. 3 volumes.Ref E 169.1.E626 2001
Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century. 4 volumes + index.Ref E 740.7.E53 1996
Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations. 4 volumes.Ref E 183.7.E53 1997
Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Civil Rights. 2 volumes.Ref E 185.61.E54 2003
Historical Dictionary of the Civil War. 2 volumes.Ref E 468.J777 2002
Historical Dictionary of the New Deal . 2 volumes.Ref E 806.H58 1985
Historical Dictionary of the Progressive Era, 1890-1920Ref E 661.H6 1988
History of American Presidential Elections. 9 volumes + supplement.Ref E 183.H58 1985
The Sixties in America. 3 volumes.Ref E 841.S55 1999

Documents in American History

100 Key Documents in American DemocracyRef E 173.A15 1994
American Quotations: A Kaleidoscopic View of American HistoryRef E 173.A525 2002
Annals of America. 18 volumes + supplements.Ref E 173.A793
Anthology of Public Speeches (Platz)Circ PN 6122.P5
Documents of American History. Commager. 9th edition.Ref E 173.C66 1973
Encyclopedia of American Historical Documents. 3 volumes.Ref E 173.E54 2004
Historic Documents on Presidential Elections, 1787-1988Ref JK 1965.H56 1991
Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History (Safire)Circ PN 6122.L4 1992
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (1929-present)Circ J 80.A283
Representative American SpeechesRef PS 661.R46 1997
Speech Index: An Index to 259 Collections of World Famous Orations and Speeches...Ref AI 3.S85 1966
Twentieth-Century America: A Primary Source Collection from the Associated Press
10 volumes.
Ref E 740.5.T84 1995
The World's Great Speeches (Copeland and Lamm)Circ PN 6121.C6 1973

General Biography

Biography Index (1946- ) Arranged alphabetically by last name of biographee with an Index to Professions at the end of each volume.Index shelves in the Haas reference (near the atrium)
Current Biography Yearbook (1940- )Ref CT 100.C8
Encyclopedia of World Biography. 17 volumes + supplements.Ref CT 103.M33 1998

American Biography

American Legislative Leaders, 1850-1910Ref E 663.R57 1989
American National Biography. 24 volumes. Ref CT 213.A68 1999
American Orators before 1900: Critical Studies and SourcesRef PN 4055.U5.A4 1987
American Orators of the Twentieth Century: Critical Studies and SourcesRef PN 4193.P6.A44 1987
American Political LeadersRef E 176.O27 1991
American Presidents: Year by Year. 3 volumes.Ref E 176.1.N44 2004
American Revolution: Biographies. 2 volumes.Ref E 206.S36 2000
American Social LeadersRef HN 65.M38 1993
American Voices: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary OratorsRef PS 408.A47 2005
Biographical Dictionary of the ConfederacyRef E 467.W2
Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 Ref D 412.6.R39 1991
Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Second edition. 3 volumes.Ref E 185.86.B542 2005
Contemporary Black Biography. 6 volumes.Ref E 185.96.C66
Dictionary of American Biography. 11 volumes + supplements.Ref E 176D 563 1964
Dictionary of American Negro BiographyRef E 185.96.D53 1982
Encyclopedia of Civil War Biographies. 3 volumes.Ref E 467.E53 2000
James Madison and the American Nation, 1751-1836Ref E 342.J36 1994
Leaders from the 1960s: A Biographical Sourcebook...Ref HN 59.L43 1994
Notable Americans: What They Did, from 1620 to the Present. Fourth edition.Ref E 176.N89 1988
Notable Black American WomenRef E 185.96.N68 1992
The Presidents: A Reference HistoryRef E 176.1.P918 1984
Who Was Who in America (1607- )Ref E 176.W64
Who Was Who in American PoliticsRef E 176.M873 1974
Who Was Who in the American RevolutionRef E 206.P87 1993
Who Was Who in the Civil WarRef E 467.S56 1987

Communication & Rhetoric

Communication Handbook: A DictionaryRef P 87.5.D46 1986
Dictionary of Communication and Media StudiesRef P 87.5.W38 1984
Encyclopedia of CensorshipRef Z 657.G73 1990
Encyclopedia of Communication and Information. 3 volumes.Ref P 87.5.E53 2001
Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications. 4 volumes.Ref P 87.5.E535 2003
Encyclopedia of RhetoricRef PN 172.E52 2001
International Encyclopedia of Communications. 4 volumes.Ref P 87.5.I5 1989
Longman Dictionary of Mass Media & Communication Ref P 87.5.L66 1982
NTC's Mass Media DictionaryRef P 87.5.E45 1991
Sourcebook on RhetoricRef PN 172.J37 2001
Webster's New World Dictionary of Media and CommunicationsRef P 87.5.W45 1990

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CONSULS Online Catalog for Books and Media

CONSULS catalog workstations are located in the Reference Area on the first floor, and on each of the other floors of the Haas Library. You may logon to CONSULS via the WCSU Libraries Homepage at library.wcsu.edu/web or directly at www.consuls.org. For more detailed instructions on searching, please see the yellow CONSULS flyer on the display rack on the first floor.

Please Note: CONSULS ignores upper and lower case, and you may omit punctuation, except the hyphen which must be replaced by a space.

TO FIND WORKS WITH A SPECIFIC TITLE:

Select Title at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type as much of the title as you remember in correct word order. In CONSULS, you may omit "a," "an," or "the" at the beginning of a title.

Example: american rhetoric from roosevelt to reagan (press RETURN or ENTER)
Or just: american rhetoric (press RETURN)

TO FIND WORKS WRITTEN BY A SPECIFIC PERSON:

Select Author at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type the person's name last-name-first. Correct spelling is important.

Example: roosevelt franklin d (press RETURN or ENTER)
Or just: roosevelt frank (press RETURN)

To limit search results to items owned by WCSU, click on Limit/Sort and then select WCSU under "Where Item Is Located."

TO FIND WORKS WRITTEN ABOUT A SPECIFIC PERSON:

Select Subject at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type the person's name last-name-first. Correct spelling is important. To limit results to items owned by WCSU, use Limit/Sort.

Example: douglass frederick (press RETURN or ENTER)
Or just: douglass fred (press RETURN)

TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT A SPECIFIC TOPIC BY SUBJECT HEADING:

Select Subject at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type the Library of Congress subject heading which best describes your topic. Correct spelling and word order are important. The complete list of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) is published in a set of big red books available in the Reference Area on the first floor of the Haas Library.

Type: Political oratory--Unites States--History (press RETURN or ENTER)
Or just: political oratory united states (press RETURN)

Type: Speeches, addresses, etc., American (press RETURN)
Or just: speeches (press RETURN)

The following Library of Congress subject headings may be useful in your research on American speeches and speechmakers:

African American orators
Campaign speeches
Communication--History
Debates and debating
Discourse analysis, Literary
Elocution
Eloquence
English language--United States--Rhetoric
Eulogies
Forensic oratory
Forensics (Public speaking)
Freedom of speech--United States
Orators--United States
Oratory--United States
Political oratory--United States
Presidents--United States--Inaugural addresses
Radio addresses, debates, etc.
Rhetorical criticism
Speeches, addresses, etc., American
United States--History--Sources
Women orators--United States

Rhetoric--United States
Closure (Rhetoric)
Description (Rhetoric)
Exposition (Rhetoric)
Narration (Rhetoric)
Persuasion (Rhetoric)
Repetition (Rhetoric)
Transition (Rhetoric)

In a SUBJECT search, look also for the standard subdivision "--Oratory" under the name of the speaker.

Example: King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968--Oratory
Example: douglass frederick 1818 1895 oratory

TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT A SPECIFIC TOPIC BY KEYWORDS:

Select Keyword(s) at the CONSULS Main Menu, then type the words which best describe your topic, in any order.

PLEASE NOTE: The CONSULS search engine has changed. It is now necessary to type the Boolean AND between the terms of your search statement--if you do not include the AND between words, CONSULS will search your input as a phrase.

Example: frederick douglass and (speech* or orat* or address* or debate*) press RETURN or ENTER
Broader: slavery and (speech* or orat* or address* or debate*) press RETURN

Use the * (asterisk) as a truncation symbol to retrieve variant forms of a word root. Use the Boolean OR to expand your search by including synonyms and related terms. When using two different Boolean commands in the same search statement ("and" and "or" in the preceding examples) you must include parentheses to indicate which command is to be performed first.

TO REQUEST MATERIALS FROM THE OTHER CSU LIBRARIES:

If the item you need is owned by one of the other CSU Libraries (CCSU, SCSU, or ECSU) but not by WCSU, or if the WCSU copy is checked out, you may order the item electronically via Inter-Campus Loan. Select the Request option at the full record display in CONSULS, then type your student ID# and your library PIN code. If you need assistance with your library PIN, please contact the librarian at the Reference Desk at (203) 837-9110.

There is a limit of ten (10) Inter-Campus Loan requests per person. Videos are available via Inter-Campus Loan. Please allow 4-5 days for delivery to the Haas Circulation Desk. Items borrowed via Inter-Campus Loan may be renewed for an additional borrowing period if no one has placed a HOLD on the item.

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Databases & Indexes for Finding Articles & Speeches

Computerized Databases

Academic Search Premier in EBSCOhost
Coverage: 1990 - present (earlier for some publications)
Location: Listed under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Indexes over 8,000 newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals in most fields, with over 4,000 available in full-text, including Vital Speeches of the Day.
America: History and Life
Coverage: 1982 - present
Location: Listed under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Indexes journal articles, books, and dissertations in American history (no full-text).
Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC) in EBSCOhost
Coverage: Issue number one to present for some publications.
Location: Listed under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Over 200 journals in communication and related fields in full-text, with citation coverage of additional sources.
JSTOR
Coverage: Issue number one to within 1-3 years of present
Location: Under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Full-text of over 400 core scholarly journals in more than 25 disciplines (complete backfiles), including American Historical Review.
Newspapers Full-text from ProQuest
Coverage: Varies (1999 to present for the New York Times)
Location: Under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Full-text of major national and regional newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Hartford Courant.
WorldCat via OCLC FirstSearch
Location: Select OCLC FirstSearch under Articles/Databases on the WCSU Libraries Homepage.
Scope: Indexes 60+ million books, manuscripts, theses, and non-print materials. If the item is not owned by WCSU, you may use Interlibrary Loan.

Printed Indexes

New York Times Index
Coverage: 1851 - present
Location: Index shelves in Haas reference area (near the atrium)
Scope: Indexes articles and editorials published in the New York Times daily newspaper.
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature
Coverage: 1890 - present
Location: Index shelves in Haas reference area (near the atrium).
Scope: Indexes, by author and subject, articles published in English-language popular magazines and journals of commentary, including Vital Speeches of the Day. See subdivision "Addresses, messages, etc." under last name of speechmaker.

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Locating Periodicals in the Haas Library

To find out if WCSU subscribes to a specific periodical:

1. Select Journal Title at the CONSULS main menu, then type the name of the periodical (example: vital speeches of the day) and press RETURN. If a title list appears on the screen, select the desired title, then look inside the box to find WCSU holdings. Be sure to scroll down the page to see if WCSU owns backfiles on microfilm or microfiche.

2. Or, use the printed WCSU Serials List, available in multiple copies in the Reference Area (first floor) and on the third floor of the Haas Library, which lists all the newspapers, magazines, and journals owned by WCSU in alphabetical order by title. If WCSU subscribes to the periodical you need, you will find it on the third floor. Print volumes are shelved alphabetically by periodical title. Microfilm and microfiche backfiles are stored alphabetically by title in the metal filing cabinets. Reader/printer machines are available on the third floor for viewing and making copies of microforms.

3. To find out if a given periodical is available in full-text in an online database, you may use the A-to-Z Journal Title Locator at library.wcsu.edu/web/resources/journals or under "Resources" on the WCSU Libraries Homepage (library.wcsu.edu/web).


How to Use Interlibrary Loan

If the CSU Libraries do not own the book you need, or if WCSU does not subscribe to the periodical you need, you may request delivery of the item via Interlibrary Loan using the online ILLiad system available at: library.wcsu.edu/web/services/ill.

There is a limit of 5 Interlibrary Loan requests per person per day. Videos are not available via Interlibrary Loan. Under most circumstances, Interlibrary Loan is a free service, but please allow at least ten working days for delivery. You will be notified as soon as the material arrives. Faster document delivery service is available for a reasonable fee. Please see the librarian at the Reference Desk or call the Interlibrary Loan Desk at (203) 837-9114 for more information.


Do You Have a Question?

The Reference Desk on the first floor of the Haas Library is staffed by a professional librarian who is trained to assist in your research, or you may contact Joan Reitz, Instruction Librarian, at 837-8308 or reitzj@wcsu.edu. My office is located in Room 402 on the fourth floor of the Haas Library (near the glass elevator).

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Please send comments to Joan Reitz, Haas Instruction Librarian, Western Connecticut State University.
reitzj@wcsu.edu
Last updated on August 15, 2006