Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774 – 2005 & The American Presidency Project

This is probably not what you think as the title of this post actually refers to 2 different web sites. Both provide historical information on branches of the U.S. government.

Do you want to know who the Senators and Congressmen from New York were during the Civil War? This source will tell you. The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774-2005 - also known as H. Doc. 108-222 - was compiled and edited under the direction of the U.S. Joint Committee on Printing. This Directory is exactly what it says it is: a list of who was who in Congress from The Continental Congress (1774) through January 3, 2005 (end of the 108th Congress). Brief biographies of all members of Congress are also provided. In addition there is a list of Executive Officers (Cabinet) 1789-2005. Tip, it helps to know the number of the Congress sitting for the time period concerned. Example, the Civil War was 1861-1865 which was the 37th through the 39th Congress.

The American Presidency Project provides Public Papers of the Presidents from Hoover through Clinton. These materials include Executive Orders, Proclamations, press conferences, addresses to Congress, etc. There is a Data Archive that shows popularity over time, vetoes and more. The "Elections" page tallies for each presidential nominee the electoral vote, popular vote and percentages. It is interesting and rather fun to compare the numbers among the Presidents.

Other news today:

Samuel Alito was sworn in as the 110th Supreme Court Justice.
President George W. Bush gave his 5th State of the Union address to Congress and the nation.
It was Alan Greenspan's last day as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Coretta Scott King died.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

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