An American Political Archives Reader

The personal papers of former members of Congress, which constitute at least half of the documentation of the legislative branch of government, are held in over 500 different institutions. An American Political Archives Reader performs the vital task of making these collections more accessible by presenting the best and most recent scholarship on congressional collections. The articles contained in this volume guide archivists through the challenges of dealing with these voluminous, complex collections. For institutions developing their political documentary resources and working toward greater accessibility of political archives, this book provides much needed information and is a welcome handbook on the appraisal and preservation of political collections.

This timely reissue of Richard Hofstadter's classic work on the fringe groups that influence American electoral politics offers an invaluable perspective on contemporary domestic affairs.In The Paranoid Style in American Politics, acclaimed historian Richard Hofstadter examines the competing forces in American political discourse and how fringe groups can influence — and derail — the larger agendas of a political party. He investigates the politics of the irrational, shedding light on how the behavior of individuals can seem out of proportion with actual political issues, and how such behavior impacts larger groups. With such other classic essays as “Free Silver and the Mind of 'Coin' Harvey” and “What Happened to the Antitrust Movement?, ” The Paranoid Style in American Politics remains both a seminal text of political history and a vital analysis of the ways in which political groups function in the United States.

Given the dearth of training in archival research, the editors envisioned a book that addresses the "how to" of archival research by involving the perspective of archivists. The editors identified chapter authors who demonstrate in their research-oriented essays how archival research influences and improves empirical political science research. They weave their scholarly contributions together with their practical experiences and "boots on the ground" advice to ease readers toward their first foray into the archives. Because archives were largely abandoned by political scientists in the 1950s, archivists' understanding of their collections and their archival practices is heavily influenced by the habits and methodological concerns of historians. The essays in this volume help archivists better understand the somewhat unique perspectives and habits political scientists bring to archival collections. This volume challenges archivists to think "outside the box" of the conventions of history and reconsider their collections from the perspective of the political scientist. This first-of-its-kind book-traversing political science and library and information science-challenges political scientists' reliance on "easy data" promising in return "better data." The editors propose that the archival record is replete with data that are often superior to current, available public data, both quantitative and qualitative. Substantive chapters in Doing Archival Research in Political Science illustrate how archival data improve understanding across the array of subfields in American politics. It also challenges archivists to rethink their collections through the prism of political science. Doing Archival Research in Political Science holds tremendous cross-disciplinary appeal. Students and faculty in political science are exposed to a fertile but underutilized source of empirical data. Political scientists will benefit from the methodological perspectives, the practical advice about doing archival work, and the concrete examples of archives-based research across the subfields in American politics (e.g., congressional studies, presidential studies, public opinion, national security, interest groups, and public policy). Students and faculty in library and archival studies will benefit greatly from the candid discussion of the unique theoretical and methodological concerns inherent in political science, improving their ability to reach out and promote their collections to political scientists. Examples of archives-based political science research will help library faculty better understand how their collections are being utilized by users.

INTRODUCTIONRepresenting Congress presents a selection of politicalcartoons by Clifford K. Berryman to engage studentsin a discussion of what Congress is, how it works,and what it does. It features the masterful work of one ofAmerica's preeminent political cartoonists and showcases hisability to use portraits, representative symbols and figures,and iconic personifications to convey thought-provokinginsights into the institutions and issues of civic life. The Houseof Representatives and Senate take center stage as nationalelected officials work to realize the ideals of the Founders.This eBook is designed to teach students to analyze history as conveyed in visual media.The cartoons offer comments about various moments in history, and they challenge thereader to evaluate their perspective and objectivity. Viewed outside their original journalisticcontext, the cartoons engage and amuse as comic art, but they can also puzzlea reader with references to little-remembered events and people. This eBook providescontextual information on each cartoon to help dispel the historical mysteries.Berryman's cartoons were originally published as illustrations for the front page of theWashington Post and the Washington Evening Star at various dates spanning the years from 1896to 1949. Thirty-nine cartoons selected from the more than 2,400 original Berryman drawingspreserved at the Center for Legislative Archives convey thumbnail sketches of Congress inaction to reveal some of the enduring features of our national representative government.For more than 50 years, Berryman's cartoons engaged readers of Washington's newspapers,illustrating everyday political events as they related to larger issues of civic life.These cartoons promise to engage students in similar ways today. The cartoons intrigueand inform, puzzle and inspire. Like Congress itself, Berryman's cartoons seem familiarat first glance. Closer study reveals nuances and design features that invite in-depthanalysis and discussion. Using these cartoons, students engage in fun and substantivechallenges to unlock each cartoons' meaning and better understand Congress. As theydo so, students will develop the critical thinking skills so important to academic successand the future health and longevity of our democratic republic.2 | R E P R E S E N T I N G C O N G R E S SHOW THIS eBOOK IS ORGANIZEDThis eBook presents 39 cartoons by Clifford K. Berryman,organized in six chapters that illustrate how Congress works.Each page features one cartoon accompanied by links toadditional information and questions.TEACHING WITH THIS eBOOKRepresenting Congress is designed to teach students aboutCongress-its history, procedures, and constitutional roles-through the analysis of political cartoons.Students will study these cartoons in three steps:* Analyze each cartoon using the NARA Cartoon Analysis Worksheet* Analyze several cartoons to discuss how art illustrates civic life using Worksheet 2* Analyze each cartoon in its historic context using Worksheet 3 (optional)Directions:1. Divide the class into small groups, and assign each group to study one or more cartoonsin the chapter "Congress and the Constitution."2. Instruct each group to complete Worksheet 1: Analyzing Cartoons. Direct each groupto share their analysis with the whole-class.3. Instruct each group to complete Worksheet 2: Discussing Cartoons. Students shouldapply the questions to all of the cartoons in the chapter. Direct each group to sharetheir analysis in a whole class discussion of the chapter.4. Repeat the above steps with each succeeding chapter.5. Direct each group to share what they have learned in the preceding activities in awhole-class discussion of Congress and the Constitution.6. Optional Activity: Assign each group to read the Historical Context Informationstatement for their cartoon. The students should then use the Historical Context

Exercises throughout the text support instruction, while the approachable and well-organized style make it ideal for day-to-day reference use.

In Activist Archives Doreen Lee tells the origins, experiences, and legacy of the radical Indonesian student movement that helped end the thirty-two-year dictatorship in May 1998. Lee situates the revolt as the most recent manifestation of student activists claiming a political and historical inheritance passed down by earlier generations of politicized youth. Combining historical and ethnographic analysis of "Generation 98," Lee offers rich depictions of the generational structures, nationalist sentiments, and organizational and private spaces that bound these activists together. She examines the ways the movement shaped new and youthful ways of looking, seeing, and being—found in archival documents from the 1980s and 1990s; the connections between politics and place; narratives of state violence; activists' experimental lifestyles; and the uneven development of democratic politics on and off the street. Lee illuminates how the interaction between official history, collective memory, and performance came to define youth citizenship and resistance in Indonesia’s transition to the post-Suharto present.

Taking de Man's recently published manuscript Textual Allegories as a point of departure, 13 experts revisit de Man's account of Rousseau and what he calls a 'Theotropic Allegory'. The volume is framed by an introduction by leading de Man scholar, Martin