Library Guides: U.S. Federal Documents & Resources: General

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government Information

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Government Information Resources via UM Libraries

Congressional Publications This link opens in a new window
Indexes Congressional publications including Congressional research and hearings from 1789 to the present, linking to full text when available.
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Provides comprehensive coverage of law and law-related periodicals. Also contains historical trial records, important legal works from the 16th to the 20th centuries, treaties, and select government records, including the Congressional Record and the Federal Register.

Freely Available Government Information Resources

FDLP Basic Collection: Core U.S. Government Resources
Core U.S. Government resources that provide information about the workings and essential activities of the U.S. Government.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)
GPO's online catalog of current, electronic, and historical gov docs.
Govinfo (FDSys: Federal Digital System)
Full text of congressional, regulatory, legal, historic publications via GPO
MetaLib (GPO)
Federated search via CGP of dozens of federal databases; use EXPERT search tab to focus on broad topics, like business, energy, health, science

How the U.S. Government is Organized

The Constitution of the United States divides the federal government into three branches to ensure a central government in which no individual or group gains too much control.

Legislative - Makes laws (Congress)
Executive - Carries out laws (President, Vice President, Cabinet)
Judicial - Evaluates laws (Supreme Court and other courts)

Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches as follows:

The President can veto laws passed by Congress.
Congress confirms or rejects the President's appointments and can remove the President from office in exceptional circumstances.
The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn unconstitutional law, are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The U.S. federal government seeks to act in the best interests of its citizens through this system of checks and balances.

Retrieved from https://bensguide.gpo.gov/j-check-balance.

Contact a Government Agency

A-Z Index to U.S. Government Departments and Agencies
Government Contact by Topic Find contact information for government programs, listed by topic.
How to Contact YOUR Elected Officials Learn how to get in touch with your federal, state, and local elected leaders.

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U.S. Federal Documents & Resources

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