Reference Books
Reference sources summarize information so that you can check for basic facts, find background information, and consider overarching themes. Importantly, they can also give you a starting point from which you can find other primary and secondary resources!
This type of source includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, bibliographies, timelines (and more!)
Below are a few reference sources to start with. Need to find others?
The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature by Call Number: Reference Z6201 .A55Publication Date: New York : Oxford University Press, 1995This set is an essential reference tool for historians. Covering all areas and time periods of historical research, each entry has a brief annotation. The editors have attempted to identify the "...finest and most useful books and articles available in every field of historical scholarship." The editors add that the "Guide" provides "...a critical overview of the best contemporary historical scholarship."
Historic U. S. Court CasesCall Number: Reference KF385.A4 J64 2001Publication Date: New York : Routledge, 2001.
Landmark Supreme Court Cases by Call Number: Reference KF4550 .F54 2008ISBN: 9780816069576Publication Date: 2011-12-01
Jay and Ellsworth, the First Courts: justices, rulings, and legacyCall Number: Reference KF8742 .H368 2008Publication Date: Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c2008.
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History by Call Number: Reference E169.1 .E624 2001ISBN: 0684805618Publication Date: 2001-03-26The Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History surveys the richly layered dimensions of American life in a format that clarifies the many issues, ideas, movements and places that constitute the American experience.
The Cambridge History of Law in America by ISBN: 9780521803045Publication Date: 2008-04-21Sixty of the leading historians of law in the United States have been brought together in one enterprise to present the most comprehensive and authoritative account possible of the history of American law.
The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History by ISBN: 9780195134056Publication Date: 2009-04-17The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History is a comprehensive, international, interdisciplinary reference work that includes approximately 1,000 articles on all aspects of legal history throughout the world from ancient to modern times.
Introduction to the Law and Legal System of the United States by ISBN: 1634602072Publication Date: 2016-06-14
