Special Collections: Primary Resources in Politics, Policy and Government Research Guide

Online exhibition
"22 Months: Ted Kaufman in the U.S. Senate" explores the senatorial career of Senator Edward E. "Ted" Kaufman (2009-2011). The exhibition highlights Senator Kaufman’s special appointment to the U.S. Senate and his many accomplishments in office. "22 Months" includes sections on his appointment and swearing-in, his work on financial system reform, his advocacy for STEM education and programs, his involvement with United States foreign relations policy, and his work on the Congressional Oversight Panel. Ted Kaufman's twenty-two months as a senator reflect the major national issues during the period of January 2009 through November 2010.

Summer/Fall 2015
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the areas of employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities. Inspired in part by the civil rights legislation of the 1960s, this landmark law was signed by President George H. W. Bush on July 26, 1990. To commemorate this event, the University of Delaware Library Diversity Committee presents an exhibition entitled “25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.” This exhibition features books, videos, and other information related to the ADA and the topic of disability rights. It will cover four major areas: an overview and explanation of the ADA; an overview of the disability rights movement; implementation and compliance issues; and employment and human resources information.

September 2014
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, observed on September 17 each year, recognize two major actions in United States history. Constitution Day recognizes the anniversary of the formal signing of the Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1787. The purpose of Citizenship Day is to recognize and celebrate all those who have attained American citizenship. This exhibit features selected items from the Thomas R. Carper congressional papers, including Representative Carper’s constituent newsletter, Capitol Comments, where he commemorated the 200th anniversary of Constitution Day. In his remarks, Carper discussed the importance of the Constitution over time, from the Bill of Rights, which prevents the government from intervening with basic freedoms, to ensuring equal representations of all states in the U.S. Congress. Most importantly, Carper emphasized that the Constitution gives citizens the freedom to choose their elected officials – a freedom which has been “retained and extended to all our citizens” and is “the living legacy of our constitution.”

Spring 2014
With the end of the Civil War in 1865, legal slavery came to an end in the United States. After reconstruction in the mid-1870s, particularly in Southern states, laws were established that deprived African American citizens of these same rights, and enforced segregation in housing, education and other domains of life. These new regulations were known as Jim Crow laws. During this period, racial discrimination was commonly found in the North as well. Despite this, a legal and political movement for civil rights challenged these discriminatory laws and practices throughout the first half of the twentieth century. The 1963 March on Washington marked a watershed for this growing movement social movement. This exhibit explores the background, passage, and legacy of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, with particular emphasis on conditions in Delaware.

April 2015
2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Voting Rights Act – the landmark legislation that prohibited discrimination against minority voters. This exhibition features items from the Papers of Senator John J. Williams and includes constituent letters, printed ephemera, and documents on the Voting Rights Act. The University of Delaware Library joins the Association of Center for the Study of Congress (ACSC) in a national celebration of the sixth annual Congress Week, April 1-7, 2015.

April 2017
In December 1816, Virginia Senator James Barbour introduced a resolution to the United States Senate, proposing the creation of standing committees to address various issues raised in President James Madison’s State of the Union message to the Congress. Since the first congressional session, the Senate had developed a system of ad hoc, temporary committees to respond to particular legislative or procedural matters. This exhibition highlights some of the contributions made by Senator John J. Williams (R), 1947-1971, Senator J. Allen Frear (D), 1949-1961 and Representative (now Senator) Tom Carper (D), 1983-1993, to protect the interests of Delawareans in their committee work. The items on display focus on the two primary responsibilities of congressional committees: passing legislation and conducting oversight on government programs. They are drawn from the modern congressional collections housed at the University of Delaware Library Special Collections. This exhibit, on display in Morris Library from April 4-14, 2017, is part of the annual Congress Week celebration, sponsored by the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress (ACSC).

Fall 2017
This exhibition features U.S. government documents housed at University of Delaware Library. The exhibition celebrates the 120th anniversary of University of Delaware’s designation as a depository providing public access to federal documents.

Fall 2017
John Dickinson (1732-1808) was an attorney and politician who spent most of his career in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. As a member of the First Continental Congress, Dickinson wrote the majority of the 1774 Petition to the King, and as a member of the Second Continental Congress wrote the 1775 Olive Branch Petition, two attempts to negotiate with King George III. When these efforts failed, he reworked Thomas Jefferson's language and composed the final draft of the 1775 Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms. When Congress eventually decided to seek independence, Dickinson served on the committee that wrote the Model Treaty, and then wrote the first draft of the 1776–1777 Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. “John Dickinson: Penman of the Revolution” celebrates the extraordinary career of John Dickinson and displays original editions of his published work, documents and letters, and secondary material.

Spring 2015
The Coastal Zone Act, signed in 1971 by Gov. Russell Peterson, is widely considered to be the most important -- and one of the most contentious -- piece of environmental legislation ever passed in Delaware. For over 40 years, it has protected 115 miles of Delaware’s coast from the destructive impacts of heavy industrialization and commercial development. The exhibition includes information on Peterson and the act, ecological treasures of the Delaware coast, the importance of protected habitats to the extraordinary symbiotic relationship between the red knot shorebird and the prehistoric horseshoe crab, and local research and future directions connected to these topics.

May 2016
Saving White Clay Creek: The Charge of the Dorothy Miller Brigade pays tribute to Dorothy Miller, a citizen of Newark who died at age 84 on February 22, 2016. Dorothy Miller was a birder and nature lover turned activist who is widely regarded as the coalition builder who successfully fought a proposed damming of White Clay Creek in the 1960s. Saving White Clay Creek was the first step in allying citizens, conservation-minded organizations, the DuPont Company, and the state governments of Delaware and Pennsylvania to acquire and preserve open space to protect the entire White Clay Creek Watershed. By an act of Congress, the White Clay Creek was declared a National Wild and Scenic River in 2000. One of only 208 Wild and Scenic Rivers in the United States, White Clay Creek is unique for its designation of the entire watershed, not just a river section, in the National Wild and Scenic River System. This watershed spans 107 square miles across two states and the combined recreational and scenic creek and tributaries span 199 miles.