Presidents’ Day Publications

February 15, 2019

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. This year it will take place on February 18. The holiday was initially established in 1885 to recognize President George Washington. Now, it serves as a day to remember and celebrate all U.S. presidents, both past and present. Some states require that schools teach children about the U.S. presidents in the days leading up to Presidents’ Day.

For those of us who no longer go to school, it’s up to us to take the time this Presidents’ Day to learn about the presidents and remember all their great achievements. The Public Papers of the Presidents series, produced by the Office of the Federal Register within National Archives and Records Administration, are a great way to do this. The Public Papers historical collection of primary source documents include public messages, statements, and speeches of the Presidents. They can be purchased online here.

Appreciate the “Father of our Country,” George Washington, with Washington’s Farewell Address to the People of the United States. His Farewell address to Congress and the American people began:

Friends, and Fellow-Citizens: The period for a new election of a Citizen, to Administer the Executive government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person, who is to be cloathed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those, out of whom a choice is to be made.

As one of the founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson made significant achievements for our country, including almost doubling our nation’s territory through the Louisiana Purchase. Learn more about Jefferson in Jefferson Memorial: Interpretive Guide to Thomas Jefferson Memorial. This handbook from the National Park Service describes the Jefferson Memorial and includes a biography of Thomas Jefferson.

It wouldn’t be Presidents’ Day without a mention of Honest Abe, one of our country’s most highly regarded presidents. Check out Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Greatness from the National Park Service. This handbook presents a description and history of the Lincoln Memorial and a biography of the man it commemorates.

Interested in what it’s like to be in an intelligence meeting with the president? Getting To Know the President by John Helgerson describes the critical process of information sharing between the Intelligence Community (IC) and the Chief Executive, the President of the United States, starting as a presidential candidate. Since 1952, the CIA, and now the Intelligence Community as a whole, has provided presidential candidates and presidents-elect with intelligence briefings during their campaigns and transitions. These briefings have helped presidents be as well informed as possible on international developments from the day they take office.

First published in 1996 and now revised and updated to include accounts of intelligence support to candidates and presidents-elect in the three elections between then and 2004, Helgerson’s study provides unique insights into the mechanics and content of the briefings, the interaction of the participants, and the briefings’ effect on the relationships presidents have had with their intelligence services.

Our country is lucky to have had some amazing leaders. Without their vision and dedication, our nation wouldn’t be what it is today. Happy Presidents’ Day!

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.

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Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Headline: Campaign Trails to the United States Federal election process

June 18, 2015

voteThe United Kingdom recently completed their Prime Minister election, and now, the American candidates are aligning for Presidential, Congressional, and Delegate elections to take place in November 2016.

As a result of the candidates’ campaign strategies, many potential voters within the United States of America are beginning to witness campaign advertisements on their local and cable television stations. The news media also has begun their weekly coverage of the nominees’ activities- including their viewpoints on topics currently impacting American culture in the workplace, economy, and personal struggles. Candidate telephone calls and mailings about candidates are beginning to make their way to the general citizen as well, in hopes for their votes in this next pivotal election.

november2016Have you ever wondered how much of this activity is consistent with the actual U.S. Federal election process?

To fact check what you hear through numerous news media programs, you can review Title 11 Federal Elections, Code of Federal Regulations volume (available in printed paperback at this link: http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/869-082-00031-7. This book opens with the coverage of the Sunshine Act regulations and meetings for this commission. According to Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_in_the_Sunshine_Act), “ the Sunshine Act (Pub. L. 94-409) enacted September 13, 1976, 5 USC 552b (PDF can be found here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2012-title5/pdf/USCODE-2012-title5.pdf) is a law passed in 1976 that affects the operations of the Federal Government, Congress, Federal commissions and other legally constituted bodies. It is one of a number of Freedom of Information Acts, intended to create greater transparency in government.”

cfr title 11In addition to the public records that are available through the Freedom of Information Act, this volume also covers all items relating to the election process of The Presidential election for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States, plus the Congress- US House of Representatives, United States Senate, and Delegates as it relates to the U.S. Federal election process.

Some specific areas of the U.S. Federal election process included in this regulatory work are:

  • candidate nominees with possible party affiliations, and their responsibilities
  • campaign committees are defined
  • potential candidate personal income funds, including stocks, and other investments, income from trusts, gifts of a personal nature, and jointly owned assets by the candidate and their spouse are detailed
  • Contributions, such as loans, fundraiser or political event attendance, compensation for personal services for employees employed as part of the political activities,
  • And much more

Americans can gain insights to some past election campaigns of their elected officials by reading or reviewing the following titles in the Congressional Minority election collection series published by the US House of Representatives:

front-cover-sm-01Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-2012 available in printed paperback at: http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-071-01567-1

Printed Hardcover format to utilize as a reference for years to come: http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-071-01563-9

ePub eBook to download to a digital smartphone or tablet device:

http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-300-00008-8

MOBI eBook to download to a Kindle digital e-reader or tablet device:

http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-300-00008-8

These volumes are also part of the Minority series compiled and produced by the U.S. House of Representatives:

Women in Congress, 1917-2008– printed hardcover edition http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-070-07480-9

Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007 in printed paperback edition

http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-070-07520-1

To find public documents about the first days and months of a new President, you can refer to the Public Presidents of the United States series volumes, published by the National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register. Here are a few volumes to get your reading started with first term presidential history. Students at all levels doing comparative politics or history research papers may wish to review the State of the Union addresses in each of these volumes to obtain information about past Presidents’ initiatives for the United States of America.

First Term, Barack Obama

069-000-00184-0Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Barack Obama, 2009, Book 1 in cloth edition format can be purchased here: http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/069-000-00184-0

In ePub eBook file format can be found here: http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/069-300-00002-2

First Term, George W. Bush

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, George W. Bush, 2001, Book 1, January 20 to June 30, 2001

http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/069-000-00147-5

First Term, William J. Clinton

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1993, Book 1, January 20 to July 31, 1993

http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/069-000-00057-6

James (Jimmy) Carter

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Jimmy Carter, 1977, Book 1, January 20 to June 24, 1977

http://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/069-000-00111-4

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

To obtain the resources mentioned in this blog, click on the links above.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: This week’s blog contributor is Maureen Whelan, Senior Marketing Team Leader for GPO’s Publication and Information Sales program office in Washington, DC. Maureen oversees print and digital content dissemination strategy and manages third party free and paid content distribution through platforms and vendors, such as Apple iBookstore, Barnes and Noble.com, Google Play eBookstore, Ebscohost databases, Overdrive, and more.

Leave a Comment » | Federal Elections Process, Polls, Presidential Commissions, Presidents | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Relive the first year of the Obama Presidency

September 24, 2013

Portrait of the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama As we experience the first year of President Obama’s second term as the 44th President of the United States, take a look back on what was going on at this time during the first year of his first term as president with the Public Papers of the Presidents, Barack Obama 2009, Book 2. This volume covers the public messages and statements made by President Obama during the second half of his first year in office from July to December 2009.

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Barack Obama, 2009, Book 2, July 1 to December 31, 2009. ISBN: 9780160860867 and GPO Stock #069-000-00185-8Some highlights of those six months include the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor as President Obama’s first nomination to the Supreme Court, the shaping of the health care law (Read our blog post: “Everything You Should Know About The Health Care Law“), and the continuing efforts to create jobs and rebuild the U.S. economy. The book also includes a section of official color photographs from events during the time period.

This book is part of the Public Papers of the Presidents series which consists of public writings, addresses and remarks made by the President and is the second volume of the Barack Obama Public Papers collection, which includes an eBook version of Book 1. (Read about the first volume in our blog post: “The First Collection of President Obama’s Public Papers.”)

As in other Public Papers volumes, the appendices provide listings of:

  • A digest of President Obama’s daily schedule and meetings, when announced, and other items of general interest issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary;
  • President Obama’s nominations submitted to the Senate;
  • A checklist of materials released by the Office of the Press Secretary that are not printed full-text in the book; and
  • A table of Proclamations, Executive Orders, and other Presidential documents released by the Office of the Press Secretary and published in the Federal Register.

Public Papers of the Presidents series

The entire Public Papers of the Presidents series is published by the National Archives’ Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and includes two volumes per year, each volume covering a six-month period of the presidency, with the OFR checking remarks against a recording and signed documents against the original to ensure accuracy. The series started with President Hoover and continues to President Obama, with the exception of President Roosevelt who chose to have his papers published privately.

To learn more about the process of compiling the Public Papers of the Presidents, watch this video below on the production of President Obama’s first volume at the Government Printing Office (GPO):

Video Government Printing Office The Making-of-Barack-Obama-Public-Papers-of-the-President

Image: Excerpted from the video of the Making of the Public Papers of the President. Depicts President Obama in the Oval Office being presented with the first volume in his Public Papers printed by the Government Printing Office in April 2011. Pictured from left to right are: current Public Printer of the United States, Davita Vance-Cooks; previous Public Printer, William J. Boarman; President Barack Obama; Archivist of the United States, David S. Ferriero, and Director of the Federal Register, Ray Mosley.

The Public Papers of the Presidents series is also available on GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys). The public can digitally access the digitized volumes starting in 1991 with President George H. W. Bush through President Barack Obama, 2009 from this page on FDsys.

GPO also makes the Public Papers of the Presidents series available in print through the agency’s online bookstore with volumes back to Herbert Hoover. The public can browse through the various volumes from different presidents on the Public Papers of the Presidents collection page in the Presidential History collection under the US & Military History category.

How do I obtain a copy of the Public Papers of the Presidents, Barack Obama 2009, Book 2?

1) Buy a printed copy

  • Shop Online: You can purchase a printed copy of Public Papers of the Presidents, Barack Obama 2009, Book 2 or any of the previous volume(s) of the Obama presidency by shopping the Barack Obama Public Papers collection on the U.S. Government Online Bookstore.
  • Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.
  • Visit our Retail Store: Buy a printed copy at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.
  • Find it in a Library:  GPO provides catalog records to Federal Depository libraries worldwide. Find this publication in a federal depository library.

2) View or download a PDF from GPO’s official Federal documents database, FDsys:

About the Author: Our guest blogger is Emma Wojtowicz, Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Office of Public Affairs. Additional content provided by Government Book Talk Editor: Michele Bartram, Promotions & eCommerce Manager for GPO’s Publication and Information Sales Division.

2 Comments | African Americans, Civics and Citizenship, Executive Branch, Government Printing Office (GPO), Presidents, The White House, U.S. History | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Michele Bartram, U.S. Government Online Bookstore

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