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POLS 210G: American Constitutional Law: Home

This guide will help you find information about the United States Constitution and its amendments, including primary sources.

How to GET HELP from a LIBRARIAN

Need help with finding sources, searching databases, formatting citations, or deciding on a paper topic? The NCC Librarians are here for you.

Both the Mack Library (Bethlehem) and ESSA Library (Pocono) are open if you'd like to visit in person, or you can chat online with a Librarian no matter where you are! Go to the Library's home page and click on the orange "Ask the Librarian" tab to start chatting. 

To find out when we're open, take a look at the Library's hours.

For more ways to reach us, and answers to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), click here. You can also send an e-mail question to askthelibrarian@northampton.edu, or set up a private appointment with a Librarian by using the "Book A Librarian" request form.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Researching Constitutional Law & History

This Research Guide will help you find Library resources that discuss the U.S. Constitution and its history, including books, journals, online subscription databases and websites.

Course Description

A survey of Constitutional law emphasizing civil rights and individual liberties, this course will provide students with a general understanding of the major issues in Constitutional law, including the structure of the U.S. government; the separation of powers between branches of the federal government; federalism and states' rights; and the balance of the interests of the government with that of the individual in a diverse society.

Directions to NCC

To download and view a map of each NCC campus, click here.

Library to Go pickup at the Bethlehem campus is located at the Circulation Desk in Mack Library, on the 4th Floor of College Center (building number 3 on this map).

 

Library to Go pickup at the Pocono campus is located at the service desk in the ESSA Library, which is in Keystone Hall (building number 2 on this map).

 

NCC Bethlehem campus

3835 Green Pond Road
Bethlehem, PA 18020

Directions

From North, East or West: Find your best route to Route 22. Take the Route 191 exit. At end of the ramp, turn RIGHT onto Route 191 North. One-tenth of a mile from the exit ramp, turn RIGHT onto Brodhead Road (before the Brodhead Road stoplight). Follow Brodhead Road until you come to a stop sign, turn RIGHT onto Hecktown Road. Proceed past the Hecktown Road entrance and turn left onto Green Pond Road. The Green Pond Road entrance to the campus will be on your RIGHT. The entrance to the Gates Center will be on your LEFT.

From the South: Take Interstate 78 to Route 33 North. Go to second exit, William Penn Highway, and turn LEFT. Pass Farmersville Elementary School on left, Municipal Building on right. Take the first RIGHT after the Municipal Building onto Oakland Road. Stay on Oakland Road until you see the entrance to the College on your RIGHT.

NCC Pocono campus

2411 Route 715
Tannersville, PA 18372

 

Directions

From Interstate 80: Take Exit 299 for Tannersville. Go SOUTH on Route 715 for one mile. The College entrance is on the RIGHT at Warner Road, just past Railroad Avenue.

From Tannersville & Route 611: Take Route 611 to Route 715 South. Go SOUTH on Route 715 for one mile. The College entrance is on the RIGHT at Warner Road, just past Railroad Avenue.

From points west of Tannersville: Take Route 715 NORTH toward Tannersville. The College entrance is on the LEFT at Warner Road, one mile before Interstate 80.

NEW books in the NCC Library collection!

It's easy to borrow books with LIBRARY to GO!

Good news!

Both NCC Libraries are open, but you can still borrow books and other materials remotely by using our Library to Go service. You can choose quick pickup on campus, or free delivery to your home.

Use the same form to request:

  • Access to materials that your instructor has put on electronic reserve in Blackboard;
  • Scanned pages from reference books like encyclopedias;
  • Scanned articles from print journals in the Library's Periodicals Tower.

NEW e-book chapters on the Electoral College

The Salem History database has added several new e-book chapters about the Electoral College, just in time for the presidential election.

Here's a sample of the topics that are included:

 

The Electoral Process

  • Constitutional Requirements for the Electoral Process
  • The Evolution of the Electoral Process in the United States
  • The Sixth Party System 

The Electoral College and the Popular Vote

  • Electoral College
  • 2016 Election
  • National Popular Vote
  • Direct vs. Representative Democracy

Roger Sherman and the Establishment of the Electoral College

  • Early Life
  • Life's Work
  • Significance

The Twelfth Amendment and Its Influence on Future Elections

  • Defining Moment
  • Document Information
  • Historical Document
  • Document Themes and Analysis 

The Twenty-Third Amendment and Washington D.C.

  • Debate in Congress
  • Historical Background Documents
  • Original Primary Documents
  • Supreme Court Cases
  • Who's Who
  • America at that Time

Ongoing Debates Surrounding the Electoral College

  • Electoral College
  • Popular Vote
  • National Popular Vote
  • The 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016 Elections
  • The Compromise of 1877

Coming Soon to NCC: Spring 2025 NEH Speaker

New York City councilman Yusef Salaam will be speaking at NCC in Spring 2025. He was falsely accused of rape and assault as a teenager, and convicted as part of the infamous Central Park Five case in 1989. Salaam and the other defendants were eventually exonerated and released from prison, and he has since worked as an activist, fighting for the rights of prisoners and advocating for criminal justice reform.

These Library resources will give you an in-depth understanding of the miscarriage of justice that occurred in this case.

Contact a Librarian

Profile Photo
Anne Bittner
Contact:
Mack Library
Northampton Community College
College Center, 4th Floor
610-332-6139
Website
Subjects: Business, Paralegal

Prepared By

This Research Guide was updated November 14, 2024 by Anne Bittner.