Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History

Writers' Brief

The Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History is being developed by MTM Publishing and will be published by CQ Press. Conceived of as the first comprehensive, detailed encyclopedia to serve the needs of undergraduate and graduate researchers in this field, as well as advanced high school students and teachers, it will be published simultaneously in print and online versions.  In a cross-disciplinary approach to American political history, the Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History will cover the history of all key institutions of U.S. government and politics—presidential, legislative, judicial, constitutional, and political history—as well as military, social, cultural, legal, and economic events and trends that have affected American political development.  Including approximately 750 articles, it will encompass seven print volumes, each relating to an era in U.S. history and overseen by an academic editor-in-chief. These include:

             Volume 1, 1500-1783

             Andrew Robertson, Herbert H. Lehman College

             Volume 2, 1784-1840

             Mike Morrison, Purdue University

             Volume 3, 1841-1877

             William Shade, Lehigh University (emeritus)

             Volume 4, 1878-1920

              Robert Johnston, University of Illinois at Chicago  

             Volume 5, 1921-1945

             Robert Zieger, University of Florida

             Volume 6, 1946-1975

             Thomas Langston, Professor, Tulane University

             Volume 7, 1976—present 

              Richard Valelly, Professor, Swarthmore College

The set will close with an eighth volume, which will include substantive appendices of primary documents, statistics, and indices.

PLANNING YOUR ARTICLE

This brief has been written to ensure the overall coherence of the book. It is meant to guide your thinking and will apply to all articles. If you feel it is necessary to amend the organizational style of your article, please discuss this with the editors to ensure that the changes will be acceptable.

1. STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK. Entries in the first seven volumes will be arranged alphabetically. Each volume will also include a general timeline of the most important events and trends mentioned in the A to Z articles and place them within a broader historical context. The eighth volume will include approximately 200-300 primary documents organized chronologically, historical data on political movements and parties, elections, legislative composition, etc., a detailed 50-page chronology, a bibliography, a contributor’s list, and a detailed index.
   
   
2. LENGTH/WORD COUNT. Articles will be assigned by length. These are:

A+-length article: 3,700-4,000 words

A-length article: 3,200-3,500 words
B-length article: 2,600-2,800 words
C-length article: 1,800-2,000 words
D-length article: 1,400-1,500 words
E-length article: 700-800 words

Note: Bibliography and Further Reading” and “Related Entries” sections do not count as part of the regular word allotment  (See below).

Each article should conform to the length specified above. When you are assigned your article/s, you will be told its length category (and the fee amount). If you absolutely need to depart from the assigned length, please discuss this with the editor ahead of time. You will not be paid extra for writing a longer entry unless this has been pre-approved by the editor and MTM Publishing.

3. READERSHIP. The book is designed for upper-level high school and college students as well as for the general public. You should write for this audience, explaining all specialized terminology. Avoid technical vocabulary and jargon as much as possible.
   
   
4. IDENTIFICATION. Do not assume knowledge of individuals. Identify them with some sort of descriptive phrase (e.g., “19th-century soldier” or “American scientist”).
   
   
5. OBVJECTIVITY AND INTERPRETATION. Because this is a reference work, please be as objective as possible within the confines of contemporary scholarship. Avoid polemic and partisanship. 
   
   
6. GENDER NEUTRAL LANGUAGE. The book seeks to use nonsexist language, although writers should not torture a sentence to achieve it. Please follow these general rules:
   1. Avoid sex-specific terminology, such as mankind, and the use of “man” or “men” as the generic for human being.
   2. Avoid male pronouns to describe people in general. Also, please avoid the awkward “s/he” construction whenever possible.
      
      
7. DATES. Your entry should include references to important dates (and date spans), such as for wars, events, etc. Please double-check all dates to ensure accuracy.
   
   
8. UNDESIRABLE EXPRESSIONS. Avoid expressions that date an article in relation to the time of writing, such as “recent developments,” “ten years ago,” “A new dam is being built.” Rather, say “ In 2006 construction of a new dam began.” ” Also avoid first-person writing (e.g., we, our, etc.).
   
   
9. VISUAL IMAGES. The encyclopedia will include approximately 440 images (60 per volume), which will include photos, illustrations, maps, and charts.. Feel free to make suggestions for images that might accompany your article, including relevant photos, posters, maps, graphs, cartoons, etc. If you do have a suggestion, please submit a photocopy of the image or data and the title and copyright page (if from a book), and include complete information on its source (make sure to also submit a photocopy of the photo or illustration credit page if applicable). A brief caption that could be included with it would be welcome. MTM Publishing will be responsible for securing permission to use any suggested visual images or statistical data.
   
   
10. DOCUMENT APPENDIX. The encyclopedia will contain a sizeable appendix of primary documents—text of legislation, rulings, treaties, speeches, etc, as well as pertinent private communications such as letters, diary entries, etc—in the last volume. Please suggest any such material you feel would be useful to illustrate, explain, or otherwise augment your article. As with suggestions for visual images above, submit a photocopy of the material, with the title and copyright page and complete information on the source. If the material can be found online, please point us to a full and functional URL.
    
    
11. QUOTING PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED MATERIAL/PERMISSIONS. The use of quotations from copyrighted works, such as from novels or scholarly works, should be kept to a minimum so as to minimize the need to secure written permissions and to ensure the originality of the articles. If your article requires a quotation of more than a few words, please contact your editor to determine your need to secure written permission for use. See additional notes in “Style Sheet” under “Citations".