Research Guides: International Relations: Historical Sources

Historical Sources

Foreign Relations of the United States
The official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Includes telegrams, letters, etc., to and from diplomats. Also available in print in Knight Library, DOC-LC JX 233.A3
U.S. Dept of State Archive Websites
Starts with Clinton administration, 1997.
Compilation of Presidential Documents
The official compilation of Presidential statements, including speeches, news conferences, bill signing (or veto) statements, treaty signature statements, proclamations and executive orders. Govinfo covers from 1992-present. The items are later compiled into annual volumes, The Public Papers of the President.
Public Papers of the Presidents
Govinfo has digitized from Truman through Obama, plus Herbert Hoover. Other public papers available in print and/or online at presidential libraries.See our guide on Presidential Papers for more information.

For more on presidential papers, speeches, orders, etc., see this guide

Congressional hearings.: Hearings are the transcripts of testimony provided to Congressional committees by members of the public or the Administration. Often they are a rich source for discussions of particular policies. The State Department's annual appropriations hearings before the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are a continuing source of insights, but oversight hearings are often held on particular aspects of foreign policy by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on International Relations -- from 1995-2007, in earlier and later years known as the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The most effective access to these hearings is via ProQuest Congressional, below.

Digital national security archive This link opens in a new window
Collection of declassified US government documents. Includes primary documents, glossaries, chronologies, bibliographies, overviews, and photographs.
ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Index to Congressional publications from 1789 to present; includes fulltext hearings from 1824-1979 and fulltext bills & laws from 1789 to the present

Introduction to ProQuest Congressional tutorial
If you have not yet used ProQuest Congressional, this video tutorial will be helpful.

Dispatch. DOC-US S 1.3/5 (1990-1999): This journal was an official organ of the U.S. State Department, and contained a variety of policy statements, major speeches, fact sheets, and other foreign policy information from the Department. In 1997 it changed frequency from weekly to monthly and was scaled back in content. The title ceased with the December, 1999 issue.
Department of State Bulletin. DOC-LC JX 232.A33 (1939-1989): This monthly journal was continued by Dispatch.
Current Policy Series. DOC-US S1.71/4 (1975-1990): This State Department series of individual policy statements was superseded by Dispatch.
American Foreign Policy: Current Documents. DOC-US S1.71/2 (1950-1990): Annual compilation of policy documents, with detailed subject index. There is some overlap with other State Dept. sources above, but some items are found nowhere else. None published since 1990.