HIST 490: U.S. in the World in the 20th Century

More than 12 million pages of declassified CIA documents dating from the 1940s-1990s. Searchable by collection, title, publication date, and classification type.

“The Public Papers of the Presidents contain most of the President's public messages, statements, speeches, and news conference remarks.”

A collection of “some of the most important presidential speeches in American history. These speeches all have transcripts, and some are available in their entirety in audio or video.”

“The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. The series is produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian and printed volumes are available from the Government Printing Office.” (1861-1960)

“The Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity.” (1945-1976)

“The Project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War, and seeks to accelerate the process of integrating new sources, materials and perspectives from the former "Communist bloc" with the historiography of the Cold War which has been written over the past few decades largely by Western scholars reliant on Western archival sources. It also seeks to transcend barriers of language, geography, and regional specialization to create new links among scholars interested in Cold War history.”

“The National Security Archive combines a unique range of functions: investigative journalism center, research institute on international affairs, library and archive of declassified U.S. documents, leading non-profit user of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, public interest law firm defending and expanding public access to government information, global advocate of open government, and indexer and publisher of former secrets.”

“The WHO Archives are the guardians of the Organization's institutional memory. They preserve the documents produced and received by WHO in the course of its activities.”

“FAO technical documents since 1945, library monograph holdings since 1976 and a FAO library serial holdings database.”

A Research Guide indexing various UN proceedings. Contains links to some full-text primary sources materials.

“Frontline Diplomacy: The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training presents a window into the lives of American diplomats. Transcripts of interviews with U.S. diplomatic personnel capture their experiences, motivations, critiques, personal analyses, and private thoughts.”

Contains various documents, unit histories, and oral histories of the U.S. armed forces.

“The Vietnam Center and Archive collects and preserves the documentary record of the Vietnam War, and supports and encourages research and education regarding all aspects of the American Vietnam Experience.”

“The CIA releases millions of pages of documents each year and frequently releases items of public interest on this website. The library contains a wealth of information, from unclassified current publications to basic references, reports and maps. The library features our most popular publication, The World Factbook, and our online directory of Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments. It also features numerous documents and articles of historical significance, including those found in Studies in Intelligence.”

A digital library with primary and secondary sources on international subjects ranging in geographic area and time period.

The United States Department of State has a website dedicated to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) records, which is searchable.

The National Archives (NARA) is an independent government agency that preserves U.S. government documents and makes them available to researches. Some material can be found online.

Government Printing Office website contains numerous documents, such as, but not limited to, the Congressional Record, Congressional Reports, and much more.

U.S. Foreign Relations History

U.S. - Middle East Relations History

Secondary and Primary Sources

The Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) has a substantial list of links to primary and secondary resources on the web. Some will be duplicates of these links, but many others are not.

The Rutgers University Library has a resources page for America and the World that contains many of the resources on this page, but also provides guidance for using various databases and other collections. We have some of the same resources at UL Lafayette, but not all of them.