HIST 4460: U.S. History: Religion and Politics

Much of the international information produced by US government ends up in this series. Organized by year and topically within years. Also available through HeinOnline, go to Databases A-Z, look under "H."

The Foreign Relations of the United States began publication in 1861. Prior to that time, the U.S. government released documents through a variety of means. Between 1914 and 1921, Adelaide Rosalia Hasse compiled a three-volume Index to United States Documents Relating to Foreign Affairs, 1828-1861 , available online in full text via the Hathi Trust.

"This website provides a wealth of information about the Department’s FOIA program and how to obtain access to the Department’s records, as well as a search tool containing 110,585 searchable documents reviewed and released to the public."

The American State Papers, comprising a total of thirty-eight physical volumes, contain the legislative and executive documents of Congress during the period 1789 to 1838. The collection includes documents that cover the critical historical gap from 1789 to the printing of the first volume of the U.S. Serial Set in 1817. The books are arranged into ten topical classes, e.g., Foreign Relations, Indian Affairs, Military Affairs.

"Since its formation, CMH has provided historical support to the Army Secretariat and Staff, contributing essential background information for decision making, staff actions, command information programs, and public statements by Army officials."

An important part of CIA's ongoing effort to be more open and to provide for more public accountability has been a recognition of the importance of declassifying historically significant Agency documents. The process of opening up the Agency's historical record began in the 1980s when then Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) William Casey authorized the declassification and transfer of nine million pages of OSS records to the National Archives and established the Historical Review Program.

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.

Through this website, you can read and search through thousands of records from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison and see firsthand the growth of democracy and the birth of the Republic.