State Department Records in the National Archives
- Introduction
- I. Central File (Record Group 59)
- II. Office Files, or "Lot Files" (Record Group 59)
- III. Foreign Service Post Files (Record Group 84)
- IV. Other Record Groups (for specialized topics)
- How to Access the Records
II. Office or Lot Files (Record Group 59)
Robert E. Lee's Amnesty Oath, 10/02/1865. ARC Identifier: 302020. (Textual Archives Services, College Park, MD)
This category is for all of the records originally filed at the State Department, but not in the central file. This includes records of organizational units, records relating to certain functions, special subjects, events or individuals. Some documents duplicate items in the central file; most do not.
What's Online? None of the documents are available online,
but some of the finding aids are available in an electronic format.
Finding Aids
A. Records Accessioned Before 1985
These records are usually dated before 1950. They are all fully described in Inventory 15, General Records of the Department of State, and can be found by using the table of contents and subject index.
B. Records Accessioned After 1985
These records are usually dated after 1950. They are identified in the Master Location Register for RG 59, Entries (A1) 1130-1610, (A1) 3001-3178, (UD) 1-93, (UD) 1-1007, and (A1) 5000--. Some of those series have been described in ARC. In addition, some of the ARC descriptions include a folder list for the records. There is a local database containing over 1,700 records, and many of the series have folder lists.
Records
Most of the records are from various geographic area offices within the State Department, such as the bureaus for Europe, Africa, Western Hemisphere, Middle/Near East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and desk offices for China, Korea, and Japan. Some of the specific subject files are Intelligence, Atomic Energy/Disarmament, Science/Technology, Special War Problems, and Public Affairs. Records of organizational units include the Policy Planning Staff, the Executive Secretariat, and International Organizations/UN.
When the State Department moved the records from offices to Department storage facilities, they were each assigned a "Lot File" number, usually the last two digits of the fiscal year combined with the numerical order of transfer; Lot 59D539 means the 539th transfer from the Department in fiscal year 1959. The National Archives has combined many lot files created for annual transfers of records, such as the 15 for Verbatim Transcripts of Meetings, 1946-59, into one series, (A1) 1540.
