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Historical Documents
Department History
Key Milestones
- The Founding Era
- Diplomacy and Revolution
- The Early Republic
- Securing the Republic
- The Antebellum Period
- The Civil War
- The Age of Imperialism
- Into the Twentieth Century
- The First World War
- The Interwar Period
- World War II
- The Cold War
- Bi-Polar Foreign Policy
- Entangling Alliances
- Détente
- Quest for Peace
- Cold War Denouement
- Toward the Twenty-First Century
Guide to Countries
More Resources
- Documents on the History of U.S. Foreign Relations
- I am interested in doing research in Department of State records. Where can I find Department documents?
- I am interested in information about the career of a former Department employee. Where can I find information on employee records?
- I am interested in historical photographs of the Department of State. Where can I find them?
- What is Foreign Relations of the United States?
- I would like to purchase a FRUS volume. How can I do so?
- What formats are FRUS volumes available in?
- When will the FRUS volume on … be published?
- Do I need to request permission to quote from a FRUS volume?
- About the Office of the Historian
- Department History
- Diplomatic Relations
- The Secretaries of State
- Ambassadors and Chiefs of Mission
- The Foreign Service
- Women in the Foreign Service
- African Americans in the Foreign Service
- Diplomatic and Consular Posts, 1781-2010
- Department Personnel, 1781-1997
Frequently Asked Questions
I am interested in doing research in Department of State records. Where can I find Department documents?
The Office of the Historian is not the repository for Department records.
The Office does publish selected records in its series Foreign Relations of the United States. For records not published in FRUS, documents can generally be found in one of two locations:
Most Department records prior to the mid-1970s have been retired to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). NARA is located at 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740. You may contact NARA by e-mail at inquire@nara.gov, by phone at 301-837-3480, or by fax at 301-837-1919.
Records not yet retired to the National Archives are controlled by the Department of State’s Office of Information Programs and Services (IPS). IPS oversees Freedom of Information Act requests for the Department. Information about IPS is available here.