American Foreign Policy:
Government Documents Collection

| Catalogs/Indexes | Directories | Foreign Relations Documentation | Congressional Actions | Presidential Actions | | Web Resources |

The Government Documents collection, 6th floor of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library,  houses printed publications of the United States federal government. The collection includes hearings before Congressional Committees, and publications such as those issued by the U.S. Department of State and the US Central Intelligence Agency. A wealth of government information on foreign policy is also available online.

Use the Library Catalog to locate materials in the Documents Collection dating from 1976 to the present. Foreign policy materials may be located under such subject headings as "Foreign Assistance", "Foreign Policy", "Foreign Relations", and "Military Assistance", names of specific acts and programs, and country name.  Ask for assistance in using specialized indexes to locate materials prior to 1976.

Catalogs/Indexes
         
          CIS US Congressional Committee Hearings Index  (1833-1969)
          UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. KF 40 C56 1981 
          Index by personal name, subject, organization, title, bill number, and SuDoc number.

CIS US Serial Set Index  (1789-1969)
UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. Z 1223 Z9 C65 1975
Index by subject and name of Congressional committee reports and documents.  Includes a numerical list of reports and documents by report number with title and serial set volume number in which the report is located.

Congressional Information Service Index  (1970 to the present)
UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. Z 1223.A8
Index to Congressional hearings, prints and reports.

Index to the Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports: Central Eurasia (formerly titled Soviet Union), China, Latin America  (1978-1996)
UM/Gov. Docs. Fiche DK 1.D342
Foreign Broadcast Information Service monitors broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements and translations of this material. Includes indexes and full coverage of all countries.

Library Online Catalog
Locate material in the Government Documents Collection dating from 1976 to the present.  Search by keyword, title, author, subject.  Ask for assistance in using specialized indexes to locate materials prior to 1976.

Monthly Catalog of Government Publications (1885-1976)
UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. Z 1223.A18 
Listing by agency of all government publications issued by the Government Printing Office. Indexed by subject.

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Directories

Federal Staff Directory  (Congressional Staff Directory, Inc.)  (1982-present) 
UM/W.E.B. Du Bois Ref. JK661 F4.  Latest vol./year at Ref. Desk

Foreign Consular Offices in the United States  (Department of State)  1959-1999
Online 1999 to present.

Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts  (Department of State)
UM/W.E.B. Du Bois Ref. JK1705 A2555.  Latest vol./yr. at Ref. Desk 

United States Government Manual  (Office of the Federal Register)  (1973/1974-present)
UM/W.E.B. Du Bois Ref. JK421 A3  Latest vol./yr. at Ref. Desk.

Websites of  U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Missions  (Department of State)                                         

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Foreign Relations Documentation

American Diplomacy  (American Diplomacy Publishers, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Publishes thoughtful articles on international issues, to support efforts to strengthen the American Foreign Service, and to promote understanding of the challenges of diplomatic life abroad through the memoirs of U.S. Foreign Service personnel and their families.

American Foreign Policy Basic Documents (1950-1955) 
UM/Gov. Docs S 1.71:117/          
Contains texts of major official messages, addresses, statements, reports, and communications relating to foreign policy.

American Foreign Policy, Current Documents  (1956-1990)
UM/Gov. Docs. S 1.71/2: 
Annual one volume compilation of the principal published official papers, selected to indicate the scope, goals and implementation of the US foreign policy.     
Earlier compilations include: A Decade of American Foreign Policy: Basic Documents 1941-1949 (UM/Gov. Docs. S 1.69:415) and American Foreign Policy, 1950-1955: Basic Documents (UM/Gov. Docs. S 1.71:117/v.1-2).

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Provides the public with an overview of access to CIA information, including electronic access to previously released documents.

Country Studies  (Library of Congress)
Description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries.

Decade of American Foreign Policy: Basic Documents 1941-1949
UM/Gov. Docs. S 1.69:415
Includes a basic collection of public documents on U.S. foreign policy for the period.

Department of State Organization Chart

Foreign Affairs  (Council on Foreign Relations)
Non-profit, nonpartisan forum for ideas, analysis, and debate on issues in the world in order to improve understanding of foreign policy and international affairs.

Foreign Policy: the Magazine of Global Politics, Economics and Ideas  (Carnegie Edowment for International Peace)
E-journal includes reports, articles, news, analysis of international affairs in order to help readers understand global affairs and how they affect our world and our lives.

Foreign Relations of the United States  (Department of State) (1932-present)
UM/W.E.B, Du Bois  JX233 A3
Collection of official papers includes communications both to and from foreign governments and their representatives and to and from representatives in foreign countries.          

Foreign Relations of the United States  (University of Wisconsin)
Digital collection of volumes from 1861-1960.  It is not a complete set and missing volumes are added as they are acquired.

History of the United States Department of State, 1789-1996  (Department of State)
Summary history capturing the highlights of the evolution of the Department of State.

International Affairs Budget  Department of State)
Core budget figures for funding to carry out America's foreign policy and programs with budgets going back to 2002

US Department of State Dispatch  (Sept. 3, 1990-1999) 
UM/Gov. Docs. S 1.3/5:
Provides a diverse compilation of major speeches, congressional testimony, policy statements, fact sheets, and other foreign policy information.
Replaces the Department of State Bulletin (1933-1990) UM/W.E.B. Du Bois JX 232 A33.
Visit the Department of State Web site for information after 1999.

Treaties in Force  (U.S. Department of State)  (1959 to the present)
UM/Gov. Docs. S 9.14:
Annual volume listing treaties and agreements to which the US is a party and which are in force as of the date of publication. Text references are cited.

United States Treaties and Other International Agreements  (1950-1983/1984)
UM/Gov. Docs. S 9.12:
Bound versions of treaties arranged chronologically and accessed by subject and country.

Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America 1776-1949  (Compiled by Charles Bevins) rev. ed. 1972 (U.S. Department of State)
UM/Gov. Docs. S 9.12/2:
Multivolume set beginning with multilateral treaties arranged chronologically by date of signature followed by bilateral treaties and agreements arranged under name of country.  Includes a subject, country name cumulative index.

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Congress

Congress and Foreign Policy (House. Committee on Foreign Affairs)  (1974-1992)
UM/Gov. Docs. Y 4.F 76/1-13:
Annual comprehensive and analytical review of Congressional foreign affairs activities.

Congressional Record (CR)  (1873-1989)
UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 11 R5 
UM/Gov. Docs. Fiche X 1.1 (1990 to the present **Note some issues may be in paper)
Verbatim account of the actions and debate on the floor of the House and the Senate.

Country Reports on Economic Policy and Trade Practices  (1990-2002)
UM/Gov. Docs. Y 4.F 76/2:S.PRT.
Online (1993-2001)
Modeled on the annual reports on individual country human rights practices, these reports are intended to provide a single, comprehensive and comparative analysis of the economic policies and trade practices of each country with which the US has an economic or trade relationship.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices  (House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Senate Committee on Foreign Relations)  (1979-2004 in paper).
UM/Gov. Docs. Y 4.IN 8/16-15:  
Reports on the status of human rights in various countries.

Legislation on Foreign Relations (Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations)  (1985 to the present)
UM/Gov. Docs. Y 4.F 76/2-10:
Five volume set of laws and related material frequently referred to by the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Relations, amended to date and annotated to show pertinent history or cross references. Volumes I, II, III, and IV contain legislation. Volume V, which contains treaties and related material and will be revised as needed.

Science, Technology and American Diplomacy  (Executive Office of the President)  (1980-1995)
UM/Gov. Docs. Y 4.F 76/1-12:  
Annual review of science and technology in international relations.

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Presidential Actions

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
UM/Gov. Docs. GS 4.114: (v.1, Aug 1965 – v.21, 1985)
UM/Gov. Docs. AE 2.109: (v.22, 1986 – v. 36, Oct. 2000)
Available online from 1993 to the present.
Transcripts of the President's news conferences, messages to Congress, public speeches and statements, and other White House releases.  Annual subject name indexes.

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
Contain the public messages, speeches, and statements and official documents of the Presidents from Herbert Hoover to the present

• Hoover (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 D5)
• Roosevelt (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 D6)
• Truman (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 D7)
• Eisenhower (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 D8)
• Kennedy (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 D9)
• Johnson (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 E1)
• Nixon (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 E2)
• Ford (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 E27)
• Carter (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 E4)
• Reagan (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 E5)
• Bush (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 E6)
• Clinton (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 82 E7)

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Web Resources

America History and Life 
Indexing/abstracts, articles, dissertations, reviews and more covering prehistory to the present. 

American Foreign Policy Course Guide 
Contains an in-depth listing of paper and online resources and research tools on foreign policy from the general collection.

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports  (Gallerywatch)
Congressional Research Services, the public policy research arm of the U. S. Congress, produces thorough, nonpartisan reports and analyses on current issues, legislation, and the budget.  Available on Library computers to all and off-campus to UMass Amherst students, faculty, staff. and affiliates with an OIT account; enter your OIT username and password.

Council on Foreign Relations
Nonpartisan independent organization promotes understanding of foreign policy and America's role in the world using transcripts from meetings, scholarly books, journal articles, and opinions and editorials.

CQ Researcher  (Congressional Quarterly, Inc.) 
Original, in-depth, unbiased reporting and analysis on issues in the news from 1991 to the present.  Available on Library computers to all and off-campus to UMass Amherst students, faculty, staff. and affiliates with an OIT account; enter your OIT username and password.

Declassified Documents Reference System  (Thompson/Gale)
Collection of over 75,000 documents covering the years 1905-2002.  Covers all major historical events from the Cold War, Vietnam, foreign policy shifts, civil rights, to name a few.  Available on Library computers to all and off-campus to UMass Amherst students, faculty, staff. and affiliates with an OIT account; enter your OIT username and password.

Defense and International Relations  (FirstGov.gov)
Federal government web sites and information on agencies, countries, foriegn policy , defense,  international trade, immigration and more.

Department of State
Contains information on a myriad of foreign affairs topics ranging from travel warnings and passports to analyses of foreign countries, press release, and policy reports. 

Foreign Affairs of the United States  (Government Printing Office and Ohio State University)
Links to the major agencies involved in foreign affairs such as the White House, Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, National Security Agency and many others.

Foreign Relations of the United States  1861-1958/1960  (University of Wisconsin)
Official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. This digital collection is an incomplete run from 1861-1960 with missing volumes being added as they can be acquired and processed. 

Frequently Used Sites Related to US Federal Government Information (American Library Association/Government Documents Round Table)
Select: Foreign Policy/Defense/International Relations. Comprehensive list with links and descriptions to online resources. Includes popular starting points, indexes and directories, government agencies, statistics, foreign service, Middle East, etc.

GPO Access
Access to the Federal Register, Congressional Record, congressional bills and bill history, United States Code and public law, and reports of the General Accounting Office.

GPO Access: Browse Topics. Foreign Affairs of the United States (Government Printing Office and Ohio State University)
Access to federal agencies, government information and databases related to foreign affairs.

National Security Archive  (George Washington University)
Independent non-governmental research institute and library, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and also serves as a repository of government records on a wide range of topics pertaining to the national security, foreign, intelligence, and economic policies of the United States.

National Security Council  (White House)
Includes news, speeches, history, current information, and some reports on national security strategies.

THOMAS (Library of Congress)
Access to bills, laws, legislative histories, Congressional Record, and committee reports.

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Rev. 10/04/07