The Foreign Relations of the United States series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. The series, which is produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian, began in 1861 and now comprises more than 450 individual volumes. The volumes published over the last two decades increasingly contain declassified records from all the foreign affairs agencies.

Foreign Relations volumes contain documents from Presidential libraries, Departments of State and Defense, National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, Agency for International Development, and other foreign affairs agencies as well as the private papers of individuals involved in formulating U.S. foreign policy. In general, the editors choose documentation that illuminates policy formulation and major aspects and repercussions of its execution. Volumes published over the past few years have expanded the scope of the series in two important ways: first by including documents from a wider range of government agencies, particularly those involved with intelligence activity and covert actions, and second by including transcripts prepared from Presidential tape recordings.

Volumes in the series since 1952 are organized chronologically according to Presidential administrations, and geographically and topically within each subseries: 25 volumes cover the Kennedy administration (1961-1963), 34 cover the Johnson administration (1964-1968), and about 54 are scheduled for the Nixon and Ford administrations (1969-1976). Volumes on the Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations are now being researched, annotated, and prepared for publication.

Volumes may be purchased through the U.S. Government Printing Office (202-512-1800). Recent volumes are also available online. For further information please contact the Office of the Historian.