FRUS turns 150--you say what???

Foreign Relations of the United States, a title often abbreviated to "FRUS", turned 150 on December 3.  You know that you are a government publications afficianado when that gets you excited.  Here at CU Boulder it's one of our favorite tools when a student needs "primary sources" on on a topic related to U.S. foreign policy.


FRUS 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.  The series is edited by a group of historians at the Department of State.  The editors "choose documentation that illuminates policy formulation and major aspects and repercussions of its execution."

The volumes are arranged by the name of the president in office and the world region or issue. Rather than being lumped in with other content, serious national and international issues are sometimes covered in separate volumes.  The Cuban Missile Crisis (Kennedy) gets a volume of its very own. So does the Arab-Israeli War that occured during Nixon's presidency. 

You can find links to freely-available versions of FRUS on our page on the department's page on Foreign Relations and International Aid.  A subscription-based version is available on campus through HeinOnline. 

Enjoy!