Introduction
Basic Reference Sources in United States Foreign Relations
with Emphasis on International History
by Jonathan Reed Winkler, Wright State University
This is a guide to standard reference works in Dunbar Library on United States foreign relations and international history that advanced undergraduates and Master’s candidates can use for background or reasonable depth on central issues. Together with the relevant secondary surveys and core monographs on a topic, this guide should help one to begin research on a serious research paper. This list should not be thought of as definitive, but merely a start.
Search for Books
Search for books using keywords in the:
Browse on the 3rd floor or in any other university library at the following call numbers:
JZ- International relations
- 63-1153 Sources
- 1305-206 Scope of international relations
- 3674-3875 State territory and its parts
- 4835-5490 International organization and associations
- 5511.2-6300 Promotion of peace. Peaceful change
- 6385-6405 The armed conflict. War and order
- 6422-6422.5 Neutrality. Non-participation in wars. Norms of neutrality.
- 6350 Humanitarian aspects of war
General Guides to Historical Literature
- Guide to American Foreign Relations Since 1700Richard Dean Burns, 1983 ed. (Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 1983).
[Beisner, above, is the second, much expanded and revised edition of this work]
Available in print: Dunbar Reference Z6465. U5 G84 1983 - Guide to the Diplomatic History of the United States, 1775-1921Samuel Flagg Bemis and Grace Gardner Griffin, eds., (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1935; Gloucester, MA: P. Smith, 1963).
- American Diplomatic History before 1900Norman A. Graebner, ed., (Arlington Heights: AHM Publishing, 1978).
Available in print: Dunbar Reference E183.7 .A1 G7 1978
- SHAFR Guide OnlineA near-comprehensive, 2.1 million-word online annotated bibliography of historical work covering the entire span of U.S. foreign relations. It aims to jump-start the research of both students from undergraduate to graduate school as well as the most advanced scholars.
Chronologies
- Chronological History of United States Foreign RelationsLester H. Brune and Richard Dean Burns, eds., 2nd Edition, (New York: Routledge, 2003).
Available in print: Dunbar Reference E183.7 .B745 2003. - The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval and Modern, Chronologically ArrangedPeter N. Stearns, ed., 6th Revised and Expanded Edition, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001).
Available in print: Dunbar Reference D21 .E578 2001 - Timelines of the 20th CenturyDavid Brownstone and Irene Franck, eds., (Boston: Little, Brown, 1996).
Available in print: Dunbar Reference D422 .B76 1996
Reference Histories
- The Cambridge History of American Foreign RelationsWarren I. Cohen, ed., New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Available in print: Dunbar 3rd floor: E183.7 .C24 1993 - The Cambridge History of British Foreign Policy, 1783-1919A.W. Ward and G.P. Gooch, eds., New York: Octagon Books, 1970.
Available in print: Dunbar 3rd floor: DA45 .W35 1970
Dictionaries, Encyclopaedias, Companions
- Encyclopedia of American Foreign PolicyAlexander DeConde, Richard Dean Burns, and Frederik Logevall, eds., 2nd Edition, (New York: Scribner, 2002).
Available online--please click the link above to connect.
Also available in print: Dunbar Reference E183.7 .E52 2002. - Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign RelationsBruce W. Jentleson and Thomas G. Paterson, eds., (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).
Available in print: Dunbar Reference E183.7 .E53 1997 - Encyclopedia of American Foreign PolicyDeConde, Alexander, Richard D. Burns, and Fredrik Logevall. 3 volumes (New York: Scribner, 2002).
Also available in print: Dunbar Reference E183.7 .E52 2002 - Encyclopedia of American Foreign PolicyGlenn Hastedt, ed., (New York: Facts on File, 2004).
Available in print: Dunbar Reference E183.7.H28 2004 - Dictionary of American HistoryJames Truslow Adams, ed, 3rd Revised Edition, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1976-1978)
Not available at on main campus. You can Request individual volumes for delivery to the Dunbar Library. - Dictionary of American HistoryStanley I. Kutler, ed., 3rd Edition, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003).
Noteworthy because there is a part on “Global America.”
Available online. Click on the title to connect. - Dictionary of American Diplomatic HistoryJohn E. Findling, ed. 2nd Edition, revised and expanded, (New York: Greenwood Press, 1989).
Available in print: Dunbar Reference E183.7 .F5 1989 - A Dictionary of DiplomacyG.R. Berridge and Alan James, eds., 2nd Edition, (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).
Available online. Click on the title to connect.
Also available in print: Dunbar Reference JZ1405 .B47 2003 - Longman Companion to America, Russia and the Cold War, 1941-1998John W. Young, ed., 2nd Edition, (New York: Longman, 1999)
Available in print: Dunbar Reference D840.Y68 1999 - The Cold War EncyclopediaThomas Parrish, (New York: Henry Holt, 1996)
Available in print: Dunbar Reference D840 .P28 1996 - Encyclopedia of the Cold WarThomas S. Arms, ed., (New York: Facts on File, 1994)
Available in print: Dunbar Reference D843 .A668 1994 - The Cold War : the definitive encyclopedia and document collectionSpencer C. Tucker, ed., (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2020)
Available online. Click the title to connect.
Biographical Sources
- The Diplomats, 1919-1939Gordon Craig and Felix Gilbert, eds., (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953)
Available in print: Dunbar 3rd Floor D727 .C7 - The Diplomats, 1939-1979Gordon Craig and Francis L. Lowenheim, eds., (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994).
Available in print: Dunbar 3rd Floor D843 .D544 1994 - American National BiographyJohn A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes, eds., 24 volumes, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999 + 2002 supplement).
Available in print: Dunbar Reference CT213 .A68 1999 - Oxford Dictionary of National BiographyGeorge Smith, Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney Lee, eds., (London: Oxford University Press, 1921--)
Available online.
Atlases
- The Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of the Cold WarJohn Swift, (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003)
Available online. - Atlas of American HistoryKenneth T. Jackson, Revised Edition, (New York: Scribner’s, 1978)
Available in print: Dunbar Reference G1201 .S1 J3 1978 - The Routledge Atlas of American HistoryMartin Gilbert (London ; New York : Routledge, 2003)
Available in print: Dunbar Reference G1201.S1 G53 2003 - Times Atlas of World HistoryGeoffrey Barraclough, 4th Edition, edited by Geoffrey Parker, (Maplewood, NJ: Hammond, Inc, 1993)
Available in print: Dunbar Ref Atlases G1030 .T54 1993 - World History AtlasJeremy Black, ed., (New York: Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 2005)
Available in print: Dunbar Ref Atlases G1030 .W67 2005
Periodicals
In order to get to these online academic journals click on the link, then click on the link in the middle of the screen that says "Full text available." You will be sent to a page that gives the option(s) for getting to the journal online. Pay attention to the dates covered in order to view the articles you need. Please note that the word "embargo" means there is a delay in the online version of the journal; e.g., a 6 month embargo means that the most recent 6 months' worth of issues are not available online.
Diplomatic History
Journal of Military History
Journal of the Early Republic
Diplomacy and Statecraft
Cold War History
International Security
Journal of Cold War Studies
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Policy
In addition, you may wish to consult the leading national newspapers and popular periodicals for coverage of a particular topic. Major newspapers and periodicals would include The Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Time, U.S. News, and other, more specialized journals as Business Week or Aviation Week & Space Technology. Most of these titles are available from the following databases from approximately the late 1970s/early 1980s to the present:
Factiva -- Limited to only 5 people using it at a time (if you can't get in, try later). More than 10,000 sources from 152 countries in 22 languages, including more than 120 continuously updated newswires including the exclusive combination of Dow Jones, Reuters, and The Associated Press. All articles full text; updated daily.
The library also subscribes to online historical collections of The New York Times and The Times [of London]. See Online Historical Newspapers.
For more information about how to locate newspapers, see the "Newspapers as Primary Sources" subtab under "Primary Sources" in this guide.
Statistical Sources
- America: History & Life This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive bibliography of articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Use with Historical Abstracts. Full-text may be available via Find-It.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Indexes journals, books and dissertations on world history (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present. Use with America History and Life. Full-text may be available via Find-It.
- International Historical Statistics: Europe, 1750-2000B.R. Mitchell, 5th Edition, (New York:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).
Note that there are similar volumes for other regions of the world in the same series.
Available in print: Dunbar Reference HA1107 .H5 2003.
Dissertations
- Dissertations & Theses: A&I This link opens in a new window
DTA&I, also known as Dissertation Abstracts, provides citations to doctoral dissertations and masters theses from North American institutions published since 1861 and European universities since 1988.
- Directory of Dissertations in Progress, American Historical AssociationProvided by the American Historical Association.
Click on title to access.
Primary Sources
From the U.S. Department of State, the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. [Browse the series by title (with dates) in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Digital Collections].
Some Declassified Document Collections
The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (from the LoC)
U.S. Overseas Loans and Grants (Greenbook) from 1946 - present (from USAID)
Librarian's Note: For more information about the various formats of primary sources and how to locate them, see the "Primary Sources" tab. You might also consider newspaper articles published during the time period you are studying. See the "Newspapers as Primary Sources" subtab for options.
- Presidential Documents - Federal Depository Library ProgramThis guide contains information related to the Office of the President of the United States.
Indices and Abstracts
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR contains the complete digitized backfile of core scholarly journals from a broad range of academic disciplines.
These four indices below are available through the Databases tab on the Dunbar Library home page.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Get full-text access to magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals in the sciences, social sciences, business, education, and the humanities. Full-text may be available via Find-It. Useful place to begin broad searches for general topics.
- America: History & Life This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive bibliography of articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Use with Historical Abstracts. Full-text may be available via Find-It.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Indexes journals, books and dissertations on world history (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present. Use with America History and Life. Full-text may be available via Find-It.
- Index to United States Document Relating to Foreign Affairs, 1828-1861Adelaide R. Hasse, ed., (Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1914). 3 vol. Online through Hathi Trust
Vol. 1 (Part I): A-H
Vol. 2 (Part II): I -Q
Vol. 3 (Part III): R-Z
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