Guides: Security Studies: Government Documents

Core Resources

ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Congressional is the primary source for electronic government documents such as hearings, committee prints, CRS reports, legislative histories, the Congressional Record, federal regulations, and the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. Many documents are in full text and cover the years 1789 to the present; others are citations that are available in full text in print or microform in the library.
HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
One of the premier sources for legal and political information. Full-text law journals are a major part of the database, but HeinOnline also includes deep historical collections of U.S. federal government documents.
Titles digitized include the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, bills and public laws in the Statutes at Large, the United States Code, the Code of Federal Regulations, selected legislative histories, Supreme Court documents, Presidential documents, and more. Search the Sources of Compiled Legislative History database by Public Law or Bill number, from the 37th to the 107th Congress. The U.S. Federal Legislative History Title Collection has full text legislative histories on significant legislation in banking, civil rights, labor, digital rights, the USA PATRIOT act, and other selected laws.
GovInfo This link opens in a new window
GovInfo replaces the Federal Digital System (FDsys) and is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO). It provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government, such as the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, the Congressional Record, Congressional bills, Congressional hearings and reports, and laws.
Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Electronic documents made available by the Dudley Knox Library at the Naval Postgraduate School, searchable by keyword or by topic, including general U.S. policy documents, national strategy documents, theses and research papers from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security and the Naval Postgraduate School, and homeland security executive orders. Also includes notices of events and conferences pertaining to homeland security, and news items drawn from various news sources.
Security Issues Online This link opens in a new window
Security Studies Online is organized around major themes related to security, including terrorism and counter-terrorism, conflicts and resolution, nuclear threats and weapons, and transnational organized crime. Historical background is offered on key worldwide events, such as the U-2 incident (1960), the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979), and the 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001). Featured in the collection are video, images, and scholarly text, including works published by Cambridge University Press and Cornell University Press.
The collection provides primary and secondary materials across multiple media formats and content types for each selected event, including Iran (1940s to the Present), 1960 U-2 Incident, World War II and Intelligence, Cold War: The Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1961-1962, and more.

Declassified Materials

U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to post- World War II papers from the CIA, the FBI and many other agencies, which have been gathered from presidential libraries. Major domestic and international events of the post-World War II world are covered, including the Cold War, Vietnam, foreign policy shifts, and the civil rights movement. Documents display in a digital facsimile format or ASCII text.
Digital National Security Archive (DNSA) This link opens in a new window
This resource may contain content still classified by the United States Government. Individuals holding security clearances use at their own risk.
A full-text database of over 50 core collections of primary documents acquired by the George Washington University based National Security Archive. The collection has been acquired through extensive use of FOIA. Each core collection is focused on one topic, e.g. Iran-Contra, Terrorism and U.S. Policy. Each topical collection includes diverse policy documents supplemented by contextual and reference material on chronology, glossary and bibliography.

National Security Archive at GWU
An independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The Archive 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. (See Digital National Security Archive for digitized documents).
Wilson Center Digital Archive
The Digital Archive contains once-secret documents from governments all across the globe, uncovering new sources and providing fresh insights into the history of international relations and diplomacy.