LibGuides: Primary Sources : U.S. Declassified Documents Online

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U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
Access government documents covering major policy issues from before World War II into the twenty-first century.

About U.S. Declassified Documents Online

U.S. Declassified Documents Online is a comprehensive compilation of declassified documents from presidential libraries, the Department of State, Department of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United Nations, National Security Council, and other executive agencies. The date range covered is 1900 to 2008.

Research Tools

Classification Types Explained
definitions of different security levels for classified documents
more...less...
"To get the most out of U.S. Declassified Documents Online,
it is helpful to understand generally how the federal
government has handled classified materials. There are
three basic levels of classification for national security
information: confidential, secret, and top secret."

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govinfo This link opens in a new window
Provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications This link opens in a new window
The CGP is the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive information for historical and current publications as well as direct links to the full document, when available.
Users can search by authoring agency, title, subject, and general keywords, or click on "Advanced Search" for more options.
Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new window
The Homeland Security Digital Library is composed of homeland security related documents collected from a wide variety of sources.
These include federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies, professional organizations, think tanks, academic institutions, and international governing bodies. Resources are carefully selected and evaluated by a team of librarians and subject-matter specialists.
Indigenous Governance Database This link opens in a new window
The free database from the Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona features online educational and informational resources on tribal self-governance and tribal policy reform.