Office of the Historian

Sources

Sources for Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, Volume IV

The Carter Library is the best source of high-level decision making documentation for U.S. national security policy from 1977 to 1980. A number of collections within the National Security Affairs files are particularly relevant in this regard. Within the Brzezinski Material, the Subject File contains documentation on strategic modernization, nuclear doctrine, arms control, missile warnings incidents, and the defense budget. A separate collection, Brzezinski Donated Material, contains additional documentation on nuclear doctrine and overall national security strategy. Within National Security Affairs, Staff Material are key documents pertaining to defense and security produced by Fritz Ermarth, Samuel Huntington, William Odom, Victor Utgoff, and Jasper Welch in response to Presidential Review Memorandum 10, “Comprehensive Net Assessment and Military Force Posture Review,” which President Carter signed on February 18, 1977. The National Security Council Institutional Files, which are also at the Carter Library, contain the minutes and preparatory staff work for meetings in advance of Presidential Directive 18, “U.S. National Strategy,” which President Carter signed on August 24, 1977, and Presidential Directive 59, “Nuclear Weapons Employment Policy,” which President Carter signed on July 25, 1980.

List of Sources

In addition to the paper files cited below, a growing number of documents are available on the Internet. The Office of the Historian maintains a list of these Internet resources on its website and encourages readers to consult that site on a regular basis.

  • Unpublished Sources

    • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
      • RG 59
        • Office of the Executive Secretariat, Official Working Papers of S/P Director Anthony Lake, 1977–January 1981, Lot 82D298
    • Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, Atlanta, Georgia
      • National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material
        • Agency File
        • Brzezinski Office File
        • Country File
        • General Odom File
        • Subject File
      • National Security Affairs, Staff Material
        • Defense/Security
        • Deputy File
        • Europe, USSR, and East/West
        • Office File
      • National Security Council
        • Institutional Files
      • Papers of Walter F. Mondale
      • President’s Files
        • Plains File
        • Presidential Handwriting File
      • Presidential Materials, President’s Daily Diary
      • Zbigniew Brzezinski Donated Material
    • Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California
      • National Security Council, Intelligence Directorate Files
    • Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Virginia
      • Electronic Reading Room
      • History Staff Files
    • Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
      • Harold Brown Papers

  • Published Sources

    • Keefer, Edward. Harold Brown: Offsetting the Soviet Military Challenge, 1977–1981, Washington: Government Printing Office, 2017.
    • United States. Department of State. Department of State Bulletin, 1977–1980.
    • United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Jimmy Carter, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980–1981, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1977–1982.