Office of the Historian

Sources

Sources for Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, Part 2, Sub-Saharan Africa

The files at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta, Georgia, are the single most important source of documentation for those interested in the Carter administration’s policy toward Africa. In particular, the NSC Institutional Files (also known as the H-Files) provide the minutes and summaries of key meetings among the principals as they debated U.S. policy toward Africa. The editor also had access to the Carter Intelligence Files at the National Security Council and files at the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense.

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Unpublished Sources

  • Department of State
    • Central Foreign Policy Files. These files have been transferred or will be transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland.
    • Lot Files. These files have been transferred or will be transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland.
      • Bureau of African Affairs Desk Files: Lot 80D85
      • Secretary of State Cyrus Vance 1977–1980 Lot File: Lot 84D241
      • National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland
        • RG 59, General Records of the Department of State
          • Central Foreign Policy Files
          • Entry 9 (Policy Planning Staff, Office of the Director), Records of Anthony Lake, 1977–1981
          • Entry P-10, Subject Files of Edmund S. Muskie, 1963–1981
      • Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, Atlanta, Georgia
        • Brzezinski Donated Material
        • Donated Material, Mondale Papers
        • National Security Affairs
          • Brzezinski Material
            • Agency File
            • Country File
            • General Odom File
            • President’s Correspondence With Foreign Leaders File
            • Staff Evening Reports
            • Subject File
            • Trip File
            • VIP Visit File
          • Staff Material
            • Defense/Security (Ermarth)
            • North/South
            • Office
        • National Security Council
          • NSC Institutional Files
        • Plains File
          • Subject File
        • Presidential Materials
          • President’s Daily Diary
    • Central Intelligence Agency
      • History Staff Files
    • Library of Congress, Manuscript Division
      • Papers of Harold Brown
    • National Security Council
      • Carter Administration Intelligence Files
    • Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland
      • RG 330, Records of the Department of Defense
        • OSD Files: FRC 330-80-0017
          • Secret Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1977
        • OSD Files: FRC 330-80-0016
          • Top Secret Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1977
        • OSD Files: FRC 330-81-0202
          • Secret Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1978
        • OSD Files: FRC 330-81-0212
          • Top Secret Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1978
        • OSD Files: FRC 330-82-0205
          • Secret Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1979 and 1980

    Selected Published Sources

    • Brzezinski, Zbigniew. Power and Principle: Memoirs of the National Security Adviser, 1977–1981. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1983.
    • Congress and the Nation, 1977–1980. Vol. V. Washington: Congressional Quarterly, 1981.
    • Carter, Jimmy. Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1982.
    • National Archives and Records Administration.
    • Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Jimmy Carter, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980–81
    • United Nations. Yearbook of the United Nations. New York: Office of Public Information, 1972–1980.
    • U.S. Department of State Bulletin
    • Vance, Cyrus. Hard Choices: Critical Years in America’s Foreign Policy. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983.