“The Government continually depends upon the support of Congress and the People, and that support can be expected only in the condition of keeping them thoroughly and truthfully informed of the manner in which the powers derived from them are executed.”—William H. Seward to Charles F. Adams, March 2, 1864

“The Chief of the Division of Publications is charged with the preparation for this purpose, as soon as practicable after the close of each year, of the correspondence relating to all major policies and decisions of the Department in the matter of foreign relations. . . . It is expected that the material thus assembled, aside from the omission of trivial and inconsequential details, will be substantially complete as regards the files of the Department.”—Frank B. Kellogg, “Principles to Guide the Editing of ‘Foreign Relations,’” March 26, 1925

“The Department of State shall continue to publish the Foreign Relations of the United States historical series . . . which shall be a thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of major United States foreign policy decisions and significant United States diplomatic activity. Volumes of this publication shall include records needed to provide a comprehensive documentation of the major foreign policy decisions and actions of the United States Government. . . .”—Public Law 102–138, Title IV, Section 401, October 28, 1991