This history from the U.S. Department of State relates the influence that John Foster Dulles, Eisenhower's Secretary of State, had on Eisenhower's Cold War policies.

The Executive Abroad maps the international trips of presidents and secretaries of state. Interactive allows the user to select a President or Secretary of State to map their travels and see the frequency of visits to each geopolitical...

Here is the note submitted by Secretary of State John Hay in September, 1899, which outlined the United States' Open Door policy toward China.

Read the note Secretary of State John Hay sent to Andrew White, ambassador to Germany, spelling out the United States' position on keeping trade with China open despite the claims of European countries to various ports in China.

This resource from the Maine Department of the Secretary of State contains famous people, historic and recent, from Maine. Included are political figures, people in arts and literature, sports, entertainment, and entrepreneurs.

See the "long telegram" sent by George Kennan to Secretary of State George Marshall in which he expressed his unflattering view of the USSR.

Relates the life story of former Secretary of the State, Henry Kissinger who played a very powerful role in the Nixon and Ford administrations. For his work as a peace negotiator he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1973.

Provides the text to the address given by U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles before the Associated Press on April 22, 1957.

Ushistory.org provides this biography of Edmund Randolph includes highlights of his political career and his role during the Constitutional Convention. Randolph went on to serve as Secretary of State.

This site from the Library of Congress provides a very brief biography of U.S. Secretary of State from 1898-1905, John Milton Hay. Includes some photographs.

This essay by two foreign policy scholars gives background to the concept that the United States did not really become isolationist after World War I.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read primary source documents to solve a problem surrounding a historical question. In this inquiry lesson plan, two letters to George Washington allow students to consider the competing...

Examines the causes of the Cold War, America's efforts to oppose the spread of Communism, and the hunt for Communist sympathizers within the United States.

A canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans had been the dream of several countires for years. Read about how the United States supported Panama's breakaway from Colombia in order to gain access to the isthmus of Panama, the final...

This site contains a detailed biography of John Quincy Adams. From the right-hand toolbar, select information about his life before and after his presidency, his campaigns and elections, and his domestic and foreign affairs. Also, you...

The Library of Congress presents this fascinating site on John Adams. Contains short paragraphs, portraits, and a photo of the 1819 Treaty with Spain.

This four-page review of the campaign and election of 1892 includes a review of Benjamin Harrison's term in office from 1888-1892, the controversy in determining a presidential candidate, and the presence of a possibly viable third-party...

In early 2021, Deb Haaland was sworn in as the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, making her the first Native American cabinet secretary in the history of the United States. A tribal member of the Laguna Pueblo, she was...

By 1837, the Texas needed new ships, as the first ships were either "wrecked, captured, or seized by creditors." Learn how the second navy was formed by reading primary texts from this time in Texas' history: "S. Rhodes Fisher, the...

Known as the "Financier of the Revolution," Robert Morris played a critical role in winning and securing American independence. As chairman of the Continental Congress's Finance Committee between 1775 and 1778, Morris traded flour and...

This essay gives a background to understand the controversy surrounding the creation of a central bank in the United States.

This is a request from then Under Secretary of State Bowles to reconsider the covert action resulting in the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Companion website to the PBS documentary on Jesse H. Jones, real estate mogul, activist for the Red Cross, head of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and Secretary of Commerce. Read about how he served his nation under President...

This site is a biography of Colin Powell. It includes a transcript of an interview with General Colin Powell.