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U. S. Foreign Relations: State Department Bulletin

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U. S. State Department Bulletin/Department of State Dispatch

Published weekly from 1939-1989, the Department of State Bulletin provided news coverage of world events and analysis of government policy and international relations. It served as the official record of U.S. foreign policy for that 50-year time period. Regularly occurring features include “Traffic in Arms”; which indicates the character, value, and countries of destination of the arms, ammunition, and implements of war licensed for export by the Secretary of State during a certain year and month. Also in most issues there are articles about treaty information that the U.S. is a party or may become a party or treaties of general international interest. Aside from international relations the Department of State Bulletin also includes “The American Republics”, which are articles that deal with American relations across the nation. This could be anything from travel grants of professors and students to relations in the field of music.

Print copies of the Department of State Bulletin collection are located in Ellis Library (see MERLIN catalog record.) Indexing is presented at the back of each volume. Alternatively, the source is available in full text and fully keyword searchable through the database HeinOnline. Simply follow these easy steps:

  • Start on MU Libraries homepage
  • Click on the “Database” tab and type in the search box “HeinOnline”
  • Click on the “HeinOnline” hit
  • Once in the “Heinonline” database, click on “Law Journal Library”
  • Search for “Department of State Bulletin” or click "D" and scroll down to it
  • Click on the title to expand it and you will have an option to search through each individual year or search the whole publication for keywords.

In 1990, the title changed to Department of State Dispatch and it became a monthly publication. The Dispatch provided text of key speeches and testimony by senior State Department officials, as well as information on U.S. treaty actions. The Dispatch ceased with the December 1999 issue. Starting in 2000, all speeches, briefings, and testimony from State Department officials and new information on U.S. treaty actions began being published on the Department of State website.