When Ulric Haynes joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1964 as the desk officer for Southwest Africa, the United States…
Breaking Institutional Barriers: How the State Department Became Less of a Boys’ Club
In the 1960s, the U.S. was still grappling with its new role as a world leader. For nearly two decades,…
The Iran Hostage Crisis: Diplomatic Drama and Legal Innovation
Next to Pearl Harbor and 9/11, the Iranian seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 and…
Students
Welcome Students! We’ve prepared this page for you so finding our resources, learning how to use and cite them, and…
A Look Back—First Director of the Population, Refugees, and Migrations Bureau
The Biden administration nominated Ambassador Julieta Valls Noyes to serve as assistant secretary of state for the department’s Bureau of…
Modern American Diplomacy
The Modern American Diplomacy Podcast, produced by ADST and supported by the Foundation, provides in-depth stories and personal experiences to…
Assistant Secretary of State Barbara M. Watson: First Black and Female Pioneer in Consular Affairs
Barbara M. Watson was the first black person and woman to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for Security and…
Looking through the American Lens: Photography USA Exhibit in the Soviet Union
During the prolonged years of the Cold War, USIA [United States Information Agency] executed over a dozen exhibits highlighting components…
A Precursor to the Downfall: Living Through Soviet Perestroika and Glasnost
The international community hoped great changes would come to the Soviet Union after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in March…
Justice and Equality: Stories of Progress and Personal Diplomacy in the State Department
As we renew conversations in the United States about what liberty and justice for all truly looks like, we must…