Cold War Era Agencies

Records of the Agency for International Development (RG 286)

This agency was established in November 1961 to administer the nonmilitary U.S. foreign assistance programs. Records of predecessor agencies are in RG 469. The records include files from headquarters regional and functional offices as well as United states Overseas Missions (USOMs). While the majority of the records in this record group are dated after 1961, the files may contain some documentation predecessor organizations.

AID did not maintain a central filing system. Instead, each operating bureau or office maintained its own records, often using a filing scheme similar to that used by the Department of State. Using published sources such as agency reports and telephone books, organization manuals, and references in the records, researchers must identify the office or offices that dealt with the subject of research in order to locate documentation of interest.

You can search ARC for entries from RG 286 or see a description in the Guide to Federal Records.

Foreign Affairs >