GB 0099 KCLMA MF 422-426; MF 548-552; MF 438-440 - Microform: Minutes of Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0099 KCLMA MF 422-426; MF 548-552; MF 438-440

Title

Microform: Minutes of Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement

Date(s)

  • 1947-1956, 1988 (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

11 reels

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

The National Security Act of 1947 and the Reorganization Plan of 1949 defined the composition and function of the National Security Council (NSC). Chaired by the President of the United States, the NSC consists of statutory members (the Vice President and the Secretaries of State and Defense), statutory advisers (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency), the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and professional staff members who are on temporary assignment from the armed forces, the Central Intelligence Agency, elsewhere in the government, or who have been recruited from universities and think tanks. The statutory function of the NSC is to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security. Since 1947 the NSC has evolved as a key foreign policy making arm of the president. Minutes of the Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement contains three separate types of materials: minutes of meetings, document associated with such meetings, and summaries and discussions held during the meetings. This collection relates to a period during the administrations of Presidents Harry S Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower (1947-1956), during which the National Security Council (NSC) met on a regular weekly basis. The NSC met more frequently during times of foreign crisis, less frequently when the president was travelling or pre- occupied with domestic issues. During the administrations of Harry S Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower, the NSC produced a series of formal policy papers whose purpose it was to analyse current and potential national security issues and make policy recommendations to deal with those issues. These policy papers were prepared by the NSC staff and occasionally by members of the NSC in response to requests by the NSC to study specific issues. When completed, these policy papers (NSCPP) were distributed to the NSC for study and comment. If the NSC decided to alter a policy paper, a revised draft would be produced. Once approved, the paper became the official (and usually secret) policy of the United States government. In contrast to Truman and Eisenhower, Presidents John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson held few NSC meetings, relying less on the formally structured NSC and more on ad hoc committees to discuss national security policy.

Archival history

GB 0099 KCLMA MF 422-426; MF 548-552; MF 438-440 1947-1956, 1988 Collection (fonds) 11 reels US National Security Council
The National Security Act of 1947 and the Reorganization Plan of 1949 defined the composition and function of the National Security Council (NSC). Chaired by the President of the United States, the NSC consists of statutory members (the Vice President and the Secretaries of State and Defense), statutory advisers (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency), the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and professional staff members who are on temporary assignment from the armed forces, the Central Intelligence Agency, elsewhere in the government, or who have been recruited from universities and think tanks. The statutory function of the NSC is to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security. Since 1947 the NSC has evolved as a key foreign policy making arm of the president. Minutes of the Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement contains three separate types of materials: minutes of meetings, document associated with such meetings, and summaries and discussions held during the meetings. This collection relates to a period during the administrations of Presidents Harry S Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower (1947-1956), during which the National Security Council (NSC) met on a regular weekly basis. The NSC met more frequently during times of foreign crisis, less frequently when the president was travelling or pre- occupied with domestic issues. During the administrations of Harry S Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower, the NSC produced a series of formal policy papers whose purpose it was to analyse current and potential national security issues and make policy recommendations to deal with those issues. These policy papers were prepared by the NSC staff and occasionally by members of the NSC in response to requests by the NSC to study specific issues. When completed, these policy papers (NSCPP) were distributed to the NSC for study and comment. If the NSC decided to alter a policy paper, a revised draft would be produced. Once approved, the paper became the official (and usually secret) policy of the United States government. In contrast to Truman and Eisenhower, Presidents John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson held few NSC meetings, relying less on the formally structured NSC and more on ad hoc committees to discuss national security policy.

University Publications of America, Inc., Bethesda, MD, with published fully indexed guides edited by Paul Kesaris

Minutes of the Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement are microfilmed copies of minutes of meetings, official meeting files and supporting documentation, and detailed records relating to meeting of the National Security Council, 1947-1956. Document material relates to policies and procedures governing the National Security Council, 1947; initial directives to the Central Intelligence Agency, 1947; the US political position concerning Italy, Greece, China, and Palestine, 1947; US policy with respect to the Republic of Korea, 1948-53; conversations with the British in regard to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, 1948; US position with respect to perceptions of Soviet-directed world communism, 1948-55; the dispatch of US B-29 bombers to Great Britain, 1948; US policy on atomic and nuclear warfare, 1948-55; possible Soviet interruptions to the Berlin air-lift, 1948; organisation under the Atlantic Pact and the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), 1949; the re- armament of the Federal Republic of West Germany, 1950; the position of the US with respect to Indochina, 1951-55; the death of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, President of the Soviet Council of Ministers and General Secretary, Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1953; the Mutual Security Program, 1953; US objectives with respect to Indonesia, 1953; US objectives in the event of a general war with the Soviet bloc, 1954; overseas reaction to the Atomic Energy Commission, 1955; US policy towards the People's Republic of China, Formosa and the government of the Republic of China, 1955

Material in the collection is arranged into the following sections: 'Minutes of Meetings' contains the official records used for referencing NSC meetings; 'Documents' are the official meeting files of the NSC and consists of minutes of meetings and associated documentation, the latter of which includes agenda, memoranda, and briefing reports; 'Summaries of Discussions' are detailed records of NSC meetings under the Eisenhower administration, written by the Deputy Secretary of the NSC, S Everett Gleason. The summaries were for Eisenhower's personal use and are not part of the official documentation kept by the NSC. Each section is arranged chronologically therein

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be provided for research use only. Enquiries concerning the copyright of the original material should be addressed to University Publications of America, Inc., 4520 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD, 20814-3389, USA
English

Summary guide available on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/top.htm, and in hard copy in the Centre's reading room, Paul Kesaris (ed.), Minutes of the Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement (University Publications of America,Inc, Bethesda, MD, 1988).

Date of compilation:Jul 1999 Alliances Americas Arms control Caribbean Central government China Collectivism Communism Disarmament Dutch East Indies East Asia Eastern Europe East West relations Eisenhower , Dwight David "Ike" , 1890-1969 , General , President of the United States Europe Foreign relations Germany Government Government departments Greece Indonesia International conflicts International relations Italy Johnson , Lyndon Baines , 1908-1973 , US President Kennedy , John Fitzgerald , 1917-1963 , US President Korean War (1950-1953) Middle East Military engineering Military equipment National Security Council NATO , North Atlantic Treaty Organization x North Atlantic Treaty Organization North America Nuclear warfare Nuclear weapons Palestine Peace Political doctrines Public administration South East Asia Stalin , Joseph Vissarionovich , 1879-1953 , Prime Minister of the USSR x Dzhugashvili , Joseph Taiwan Truman , Harry S , 1884-1972 , US President UK USA US Central Intelligence Agency x CIA US Government departments USSR Vietnam War (1945-1975) War Warfare Weapons Western Europe Wars (events) London England Equipment

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

University Publications of America, Inc., Bethesda, MD, with published fully indexed guides edited by Paul Kesaris

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Minutes of the Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement are microfilmed copies of minutes of meetings, official meeting files and supporting documentation, and detailed records relating to meeting of the National Security Council, 1947-1956. Document material relates to policies and procedures governing the National Security Council, 1947; initial directives to the Central Intelligence Agency, 1947; the US political position concerning Italy, Greece, China, and Palestine, 1947; US policy with respect to the Republic of Korea, 1948-53; conversations with the British in regard to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, 1948; US position with respect to perceptions of Soviet-directed world communism, 1948-55; the dispatch of US B-29 bombers to Great Britain, 1948; US policy on atomic and nuclear warfare, 1948-55; possible Soviet interruptions to the Berlin air-lift, 1948; organisation under the Atlantic Pact and the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), 1949; the re- armament of the Federal Republic of West Germany, 1950; the position of the US with respect to Indochina, 1951-55; the death of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, President of the Soviet Council of Ministers and General Secretary, Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1953; the Mutual Security Program, 1953; US objectives with respect to Indonesia, 1953; US objectives in the event of a general war with the Soviet bloc, 1954; overseas reaction to the Atomic Energy Commission, 1955; US policy towards the People's Republic of China, Formosa and the government of the Republic of China, 1955

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Material in the collection is arranged into the following sections: 'Minutes of Meetings' contains the official records used for referencing NSC meetings; 'Documents' are the official meeting files of the NSC and consists of minutes of meetings and associated documentation, the latter of which includes agenda, memoranda, and briefing reports; 'Summaries of Discussions' are detailed records of NSC meetings under the Eisenhower administration, written by the Deputy Secretary of the NSC, S Everett Gleason. The summaries were for Eisenhower's personal use and are not part of the official documentation kept by the NSC. Each section is arranged chronologically therein

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be provided for research use only. Enquiries concerning the copyright of the original material should be addressed to University Publications of America, Inc., 4520 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD, 20814-3389, USA

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Summary guide available on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/top.htm, and in hard copy in the Centre's reading room, Paul Kesaris (ed.), Minutes of the Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement (University Publications of America,Inc, Bethesda, MD, 1988).

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area