ABSTRACT
Britain and the United States have a long and creditable history regarding the opening of their records on foreign relations. During the French revolutionary wars, and on into the mid-nineteenth century, the British and American governments frequently released statements and documents setting forth their policies in international matters, and in the 1870s the United States began publication of a series of documentary volumes, Foreign Relations of the United States (continuing to this day) which set a high standard of diplomatic openness.
