A treaty is an agreement 1) between two or more countries, 2) between international agencies that have been given treaty-making power by the states, such as the United Nations, and (3) that is intended to establish a relationship governed by international law. The treaty may also be called a convention, covenant, agreement, pact, accord, protocol, arrangement, declaration, character, act, statute, modus vivendi, process-verbal, or concordat. Treaties are negotiated and ratified by the president, but he must obtain the "advice and consent" of the Senate. Any treaty which has been submitted for U.S. Senate consideration can be traced through the usual Government Document indexes (available as Senate Executive Documents and later as Senate Treaty Documents 1977-; Senate Executive Reports, 1977 -, recommend that a treaty be approved.)
For Native American aggreements see the Treaties and Agreements box in the Domestic and Foreign Affairs tab in the Early American Doucmnents guide
American Diplomacy 1778 to the Present: Bilateral Treaties and Agreements from the Avalon Project, Yale Law School
American Diplomacy Multilateral Treaties and Agreements from the Avalon Project, Yale Law School
The United Nations Treaty Collection - includes United Nations Treaty Series and Multilateral Treaties deposited with the Secretary General; 1946-
Law Library of Congress: Collections of Multi-national Conventions The Fletcher 'Multinationals Project' - includes agreements from 1899-, offers the world's most complete collection of intellectual property agreements
Inter-American Treaties - approved within the framework of the OAS (Organization of American States
Native American Treaties and National Indian Law Library - federal and tribal info; current and some historical documents; Tribal Codes and constitutions
Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators (ENTRI) - provides a fast, comprehensive, and convenient way to find information about environmental treaties and national resource indicators
Treaties in Force, A List of Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States in Force, January 1, 2004 State Department
United States Treaty Index, 1776-1990 Consolidation. Location: Docs. S 9.12:
This cumulative index allows access to treaties by subject, country, chronologically, and numerically. The numerical listing is called the "Master Guide" and is the source for the most complete information on the treaty. It includes title, history of earlier related treaties, and citations to source of text. It may include references to discussions of the treaty in government and private sources. If you use the Subject or Country Indexes, be sure to refer to the complete information in the Master Guide.
If the treaty you want is dated earlier than 1950, use Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949 (see entry below). If the treaty is dated 1950 and later, use United States Treaties and Other International Acts (see entry below). For the latest treaties in this official series, use the current individually published treaties at the end of the bound set.
Current Treaty Index. Quarterly. 1990-99. Location: Docs. S 9.12:
The current issue indexes all treaties 1990-99. Index access is the same as the cumulative index above. Each issue has a table in the beginning, which gives the newly assigned TIAS numbers for the temporary KAV numbers (we don’t have the microfiche collection with pre-publication KAV numbers.) Treaties not yet published are available at U.N. Treaty Collection Web site. If the treaty has a TIAS number, look for it in the published current treaties at the end of the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements bound volumes (see entry below).
Treaties in Force. Annual. 1955- ; Location: S 9.14:
This annual publication provides information on treaties and other international agreement to which the United States has become a party and which are carried on the records of the Department of State as being in force as of January 1 of each year.
Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949. Location: Docs. S 9.12: vol. 1-13.
This collection of treaties was edited by Charles I. Bevans, and is referred to as "Bevans". The index provides country or subject access and gives the vol. and page in this set where the treaty appears. Treaties for this period of time can also be found in the United States Statutes at Large, Location: Docs. AE 2.111, in a microfiche cabinet and online.
United States Treaties and Other International Agreements. 1950 -. Location: Docs. S 9.12: vol.1 -.
Treaties are arranged in this series by TIAS number, the number assigned by the State Department when they are published. Current unbound treaties in this series are found after the bound volumes. These individual treaties will eventually be included in a bound volume.
Treaty Information Bulletin. June, 1931 – June, 1939. Location: Docs. S 9.7: no.
Contains the same type of information found in the Dept. of State Bulletin (below).
Department of State Bulletin, 1939-1989. Shelved in Periodicals.
A monthly publication that includes addresses, news conferences, statements, press releases, presidential proclamations, treaty and agreement information, and other features.
Dispatch, Sept. and https://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/index.html|online 1993-99]. continue with the same information as the Dept. of State Bulletin.
See the Congressional Record for debate. Use appropriate indexes to congressional documents, reports, and hearings on treaty issues (see handout “Congressional Documents and Tracing Legislation). Senate Executive Documents and Senate Treaty Documents for treaties are submitted to the Senate for approval. Recommendations for treaty approval appear in Senate Executive Reports. The President’s ratification of treaties appear in Presidential Papers (Docs. AE 2.114) and/or Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents1993+, (Docs. AE 2.109) and Public Papers of the Presidents of the US 1992+