United States Official Records on the Armenian Genocide 1915-1917

As co-chairs of the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, we welcome the publication of this comprehensive collection of U.S. documents from the National Archives and the Library of Congress on the Armenian Genocide. This valuable publication includes the "core materials" that informed U.S. officials in Washington, D.C. about the senseless mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. Recipients of this information included Secretaries of State William Jennings Bryan and Robert Lansing, as well as President Woodrow Wilson. The documents in this book provide a first-hand look at the efforts of U.S. consuls and the American Ambassador in Constantinople to engage the U.S. government in ending the systematic destruction of the Armenian people. Sadly, these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, the massacres continued, and most Armenians perished as a result. However, the information in these documents did spark an unprecedented American humanitarian campaign that, in many ways, marked the entry of the U.S. on the world stage as a humanitarian power. The State Department indirectly helped fund raising efforts in the United States by leaking consular information about the Armenian Genocide to the American public. Additionally, U.S. consulates were used to channel aid into the Ottoman provinces and disburse it through American and other missionaries, while providing shelter to hundreds of Armenians throughout this period. The formation of Near East Relief by an Act of Congress was a direct result of this effort. Armenians may never have recovered from their losses between 1915 and 1923 were it not for the support they received from the United States. We are proud to say that America's commitment to the Armenian people continues today. As Chairmen of the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, we are proud to represent the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who share this commitment and are working to secure official U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide. It is our hope that this publication will help educate America's leaders and the general public about the Armenian Genocide and the need for the U.S. Congress to enact legislation that recognizes this tragedy as genocide. Finally, we must ensure that the lessons learned from this tragedy are used to prevent future genocides. Congressmen Frank Pallone, Jr. and Joseph Knollenberg U.S. House of Representatives Co-Chairs, Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Washington, D.C., March 2004