Introduction

This Research Guide from the Hispanic Reading Room at the Library of Congress explores Brazil-United States relations through references to collection materials at the Library of Congress. The guide is divided into six main sections organized according to six distinct political eras in Brazil since its independence in 1822. Each section contains at least one subsection dedicated to a historical event or trend significant in the relations between the United States and Brazil during the period..

Every section and subsection of this guide provides an introductory text which examines general trends in Brazil and the United States and each country's relations with one another during that period or series of events. The key terms provided facilitate browsing the catalog and searching electronic materials at the Library of Congress on US-Brazil relations. Lists of Library materials organized by format can be found under each introductory text. The guide provides links to digitized versions of collection materials and annotations from the Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS) wherever possible.

The search terms below are meant to identify catalog subjects and Library of Congress collection items for general studies of Brazil-US relations from Brazil's independence in 1822 to the present day. Staff in the Hispanic Reading Room can provide access to these books at the Library of Congress every weekday between 8:30am-5:00pm EST. If you cannot visit the Library in person, please contact us using Ask a Librarian for assistance.

Key groups

Key subjects

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

Envisioning Brazil : a guide to Brazilian studies in the United States, 1945-2003 by Marshall C. Eakin (Editor); Paulo Roberto de Almeida (Editor)
Call Number: F2520.7 .E5813 2005
ISBN: 0299207706
Published/Created: 2005
"This is the most comprehensive guide of its kind ever attempted in the US. Seventeen US and Brazilian scholars cover a substantial variety of fields, encompassing unprecedented analyses and bibliographies. Of special interest to this section is the chapter on arts and music covered by José Neistein." Handbook of Latin American Studies, v.62, José Neistein
Hemispheric giants : the misunderstood history of U.S.-Brazilian relations by Britta H. Crandall
Call Number: E183.8.B7 C73 2011
ISBN: 9781442207875
Published/Created: 2011
"The author investigated the "roots of policy attention by the US government" to Brazil and the bilateral relationship by applying a "dual priorities" analytical framework. This model suggests that priority one is driven by the extent that the behavior of another country affects US core interests. Priority two poses the influence of lower level engagement of bureaucracies driving urgent issues. In order to test the model, the author reviews cases in three historical periods spanning from 1893 to the post-Cold War period. The general conclusion highlights a variation of the first "priority"; in the general absence of Brazilian challenges to US security interests, the bilateral relationship converges strongly when international issues find both countries in the same camp. As for the second priority, lower level-driven variable relations are intensely driving a state of normalcy or routine. This well-crafted analysis offers a significant contribution to the understanding of structural relations between the two countries." Thomaz Guedes da Costa, Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 69
Presença dos Estados Unidos no Brasil by Luiz Alberto Moniz Bandeira
Call Number: E183.8.B7 B36 2007
Published/Created: 2007
"This is the fourth edition of a classic work published initially in 1973. The author argues that US-Brazilian relations have been turbulent because of the effort of Washington to influence, if not dominate, Brazilian models of foreign relations and economics. Brazilian reactions to US pressures have caused bilateral tensions since World War II. Young scholars should read Moniz Bandeira to understand the perspective of this leading senior scholar who has been influential in the construction of Brazilian foreign policy under the Labor Party administrations." Thomaz Guedes Da Costa, Handbook of Latin American Studies, v.67.
Brazil and the United States : convergence and divergence by Joseph Smith
Call Number: E183.8.B7 S54 2010
Published/Created: 2010
"This historical analysis covers the overall relations between the two countries from the Empire period to Lula da Silva. This carefully crafted research effort includes a bibliographic essay and is rich in examples of bilateral interaction. The dichotomy proposed in the title is less manifest than the recurrent efforts of leaders, diplomats, and opinion-makers in both countries to shape bilateral collaboration and overcome discord. Overall, it sustains the perceptions and continued manifestations of mutual frustrations which result in the limited reach of diplomatic coordination and the rise of mistrust." Thomaz Guedes da Costa, Handbook of Latin American Studies, v.69
A bibliography of United States-Latin American relations since 1810; a selected list of eleven thousand published references by David F. Trask, Michael C. Meyer [and] Roger R. Trask.
Call Number: Z6465.L29 T7
Published/Created: [1968]

The United States and Brazil: Expanding Frontiers, Comparing Cultures

Veterans History Project
The Veterans History Project (VHP) of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand narratives of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. Since 2000, VHP has preserved thousands of individual veterans’ collections, which offer users an unparalleled archive of primary source material.
Global Legal Monitor (Library of Congress)
The Global Legal Monitor is an online publication from the Law Library of Congress covering legal news and developments worldwide. It is updated frequently and draws on information from official national legal publications and reliable press sources. You can find previous news by searching the Global Legal Monitor.

Below are select digitized images from the Library of Congress's collections. To explore more of the Library's visual materials on Brazil-US relations, please visit the Library's Prints & Photographs Catalog or browse the following collections:

Archive of Hispanic Culture (Library of Congress)
Call Number: Guide Record (Filing series: ARC HISP CUL)
Published/Created: 1880-1947
Archive is comprised primarily of photographic prints documenting the architecture, facilities, fine arts and material culture, industry, people, social life and customs, and the environment of Latin America. The built environment is represented by views of religious, government, and domestic buildings, as well as street and waterfront views, including aerial views of metropolitan areas. People are depicted engaged in events such as dances and carnivals, religious and civic processions, in employment and domestic activities, and through portraits of students and individuals. The arts and crafts are represented through photographic reproductions of paintings, sculpture, and fine art prints, including early codex illustrations and other printed illustrations and posters, also in photographs of textiles, furniture, ceramics, and metal work. The collection spans from pre-colonial times to the early 1940s. Countries represented are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela. Also includes some representation of Spanish influence in Africa, and, in the United States, in Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, and New Mexico.

Below are select resources from the Library of Congress's collections. To explore more of the Library's manuscript and archival materials on Brazil-US relations, please visit the Library of Congress Online Catalog or search the Library's online finding aids.

Frontline Diplomacy: The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training by Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST).
Published/Created: 1968-2011
Frontline Diplomacy: The Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training at the Library of Congress makes available interview transcripts from the oral history archives of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST). These transcripts present a window into the lives of U.S. diplomats and the major diplomatic crisis and issues that the United States faced during the second half of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st.
Veterans History Project collection (Library of Congress)
Published/Created: 1914-
The Veterans History Project Collection consists of first-hand accounts of U.S. war veterans who served in twentieth and twenty-first century wars and military conflicts including World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and Iraq and Afghan Wars. U.S. citizen civilians who actively supported war efforts (war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, etc.) are also represented in the collection. Emphasis is on the personal, social, and emotional aspects of wartime military and civilian service instead of technical accounts of battles, logistics, and military operations. Subjects include personal military experience (being drafted or enlisting), education (military training, GI Bill, life lessons), prisoner of war experiences, the Cold War, food, communication, humor, friendships, travel, relationships, medicine and hospitals, women's changing roles, veterans' activities, and effects of military/civilian service on later life. Collection materials include audio and video oral history interviews, written memoirs, correspondence, diaries/journals, photographs, military documents (orders, DD-214 forms, etc.) maps, and other supporting documentation. Most materials are unpublished. The collection also includes a small number of published items. Interviews and documentation are collected by volunteer participants, so each veteran's/civilian's collection differs in scope, length, and breadth.

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

To explore millions of pages of select digitized newspapers printed in nearly every state and territory in the United States published through 1963, please visit the Library's Chronicling America digital collection