@article{867079,
      recid = {867079},
      title = {Saudi Arabia : records of the U.S. Department of State,  1930-1959.},
      pages = {1 online resource.},
      note = {Date range of documents: 1930-1959.},
      abstract = {This archive divides into two distinct parts. The first  part, 1930-1944, documents a critical period in the  formation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the second part,  1955-1959, illustrates the day-to-day workings of the  oil-rich state. Saudi Arabia, which extends over most of  the Arabian peninsula, absorbed several tribal groups that  had previously been dependent on the Ottoman empire. The  creation of a centralized state expressed the interests of  all classes, including the nobility, the merchant class,  and most of the population, ensuring security and putting  an end to tribal feuds. Although fixing the boundaries of  the country remained a problem, by 1930 most of the  frontiers with Iraq, Jordan, and Kuwait, had been  established. In 1932 Hijaz (the western portion of the  country containing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina),  Najd, and other districts under the control of Ibn Saud  were united to form the modern kingdom. In the late 1930s  Saudi Arabia became rich in oil and was courted both by  allied and axis powers in the years leading up the Second  World War. Export of oil began in 1938 and within one year  500,000 barrels of oil had been produced. In the 1940s  exploitation of oil brought great prosperity and  transformed the social fabric of the country. To  reciprocate the warm reception in Washington, D.C., in  1957, King Saud endorsed the Eisenhower Doctrine and  renewed a deal giving the United States airbase rights in  his country. The records in the second portion of the  archive detail internal political and national defense  affairs; economic, financial, industrial, and social  affairs; among other topics.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/867079},
}