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==History==
===Origins, 1918 to 1945===
{{stack|[[File:Elihu Root, bw photo portrait, 1902.jpg|thumb|[[Elihu Root]] (1845–1937) headed the first Council on Foreign Relations (1902, age 57).]]}}
Towards the end of [[World War I]], a working fellowship of about 150 [[scholar]]s called "[[The Inquiry]]" was tasked to brief President [[Woodrow Wilson]] about options for the postwar world when Germany was defeated. This academic band, including Wilson's closest adviser and long-time friend "Colonel" [[Edward M. House]], as well as [[Walter Lippmann]], met to assemble the strategy for the postwar world.<ref name=Shoup>{{cite book|authors=Shoup, Lawrence H. & Minter, William|title=Imperial Brain Trust: The Council on Foreign Relations and United States Foreign Policy|url=https://archive.org/details/imperialbraintru0000shou|url-access=registration|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1977|isbn=0-85345-393-4}}</ref>{{rp|13–14}} The team produced more than 2,000 documents detailing and analyzing the political, economic, and social facts globally that would be helpful for Wilson in the peace talks. Their reports formed the basis for the [[Fourteen Points]], which outlined Wilson's strategy for peace after war's end. These scholars then traveled to the [[Paris Peace Conference 1919]] and participated in the discussions there.<ref name=Grose>{{cite book|author=Grose, Peter|title=Continuing the Inquiry: The Council on Foreign Relations from 1921 to 1996|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations Press|year=2006|isbn=0876091923|url=https://archive.org/details/continuinginquir0000gros|url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|1–5}}
As a result of discussions at the Peace Conference, a small group of British and American diplomats and scholars met on May 30, 1919 at the [[Hotel Majestic (Paris)|Hotel Majestic]] in Paris and decided to create an Anglo-American organization called "The Institute of International Affairs", which would have offices in London and New York.<ref name=Shoup/>{{rp|12}}<ref name=Grose/>{{rp|5}} Due to the [[isolationist]] views prevalent in American society at the time, the scholars had difficulty gaining traction with their plan, and turned their focus instead to a set of discreet meetings
In 1922, [[Edwin F. Gay]], former dean of the [[Harvard Business School]] and director of the [[Shipping Board]] during the war, spearheaded the Council's efforts to begin publication of a magazine that would be the "authoritative" source on foreign policy. He gathered US$125,000 ({{Inflation|US|125000|1922|fmt=eq}}) from the wealthy members on the council, as well as by sending letters soliciting funds to "the thousand richest Americans". Using these funds, the first issue of ''[[Foreign Affairs]]'' was published in September 1922, and within a few years had gained a reputation as the "most authoritative American review dealing with international relations".<ref name=Shoup/>{{rp|17–18}}
In the late 1930s, the [[Ford Foundation]] and [[Rockefeller Foundation]] began contributing large amounts of money to the Council.<ref>{{Cite book|author=O'Brien, Thomas F.|title=The Century of U.S. Capitalism in Latin America|publisher=UNM Press|year=1999|isbn=9780826319968|pages=105–106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EMVF8jtZy0oC&pg=PA105}}</ref> In 1938 they created various Committees on Foreign Relations, which later became governed by the American Committees on Foreign Relations in [[Washington, D.C.]], throughout the country, funded by a grant from the [[Carnegie Corporation]]. Influential men were to be chosen in a number of cities, and would then be brought together for discussions in their own communities as well as participating in an annual conference in New York. These local committees served to influence local leaders and shape public opinion to build support for the Council's policies, while also acting as "useful listening posts" through which the Council and U.S. government could "sense the mood of the country".<ref name=Shoup/>{{rp|30–31}}▼
▲In the late 1930s, the [[Ford Foundation]] and [[Rockefeller Foundation]] began contributing large amounts of money to the Council.<ref>{{Cite book|author=O'Brien, Thomas F.|title=The Century of U.S. Capitalism in Latin America|publisher=UNM Press|year=1999|isbn=9780826319968|pages=105–106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EMVF8jtZy0oC&pg=PA105}}</ref> In 1938, they created various Committees on Foreign Relations, which later became governed by the American Committees on Foreign Relations in [[Washington, D.C.]], throughout the country, funded by a grant from the [[Carnegie Corporation]]. Influential men were to be chosen in a number of cities, and would then be brought together for discussions in their own communities as well as participating in an annual conference in New York. These local committees served to influence local leaders and shape public opinion to build support for the Council's policies, while also acting as "useful listening posts" through which the Council and U.S. government could "sense the mood of the country".<ref name=Shoup/>{{rp|30–31}}
Beginning in 1939 and lasting for five years, the Council achieved much greater prominence within the government and the [[State Department]], when it established the strictly confidential ''[[War and Peace Studies]]'', funded entirely by the [[Rockefeller Foundation]].<ref name=Grose/>{{rp|23}} The secrecy surrounding this group was such that the Council members who were not involved in its deliberations were completely unaware of the study group's existence.<ref name=Grose/>{{rp|26}} It was divided into four functional topic groups: economic and financial, security and [[armament]]s, territorial, and political. The security and armaments group was headed by [[Allen Welsh Dulles]] who later became a pivotal figure in the [[CIA]]'s predecessor, the [[Office of Strategic Services]]. CFR ultimately produced 682 memoranda for the State Department, marked [[classified information|classified]] and circulated among the appropriate government departments.<ref name=Grose/>{{rp|23–26}}▼
▲Beginning in 1939, and lasting for five years, the Council achieved much greater prominence within the government and the [[State Department]], when it established the strictly confidential ''[[War and Peace Studies]]'', funded entirely by the [[Rockefeller Foundation]].<ref name=Grose/>{{rp|23}} The secrecy surrounding this group was such that the Council members who were not involved in its deliberations were completely unaware of the study group's existence.<ref name=Grose/>{{rp|26}} It was divided into four functional topic groups: economic and financial
=== Cold War era, 1945 to 1979 ===
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