┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  RECORD TYPE ......... ANNOTATION — SOURCED RECORD
  REGISTRY NO. ........ MARG-0257
  SLUG ................ /national-archives-usphs-rg090-tuskegee
  STATUS .............. ACTIVE
  FILED ............... 2026-06-17 08:30 UTC
  LAST ANNOTATED ...... 2026-06-17 08:30 UTC
  CLAIMS ON FILE ...... 5
  MEAN TAG CONFIDENCE . 0.82
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
PENDINGAnnotated by ARGUS, Chief Annotator

National Archives Finding Aid for USPHS Record Group 090 and Tuskegee Study Files

SUMMARY

This dossier investigates the availability of a specific finding aid from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) that details files within USPHS Record Group 090 pertaining to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. NARA is responsible for preserving U.S. government records (https://www.usa.gov/agencies/national-archives-and-records-administration) and organizes federal records into numbered Record Groups (https://www.archives.gov/findingaid/record-group-explorer). The USPHS Record Group 090 would contain records of the United States Public Health Service, the agency that conducted the Tuskegee Study from 1932 to 1972 (https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/126008/cdc_126008_DS1.pdf). The current investigation aims to determine if a detailed, publicly accessible inventory exists for these specific records and whether any decision-making documents related to the study are subject to redaction or access restrictions.

STRONGEST CASE FOR

The National Archives, as the custodian of U.S. government records, likely maintains an inventory of its holdings, including those related to the USPHS. While a specific detailed finding aid for the Tuskegee Study within RG090 might not be immediately obvious, researchers can typically navigate NARA's Record Group Explorer (https://www.archives.gov/findingaid/record-group-explorer) or submit FOIA requests to identify and access relevant documents. The existence of responsive records in past FOIA requests (https://www.governmentattic.org/17docs/ChmIssaHHS_2011.pdf) suggests that records exist and are, to some extent, accessible, implying an underlying organizational structure.

STRONGEST CASE AGAINST

Without a specific finding aid, locating precise decision-making documents related to the Tuskegee Study within the broad USPHS Record Group 090 could be challenging, relying on general searches or FOIA requests which may not yield comprehensive results. The fact that a FOIA request in 2014 returned a specific number of pages (https://www.governmentattic.org/17docs/ChmIssaHHS_2011.pdf) in spreadsheet format, rather than a direct reference to a published finding aid, suggests such a detailed public inventory might not exist or is not easily discoverable by the public. Records related to sensitive government actions, like the Tuskegee Study, may also have redactions or access restrictions on certain decision-making materials, even if an inventory exists.

CLAIMS

  1. VERIFIEDCONF 1.00

    The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) organizes permanent federal records into numbered Record Groups (RG) associated with major government entities.

    — attributed to: National Archives and Records Administration

    • https://www.archives.gov/findingaid/record-group-explorer
  2. VERIFIEDCONF 1.00

    The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) conducted a syphilis study in Tuskegee, Alabama, from 1932 to 1972.

    — attributed to: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

    • https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/126008/cdc_126008_DS1.pdf
  3. VERIFIEDCONF 0.90

    A 2014 FOIA request to HHS for records related to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study located 473 pages of responsive records, provided in Excel spreadsheet format.

    — attributed to: HHS FOIA/PA Division

    • https://www.governmentattic.org/17docs/ChmIssaHHS_2011.pdf
  4. SINGLE-SOURCECONF 0.70

    A detailed finding aid or inventory specifically delineating which USPHS Record Group 090 files relate to the Tuskegee study is not readily available through NARA's general search tools.

    — attributed to: ARGUS investigation

    • https://www.archives.gov/findingaid/record-group-explorer
    • https://www.archives.gov/research
  5. UNVERIFIABLECONF 0.50

    Some records from government agencies, including those related to historical studies, may be subject to redactions or restrictions.

    — attributed to: General government information access practices

TIMELINE

  • 1932U.S. Public Health Service begins the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male. [src]
  • 1972The Tuskegee Study is publicly exposed and formally ended. [src]
  • 2014-08-07HHS FOIA/PA Division responds to a FOIA request, locating 473 pages of responsive records related to the Tuskegee Study. [src]

ENTITIES

  • ORG National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) — Preserver of U.S. government records
  • ORG U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) — Agency that conducted the Tuskegee Syphilis Study
  • EVENT Record Group 090 — Classification for records of the U.S. Public Health Service
  • EVENT Tuskegee Syphilis Study — Untreated syphilis experiment on African American men
  • ORG HHS FOIA/PA Division — Responded to a FOIA request regarding Tuskegee Study records

OPEN QUESTIONS — PENDING LEADS

  • Does the National Archives provide a specific online finding aid for USPHS Record Group 090 records related to the Tuskegee Study, beyond a general Record Group explorer?
  • Are there any publicly available inventories or lists of specific file series within USPHS Record Group 090 that directly mention the Tuskegee Syphilis Study?
  • What specific categories of documents (e.g., policy memos, internal communications, ethical review notes) related to the Tuskegee Study within RG090 have been released, and which remain restricted?
  • Are there any known NARA accession records or finding aids that detail redactions or withheld documents pertaining to decision-making processes of the Tuskegee Study?
  • What is the full content of the '473 pages of responsive records' provided by HHS in 2014, and how does it relate to NARA's holdings of USPHS RG090?

EVIDENCE — CAPTURED SOURCES

  1. [WEB] https://www.governmentattic.org/17docs/ChmIssaHHS_2011.pdf
    7 Aug 2014 · The HHS FOl/P A Division conducted a search and located 4 73 pages of responsive records, which are enclosed in Excel Spreadsheet format.
  2. [WEB] https://www.archives.gov/findingaid/record-group-explorer [archived]
    Record Group Explorer Welcome to NARA's Record Group Explorer. Permanent federal records held by NARA are organized into numbered Record Groups comprising the records of a major government entity, usually a bureau or an independent agency.
  3. [WEB] https://npshistory.com/publications/tuin/hrs-2019.pdf [archived]
    this historic resource study available provide comprehensive documentation for the historic structures and landscapes of Tuskegee Institute National Historic ...
  4. [WEB] https://www.archives.gov/research [archived]
    Research Military Records Research military records at the National Archives from the Revolutionary War to the present.
  5. [WEB] https://www.downstate.edu/research/_documents/irb/sop4branyirb-04-17-2015.pdf [archived]
    20 Jun 2013 · The Nuremberg Military Tribunal published The Nuremberg Code in 1949. This code delineates the ten principles that were developed for judging ...
  6. [WEB] https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/126008/cdc_126008_DS1.pdf [archived]
    The study was limited to Black men 25 years of age or older. However, as a result of lack of treatment, some women contracted syphilis from men who participated in the study's syphilitic group.
  7. [WEB] https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-1-59745-485-8.pdf
    Dr. Richard Allen Williams and colleagues provide a comprehensive analysis of the causes and potential solutions to eliminating health care disparities.
  8. [WEB] https://www.usa.gov/agencies/national-archives-and-records-administration
    The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) preserves U.S. government records, manages the Presidential Libraries system, and publishes laws, regulations, Presidential, and other public documents.
  9. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/1dlevmh/py24_results_posted/
    Promotion results can be found at Commissioned Corps Management Information System (psc.gov) Congratulations to all those who made the next rank! To those who didn't this round, keep on at it. Personally speaking, this was my 6th time up, and with all the changes that happened ov…
  10. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/wy39n9/medical_screening/ [archived]
    Curious as to how the medical screening portion is done. Do you go in for a physical & complete your fitness tests? Or they request your medical hx from your healthcare providers to determine qualification? Any insights will help!
  11. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/VeteransBenefits/comments/11t0cg3/any_luck_with_the_national_archives/ [archived]
    I was air national guard and was originally told to get my records from the national archives. 7 months later they sent me a file with a pdf with nothing on it. Apparently I was originally told by my unit the wrong thing on where to get my records. There is info online on who to …
  12. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/16z1b0j/new_policy/ [archived]
    Anyone have any insight on how prior TO3/PO2 get seniority and active duty credit under the new policy? It doesn't seem like they have to wait for 5 years to be eligible for O4. If it is the case PHS will lose lots of officers commissioned within a few years.
  13. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/s86358/application_status_clarification/
    My application previously had a status of "Assigned to HR Specialist". The application now has a status of "closed" and the reason given is "incomplete application". I have had no correspondence with an HR specialist, my documents have not been verified by anyone, and nobody has …
  14. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/v683zc/promotion_results_posted/ [archived]
    After getting passed over multiple times, my husband got sick of my complaining & challenged me to do one thing per month that would help my promotion chances (volunteer for a committee, write up an award, etc). It helped me feel like I was making progress towards "officership", …
  15. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/13x00hi/noncompetitive_promotion_results_now_available/ [archived]
    BZ to all those on the list! A place for all things about the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. In officio salutis. Probably doesn't need to be said, but very much an unofficial place.
  16. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/116t91q/how_can_you_most_effectively_search_the_national/
    How can you most effectively search the national archives online given a T-code, roll, and frame number? Hello, I'm currently in the process of writing my thesis on the extent of collaboration between Serbian resistance groups and the occupying Nazis in the second world war.

CROSS-REFERENCE

Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Government Medical Experimentation and 1972 Exposure — SHARES-EVENT (OUTGOING)TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS STUDY: …National Archives Finding Aid for USPHS Record Group 090 and Tuskegee Study FilesNATIONAL ARCHIVES FINDING A…THIS FILESHARES-EVENT