A reference guide to all the elements of the Inter-American System from its formal beginning in 1889 to the present, as it developed into a major, multipurpose regional inter-governmental organization (IGO). The most notable elements in the current Inter-American System are the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) Regime. Today, all 35 sovereign American states are members of the OAS. This book makes clear reference to the system's interrelationships with other IGOs and states outside the Western Hemisphere.