Winner of the Society for History in the Federal
Government's 1997 Jefferson Prize
The Emerging Nation project provides scholars, teachers, students, and others the
opportunity to study the early history of United States foreign relations from 1775-1789.
The Emerging Nation: A Documentary History of the
Foreign Relations of the United States under the Articles of Confederation,
1780-1789
Editor: Mary A. Giunta
Associate Editor: J. Dane Hartgrove
Consulting Editors: Norman A. Graebner, Peter P. Hill, Lawrence S. Kaplan
Published in cooperation with the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission by the Government Printing Office
Vol. 1. Cloth, 1044 p., ISBN 030-000-00268-7
Description of Publication
The Emerging Nation: A Documentary History of the Foreign Relations of the United
States under the Articles of Confederation, 1780-1789 is a three-volume edition that serves as a scholarly introduction to the understanding of United States foreign relations through the publication of key documents. It is intended to encourage further investigation and study of early diplomatic history. It begins with steps leading to peace negotiations with Great Britain and ends in 1789 with the adoption of the United States Constitution and the establishment of the Federal government.
Documents in this edition help explain how the nation's leaders conducted foreign relations during the Confederation period, how they recorded successes and failures, and how the difficulties surrounding foreign relations related to the adoption and ratification of the United States Constitution.
This volume provides scholars and students at all levels with a basic work for reference and original research, for class and seminar assignments and papers, and for graduate and undergraduate theses. In addition to scholars and students, government officials, lawyers, and individuals in the international community should find these volumes valuable.
- Volume One, Recognition of Independence, covers the extensive peace
negotiations leading to the Treaty of Paris of 1783;
In order to present the historical richness of as many documents as possible, introductions,
headnotes, and annotations have been used judiciously in support of a basic understanding of the
events. This editorial philosophy reflects the goal of the editors "to let the documents speak for
themselves." As gathered here, they have much to say.