National Archives Microfilm Publication of the Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress, 17741789 Massachusetts Historical Society National Archives National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Papers of the Continental Congress British Public Record Office: Foreign Office Files contemporary translation of document volume verso William Temple Franklin List of Presidents of the Congress Samuel Huntington (Connecticut) elected September 28, 1779 Maps Parts of the United States Held by British and Spanish Forces, June 1781 The Emerging Nation, 1783 Maximum Concession Authorized by Galvez's Instructions to Gardoqui, April 1785 John Adams by John Singleton Copley. Courtesy of Harvard University. Benjamin Franklin by Joseph Siffred Duplessis. Courtesy of Independence National Historical Park. John Jay engraved by B.B.E., published by R. Wilkinson, 1783. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, engraved by Vangelisti. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Henry Laurens by John Singleton Copley. Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. David Hartley, M.P, 1783, by George Romney. Courtesy of Columbia University in the City of New York. Richard Oswald and Benjamin Franklin Discussing the Treaty of Peace at Paris, drawn by Howard Pyle. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. George III by Allan Ramsay. Courtesy of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Louis XVI by C. C. Bervic. Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Robert R. Livingston by Charles Willson Peale. Courtesy of Independence National Historical Park. Marquis de Lafayette by Philiber Louis Debucourt. Courtesy of Independ ence National Historical Park. Chevalier de la Luzerne by Charles Willson Peale. Courtesy of Independ ence National Historical Park. Thomas Jefferson by Charles Willson Peale. Courtesy Independence National Historical Park. In the fall of 1983, the National Archives decided to publish a documentary history of the foreign relations of the United States for the period 1783 to 1789. Later the period was expanded to include the years 1781 and 1782. The project, referred to as FRUS, was based on records in the National Archives. In 1986 the Department of State became a cosponsor and provided financial assistance in the initial work of document transcription. In the early years of the project, some 6,000 documents were copied from the records of the National Archives. Several National Archives employees were assigned to work on this project. These included Mary-Jane M. Dowd, who served editor and project director of FRUS, 19851991, Alec B. Kirby, and Angie Spicer VanDereedt. Under Ms. Dowd's direction some 2,600 documents from a base of some 6,000 documents primarily from Record Group 360: Papers of the Continental Congress and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, were selected and transcribed for inclusion in the FRUS project. Three National Archives volunteers, Renée F. Cooper, Patricia D. Gray, and Mary S. Woods, also worked with Ms. Dowd. Each provided valuable service in document transcription, proofreading, and translation of French-language documents located in the National Archives. In 1991, the Archivist of the United States placed the project under the administration and sponsorship of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). NHPRC staff member Mary A. Giunta was appointed editor-in-chief and project director. A revised plan for the project was developed. The plan included an evaluation of the document database and an evaluation of documents located in significant archival and historical collections in the United States and Europe. Based on this plan, several important changes were made. The project name was changed to The Emerging Nation: A Documentary History of the Foreign Relations of the United States under the Articles of Confederation, 1780-1789, to reflect American attempts under the then operative plan of government to become a separate nation in the world community. Three distinguished historians, Norman A. Graebner, Peter P. Hill and Lawrence S. Kaplan, were invited to join the project as consulting editors. They participated in the selection of documents, wrote introductory essays, and provided essential advice on the work of the project. J. Dane Hartgrove, a diplomatic historian and records specialist of the Office of the National Archives, joined the project staff in 1992 as associate editor. He secured copies of documents located in significant manuscript and archival collections at the Library of Congress, in various repositories outside the Washington, DC, area, and from NHPRC project offices. Through his efforts some 1900 new documents, primarily copies of documents located in foreign repositories, were selected for consideration for inclusion in the volumes. In addition, Dr. Hartgrove played a significant role in the translation of French-language documents and the preparation of headnotes and annotations. Richard B. Smith, formerly of the staff of the National Archives, served as project publication specialist through most of calendar year 1994. The project benefited greatly from his interest, skills, and labors in scholarly publication. National Archives printing specialist Isabelle V. Saunders served as coordinator with the Government Printing Office staff in seeing the volumes through publication. Her efforts greatly facilitated the publication of these volumes. Beginning in 1991, volunteer participation was significantly expanded. Volunteers transcribed, translated, verified texts, conducted historical research, worked on document databases, located and copied documents in manuscript repositories, located copies of pictures, coded documents for publication, and drew maps. They visited libraries and worked at home and on vacation. Their many hours of labor, their commitment to work on the project, their sharing of their expertise, and their general desire to contribute were simply extraordinary. From student interns to retired. individuals, volunteers played an extremely important role in this project. It is accurate to say that the day-to-day work of the project could not have been completed without them. They are: Carol S. Aiken, Patricia A. Alfredson, Dean Aurecchia, Nathanael Cavanaugh, Marjorie Cooper, Renée F. Cooper, Helen G. Cullinan, Mary H. Curzan, Elizabeth Drain Hardin, Yvette M. Fallin, Maria Flesher, Arthur L. Gamson, Sherry S. Harris, Norma S. Hoehndorf, Burt Knauft, Elizabeth S. Lourie, Lisa Mastney, Beatrice B. Meyerson, Betty Moore, Laurent Pion-Goureuau, William F. Reed, Jr., Peter Ringland, Renee Schick, Widajanti Soekarso, and Mary S. Woods. Patricia A. Eames, Coordinator of the NARA volunteer program, identified potential volunteers for the project. Her role deserves recognition. The following individuals, dedicated to documentary scholarship, made our labors lighter: Paul H. Smith and Gerald W. Gawalt, Letters of Delegates project, Library of Congress Manuscript Division; Barbara Oberg, Jonathan Dull, Ellen Cohn, Karen Duval, and Kate Ohno, the Benjamin. Franklin Papers project, Yale University; Ene Sirvet, John Jay Papers project, Columbia University; Elizabeth M. Nuxoll and Mary A. K. Gallagher, Robert Morris Papers project, Queens College, CUNY; C. James Taylor and Peggy J. Clark, Henry Laurens Papers project, University of South Carolina; and Richard A. Ryerson, Celeste Walker, Gregg L. Lint, Joanna M. Revelas, and Anne Decker, The Adams Papers project, Massachusetts Historical Society. It is with particular appreciation that we acknowledge the assistance of Ene Sirvet, Richard A. Ryerson, Kate Ohno, and Anne Decker. They provided document identification and verification of several important items which enhanced document selection of Jay, Franklin, and Adams materials. John P. Kaminski of the Ratification of the Constitution project produced our indexes. His acumen provides the user of these volumes with easy access to the documents. Kenneth R. Bowling, First Federal Congress project, shared his thoughts on the editing of documents, especially government documents of the period. Members of the staffs of manuscript and archival repositories were most helpful in answering questions, providing copies of materials and arranging for interlibrary loans. These include: Frederick Bauman, Ernest Emrich, Jeffrey Flannery, Charles Kelly, Michael Klein, Kathleen McDonough, Joseph Sullivan, and Mary Wolfskill, Library of Congress Manuscript Division Reading Room; Beth Carroll-Horrocks, Associate Librarian and Manuscripts Librarian, American Philosophical Society Library; Deborah L. Sisum, Deputy Keeper, Catalog of American Portraits, Smithsonian Institution; Catherine H. Grosfils, Editorial Librarian, Audio-Visual Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; Elizabeth Gombosi, Harvard University Art Museum; Shirley A. Mays, Library Technician, Independence National Historical Park Photographic Library; Joanna Britto, Manager, Rights and Reproductions, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Insitution; Jennifer Tolpa, Assistant Reference Librarian, Massachusetts Historical Society; Richard Salvato, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division, New York Public Library; Christine Nelson, Associate Curator of Autograph Manuscripts, Pierpont Morgan Library; Rob Cox and Arlene Shy, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan; and Grace Eleazer, Manager, Museum Registration, and Jennifer Menson, Registration Assistant, Winterthur Museum. In particular, Dr. Shy provided detailed information on various manuscripts in the Shelburne, Hartley, and Oswald collections. The volumes include documents from modern documentary editions. sponsored by the NHPRC. The following publishers have granted permission to publish a number of documents included in Volume One and in Volume Two: The University of Pittsburgh Press, The Papers of Robert Morris, 1781-1784, materials from Volume 4: January 11-April 15, 1782, E. James Ferguson, Editor, John Catanzariti, Associate Editor, copyright 1978; Volume 6: July 22-October 31, 1782, John Catanzariti, and E. James Ferguson, Editors, copyright 1784; Volume 7: November 1, 1782-May 4, 1783, John Catanzariti, Editor, copyright 1988; Princeton University Press, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, materials from Volume 6, 21 May 1781 to 1 March 1784, Julian P. Boyd, Editor, copyright 1952; Volume 7, 2 March 1784 to 25 February 1785, Julian P. Boyd, Editor, copyright 1953; Volume 8, 25 February to 31 October 1785, Julian P. Boyd, Editor, copyright 1953; |