Reproduces more than 6,000 documents used to prepare the three-volume scholarly edition "The Emerging Nation: A Documentary History of the Foreign relations of the United States under the Articles of Confederation, 1780-1789," published by the National Historical Publication and Records Commission. Consists of selections from the official papers of the United States Congress; British, French, and Spanish government records; and unofficial documents. The diplomatic despatches, private letters, and other documents from archives, libraries, and historical societies, including the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and French and British sources, reveal actions and events in the formative years of U.S. diplomacy. Part I consists of copies of documents used in the preparation of the scholarly edition. Part II consists of copies of documents not printed but of significant value to a fuller understanding of early U.S. Foreign relations.