This volume investigates the administrative and political correspondence of the Continental Congress during a critical five-month window of the American Revolutionary War. Paul H. Smith, a historian with the Library of Congress, compiles and annotates these primary documents to provide a comprehensive view of the legislative challenges faced by the delegates. The work argues that these letters serve as the essential record for understanding the internal mechanics and external pressures of the nascent American government during the summer of 1780.

Historians and researchers frequently cite this series as a foundational resource for studying the legislative history of the American Revolution. The academic density of the prose and the meticulous nature of the annotations make it a standard reference for scholars of the period.