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[United States First Congress]. “Congress Of The United States...An Act To Explain And Amend An Act, Intituled ‘An Act Making Further Provision For The Payment Of The Debts Of The United States.’”. [Philadelphia: Childs and Swaine, ca. March 2, 1791]. Broadside, 9½ x 15¼ inches. In a gilt frame.
Inventory# 12072.182 SOLD
A very rare printing of an early United States Law providing for the funding of the national debt, signed in manuscript by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. The document, which also carries the printed signatures of President George Washington, Vice President John Adams, and House Speaker Frederick Muhlenberg, was approved March 2, 1791.
The Revolutionary War saddled the federal government with massive amounts of debt. Nearly $11 million was owed to foreign powers, most notably France, while another $48 million was owed to Americans who had sold food, horses, and supplies to the revolutionary forces. There were also other debts consisting of promissory notes issued during the war to soldiers, merchants, and farmers who were assured that a new Constitution would create a government that would pay them. In 1790, the Congress passed the “Assumption Act” combining all of these debts – foreign, state, and national – into one national debt totaling $80 million. A variety of taxes were then imposed to raise funds to pay the debt, including those in the present bill.
This bill provides for taxes on goods imported into the United States, thereby bolstering support for the consumption of domestically produced goods. Two main products are mentioned in the bill: items made of lead, and certain cotton or linen goods. A duty of one cent per pound is levied on imports manufactured of lead, or in which lead was the chief article. A duty of 7½% is extended to "all printed, stained, and coloured goods, or manufactures of cotton, or of linen, or of both, which hereafter shall be brought into the United States from any foreign port or place."
Individual acts and bills of the first Congress were printed for public consumption. A provision was also made to print a few copies of each act on large paper, and to have two copies of each signed by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and sent to the states. The present copy is one of those rare large paper issues, bearing Jefferson's manuscript signature beside his printed title.
Evans and NAIP together locate four copies of the present act, at the Library of Congress, The New York Public Library, the Rhode Island Historical Society, and the American Antiquarian Society. However, there is no mention of any of those copies being signed by Jefferson, and the dimensions given by NAIP are smaller than those of the present copy, indicating that those listed are not among the special copies signed by Jefferson for official transmittal. A very rare and desirable early American law, pertaining to an important national issue and bearing the signature of an iconic figure in American history.
References: EVANS 23874. NAIP w014384.
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