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." [caption title].
[United States Laws - First Congress]:
[Philadelphia: Childs and Swaine, 1791]. Broadside, 15 1/4 x 9 1/2 inches, under 11 3/4 x 7 3/4-inch mat. Three very light horizontal fold lines. Fine. In a gilt frame. 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. Individual acts and bills of the first Congress were routinely printed for public consumption. A provision was made, however, to print a few copies of each act on large paper for dissemination to the states, and to have each copy signed by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. The present copy is one of those large paper issues, bearing Jefferson's manuscript signature beside his printed title. One of the main priorities of the federal government in the early national period was to pay down the debt of the United States. The national debt was incurred during the Revolution and augmented in 1790 when the Congress passed the "Assumption Act," taking on the debts of the individual states as well. A variety of taxes were 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 7 1/2% 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." 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. EVANS 23874. NAIP w014384.
(Item ID: WRCAM33304) $27,500.00