(Constitution)Biblio.com
235 résultats
1800réf. 374113Hudson: Printed and sold by Ashbel Stoddard 1800. 36pp. Some interleaving with contemporary manuscript annotations recording weather deaths etc. 12mo. Stitched final leaf trimmed close with minor loss to final line on H2r staining and chipping at fore-edge other minor chips and tears. 36pp. Some interleaving with contemporary manuscript annotations recording weather deaths etc. 12mo. With a printing of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights on the final 12 pages. This almanac calculated by Beers Hutchins died in 1782. Evans 37670; ESTC W33544; Drake 6126 Printed and sold by Ashbel Stoddard unknown
1789réf. 1001478vo later calf backed marbled boards 320 202 pp. Edges and covers rubbed occasional bit of foxing but overall very good. The most important feature of this collection is an early British printing of the United States Constitution p.289-300. Also contains a curious description of two Negro children with some unusual physical markings see p.53-55. Very interesting coverage of a few executions including a woman who was hanged for forgery is also provided. J. Dodsley hardcover
1795réf. NS0005Paris L'An 3 de la Republique Française une & indivisible. Hard Cover. 8vo; 56 pages a-c8 d4. Dated p. 56: 5 Fructidor l'an troisième i. e. 22 Aug. 1795. Signed p. 56 by Chenier président; Dersey Solignac Bernier Laurenceat Dentzel Quirot sécrétaires. The French Convention Nationale 1792-1795 had governed without a constitution. That of 1791 had been replaced by a more radical one of 1793 which was never activated. "The post-Robespierrist Convention continuing the reaction against popular revolutionism. elements of direct democracy that had characterized the earlier constitution were abandoned but the new one preserved the basic changes brought by the Revolution" see R.R. Palmer Age of Democratic Revolution 2: 214. This edition seems to be unrecorded. It is signed by the members of the committee that drafted it chaired by playwright Marie-Joseph Chenier 1764-1811. The edition seems to be an attempt to persuade people to accept its terms. This Constitution was rejected by even more reactionary elements and led to establishment of the Directorate in October 1795. Not in NUC; not in Martin & Walter cf. 4: 2: 4140. Very Good in contemporary boards leather spine. Stock#NS0005. L'An 3 de la République Française une & indivisible. hardcover
1809réf. 727231809. London: J. Blacklock and J. Luffman c.1809. London: J. Blacklock and J. Luffman c.1809. "Absolute Necessity of a Reform in Parliament" Great Britain. A True Friend to the Constitution And Nothing But the Constitution. Reform in Parliament. An Address to the People of England On the Absolute Necessity of a Reform in Parliament To Which are Annexed Complete Copies of the Magna Charta And the Bill of Rights with Explanatory Notes. London: Printed for J. Blacklock and J. Luffman c.1809. ii 64 pp. Octavo 8" x 4-3/4". Recent marbled boards printed paper spine label speckled edges endpapers renewed. Light toning to interior moderate soiling to title page a few creases to final leaf. $750. Only edition. After the Duke of York scandal in 1809 which involved the sale of military commissions through his mistress Mary Anne Clarke interest in Parliamentary reform surged. Our work draws particular attention to the constitutional aspects of the issue making frequent reference to particular contemporary scandals and their relationships to the appended Magna Carta and Bill of Rights. OCLC locates 8 copies 5 in North America Newberry Princeton Bowdoin Queens University McMaster. unknown
1788réf. 30007.003Philadelphia PA 1788. No binding. Fine. Independent Gazetteer; or The Chronicle of Freedom. Newspaper. Independent Gazetteer; or The Chronicle of Freedom Philadelphia Pa. May 6 1788. 4 pp. 9 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. The Maryland ratifying convention suggests some amendments along with their approval of the Constitution. ExcerptsFrom page 3:""From the MARYLAND GAZETTE or April 29 1788. The CONVENTION of this state on Saturday last determined to ratify the proposed plan of Federal Government. -YEAS 63 NAYS 11-And then appointed a committee of thirteen members to consider and report amendments to be recommended to the people. -The following amendments were proposed by a member and referred to the committee who are now sitting-And it is hoped that the great and essential rights of the people will be declared and secured.- PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.Wherefore whenever the ends of Government are perverted and public liberty manifestedly endangered and all other means of redress are ineffectual the people may and of right ought to object to reform the old or establish a new Government-that the doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power and oppression is absurd slavish and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind. All imposts and duties laid by Congress shall be placed to the credit of the state in which the same be collected. That there shall be no national religion established by law; but that all persons be equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty. That the Supreme Federal Courts shall not admit to fictions to extend its jurisdiction; nor shall citizens of the same state having controversies with each other be suffered to make collusive assignments of their rights to the citizens of another state for the purpose of defeating the jurisdiction of the State Courts; nor shall any matter or question already determined in the State Courts be revived or agitated in the Federal Courts. That Congress have no power to lay a Poll-Tax. That the people have a right to freedom of speech of writing and publishing their sentiments and therefore that the freedom of the PRESS ought not to be restrained and the printing presses ought to be free to examine the proceedings of Government and the conduct of its officers.""From page 2: Protesting the Slave Trade by Boycotting West Indian Produce""A CAUTION.WHEREAS in the year 1787 some vessels were fitted out at the port of Philadelphia for the iniquitous purpose of stealing the inhabitants of Africa from all the endearments of domestic life; one of which vessels has succeeded in obtaining a number of poor blacks and has taken the to a port in the West Indies where they are under the iron hand of oppression. From this shameful traffic this horrid source the proprietors of the vessel have purchased some West India produce which after landing at Wilmington they have brought up to this city and offered for sale. It is a grateful circumstance to the supporters of the common rights of mankind that the virtuous inhabitants of the city reprobate the horrid idea.-A correspondent hopes that the citizens will further testify their disapprobation of the practice by turning with indignation from the purchase of any property thus basely procured by men so lost to the common feelings of humanity; notwithstanding the patriotic convention at which Washington presided have declared that this abominable traffic shall be continued for TWENTY years by the people of America.From page 1:An advertisement with engraving for a ""Line of Stages"" between Philadelphia and New York started by four partners who split off from an established stage line and promising better service. From page 4:An advertisement for another different ""New Line of Stages."" And a report on the creation of a Philadelphia committee for the relief of the nearly 100 Americans captured by Algerian corsairs and Barbary pirates. unknown
1827réf. 374087Philadelphia: R. Desilver 1827. Typeset frontispiece within typographic border approx. 15x18-1/2 inches detached from the accompanying almanac. 67 1pp. 8vo. Disbound. Old folds tear to gutter. Typeset frontispiece within typographic border approx. 15x18-1/2 inches detached from the accompanying almanac. 67 1pp. 8vo. Shaw & Shoemaker 27484; Drake 11567 R. Desilver unknown
1802réf. 1063758vo period calf rebacked with leather 2 266 pp. Joints cracked rebacking crude some wear to covers paper slightly fragile front endpaper detached other front endpaper with piece missing ink name on front pastedown some darkening to contents; otherwise about very good. This is a rich volume of early American government. In addition to the United Sates Constitution and Declaration of Independence this volume also contains the constitutions of the original states and the ordinances for the government of the North West Territory. Printed under the title is the notation that "This edition contains the constitutions of Vermont Delaware Georgia and Kentucky with the regulations for the government of the territory north west of the river Ohio." This material was not in any other edition. William Duane,
2006réf. 76533Washington DC: U. S. Government Printing Office 2006. Presumed First Edition First printing. Wraps. Good. Serial No. 109-79. Two volumes. Volume I v 1 1684 6 pages Volume II v 1 1685-3375 pages. During this hearing Representative John Lewis of Georgia stated "The Voting Rights Act helped expand our democracy and open up our democracy to elect hundreds of thousands and millions of our citizens who had been kept out let them in. The Voting Rights Act was needed then and it is needed now. The purpose of section 5 is very unique and very important. It prevents discriminatory plans from being enacted in the first place. It put the burden on the judiciary to show that the plan does not discriminate against minority voters. Congress Lewis continued "Prior to section 5 the burden was on the minority voters to challenge the voting practice; and every section was good at coming up with different procedures that had the same result discrimination. Anita Earls' testimony talks in some detail about the recent example how this is still happening. The difference is that we have section 5 to prevent these practices from harming minority voters. Many people like the court said that we have come a long ways; and again today I would say that we've come a distance. We've come a long way and that is true. We're not the same Nation that we were 40 years ago but it's clear today that we have not come far enough. Section 5 is still needed. Today section 5 prevents discrimination and redistricting and changes that move voting locations out of minority neighborhoods into less accessible areas. These are issues that are different from the fight to register to vote but they are no less fundamental." U. S. Government Printing Office paperback
réf. 003265London: Printed for Charles Harper William Crooke and Richard Tonson at the Flower-de-Luce in Fleetstreet at the Green Dragon without Temple Barr and at Grays-Inn Gate next Grays-Inn Lane 1688. Hardcover. Very Good. Folio. xvipp. 215ff. xxviiipp. Modern half calf over marbled boards. With the bookplate of William S. Johnson one of the signers of the American Constitution. ESTC R4204; Wing 2nd ed. K134. 0 London: Printed for Charles Harper, William Crooke and Richard Tonson, at the Flower-de-Luce in Fleetstreet, at the Green Dragon hardcover
1822réf. 12181Lisboa: Impresa Nacional 1822. Lisboa Imprensa Nacional 1822. En 8º mayor. 100 pp. Encuadernación en cartoné tejuelo de piel en el plano superior con letrería dorada. Primera edición de la primera Constitución Portuguesa votada en Cortes extraordinarias y constituyentes el 23 de Septiembre de 1822 y aceptada por el rey D. João VI en octubre del mismo año. Considerada como un triunfo de los liberales contenía 240 artículos en su mayoría inspirados cuando no directamente copiados de la constitución española de 1812: cesión de soberanía al pueblo e independencia de los poderes legislativo ejecutivo y judicial. Esta es la Constitución que los Andradas y otros diputados brasileños se negaron a firmar. Bien acogida en un principio por los brasileños supuso al final el detonante de la independencia de Brasil. Varios días antes de la publicación del "Suplemento" en Lisboa las Cortes declararon el gobierno brasileño subordinado a la constitución lo que fue rechazado por los representantes brasileños quienes comandados por Andradas declararon la independencia de Brasil en 1822. Inscripción en tinta en la portada ligeras manchas ocasionales papel ligeramente tostado. Impresa Nacional unknown
1820réf. SP561Gales and Seaton 1820. Second Edition. Hardcover. Good. Washington 1820. 12mo iv 409 pp. Contemporary paper covered boards. Expanded to include 23 states including Alabama and North Carolina. The first edition published a year earlier included just 21 states. A good copy with fraying and chipping to paper at spine foxing to contents and contemporary ownership marks to endpapers. Contents complete. Please contact us for additional pictures or information. Seven copies in OCLC. Cohen Bibliography of Early American Law 3014. Gales and Seaton hardcover
1787réf. 365066Philadelphia: Seddon Spotswood Cist and Trenchard 1787. 3 618-674. Without 2 plates. 8vo. Disbound fire damage at edges leaves detached. 3 618-674. Without 2 plates. 8vo. Along with a printing in the American Magazine among the earliest printings of the Constitution in a periodical. "One of the best of the eighteenth century magazines was the Columbian of Philadelphia. Considered from beginning to end the Columbian Magazine with its sequel the Universal Asylum affords an extremely valuable treasury of materials which reflect its own times and the war years immediately preceding. it was the handsomest American magazine of its century" Mott. Seddon, Spotswood, Cist and Trenchard unknown
1792réf. 41771Honiton England 1792. Folio leaf 16" x 13." Folded to 4 pp. Printed on verso of first leaf and recto of second leaf only. Light old folds spine with early reinforcement tape. Text clean and bright. Very Good. Public enthusiasm for the tenets of the French Revolution and Thomas Paine worried those who supported the established monarchy and British parliamentary government. In response Loyalists created local Societies like this one pledging "that we will to the utmost of our power & at the expence of every thing dear to us maintain and support the Principles of the British Constitution as established at the Glorious Revolution whenever they shall be attacked with open Violence or be secret and designing Treachery." The Association expresses its "deepest Abhorrence of the Authors and Publishers of those seditious Pamphlets which under the specious disguise of Liberty are calculated only to promote Licentiousness and Disorder to encourage Rebellion against the State and Treason against Society." More than thirty supporters sign in type. E. Holland and C. Gidley sign in type as Chairman and Secretary respectively. ESTC records this rare document only at the British Library. OCLC does not list it. ESTC T22340 1- British Library. Not on OCLC as of March 2026. unknown
1814réf. FANarFRA8Paris: M.Ponce & P.Didot L'Aîné 1814. 1814. 4to. large-paper copy. pp. 48. 9 plates engraved by Helman & N.Ponce after C.Monnet incl. 3 before letters. A fine copy bound in modern half morocco by Rivière & Son t.e.g. others uncut original wrs. bound in at end 2 leaves with small marginal stains. armorial bookplate of Sir David Lionel Goldsmid-Stern-Salomons Baronet. FINELY PRINTED AND ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF THE 'RESTORATION' CHARTER OF 1814 PROMULGATED UNDER LOUIS XVIII. INSERTED IN THIS COPY ARE THREE ADDITIONAL PLATES WITH FIGURES BEFORE LETTERS. COHEN-DE RICCI 228. Paris: M.Ponce & P.Didot L'Aîné, 1814.
1812réf. 68721Charlestown Ms: Solomon B. Brega 1812. 18.5 cm. 294pp. Full leather rubbed gilt stamped leather spine label. Front joint cracked scattered foxing. Contains what is probably the earliest anthologized printing of the first Louisiana state constitution drafted in 1812. Very good. American Imprints 25460. Previous ownership signature of Moses Williams on front endpaper. Solomon B. Brega unknown
1787réf. 67677London: Printed for D. Henry 1787. UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION; URBAN Sylvanus. One of The First Means by Which The British People Learned of The Enactment of The Constitution of The United States of America UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION subject. URBAN Sylvanus editor. The Gentleman's Magazine "New Constitution of the United States of America". Printed by John Nichols for D. Henry November December 1787. First edition of these November and December 1787 issues. Two small octavo volumes 8 1/2 x 5 1/8 inches; 215 x 130 mm. 941-1035 1; 1037-1131 1 pp. With woodcut text illustration on front wrapper of each volume. November issue with one fold-out plate and lacking plate I entitled "S.W. View of Aconbury Chapel 5 Miles from Here." The December issue with two plates plate II and Supp. but lacking plate I Illustrations of the Royal Charter School Near Dublin Clontarfe Castle Dublin and others. Text of American Constitution on pp. 1008-1011; 1110-1112. Self-wrappered. Newer stitching. Some very minor toning and light occasional spotting. Overall very good. This is the first English magazine printing of the U.S. Constitution. The November issue on pages 1008-1011 prints George Washington's Letter and the first Article. The December issue on pages 1110-1112 contains articles two through seven and the delegates names. "The following is the new Plan of the Constitution of the United States of America upon which the Convention of all the most distinguished men in the States have been deliberating for several months and by which if finally adopted the Constitution of the Union is totally changed." From the introduction Einaudi. Goldsmiths'. Howes. Howes. Kress. Streeter. Streeter. HBS 67677. $1500. Printed for D. Henry unknown
2006réf. 76619Washington DC: U. S. Government Printing Office 2006. Presumed First Edition First printing. Wraps. Good. Serial No. 109-103. 3 of 4 volume set. Volume I v 1 1453 5 pages. Volume II v 1. 1455-2388 2. Volume III v 1 2389-4296. Volume IV NOT PRESENT. Footnotes. Illustrations. The Subcommittee will be holding its tenth hearing examining the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the temporary provisions that are to expire. They're set to expire in 2007 unless we reauthorize by Congress which I think most of us anticipate will occur. The Subcommittee examined each of the expiring provisions in great detail. This afternoon we examine the evidence of continued discrimination against racial and language minority citizens since 1982 that have been compiled by a number of non-governmental organizations who will be testifying. I'd thank these organizations for the time and effort that they have put into completing these reports and in making sure that this Committee and Congress has before it a complete and accurate record of discrimination over the last 25 years. In continuing to reauthorize the temporary provisions Congress on four separate occasions examined the extent to which discrimination continued to exist by analyzing information such as enforcement statistics minority voter registration rates minority voter turnout and litigation pursued to protect minority voting rights. Federal agencies such as the United States Commission on Civil Rights were instrumental in investigating analyzing and reporting back to Congress on the state of minority voting during each consideration. Each time Congress concluded based upon the evidence presented that the exceptional conditions which existed in 1966 continued to exist in 1970 1975 1982 and in 1992 when it was last reauthorized. This afternoon the Committee continues to examine whether the exceptional conditions warranting the extension of the temporary provisions continue to exist in 2006. U. S. Government Printing Office paperback
1847réf. 1239761847. First Edition. CONSTITUTION PHILLIPS Wendell. Review of Lysander Spooner's Essay on the Unconstitutionality of Slavery. Reprinted from the ""Anti-Slavery Standard"" With Additions. Boston: Andrews & Prentiss 1847. Octavo modern half calf gilt marbled boards; pp. 1-3 4-95 1. $1600.First edition in book form of Phillips' bold and influential antebellum work on the U.S. Constitution and the question of slavery revised and ""with additions"" to its serialization in the Anti-Slavery Standard.Controversy over slavery ""was the most important single influence on American constitutional development before the Civil War"" Wiecek Sources 15. Leaders in that controversy were William Lloyd Garrison Wendell Phillips and Lysander Spooner. As an anti-constitutionalist Phillips deemed ""Prophet of Liberty Champion of the Slave"" made his ""first public pronouncement that the Constitution should be abandoned"" when in 1842 he asserted the ""'spirit of liberty' is 'chained down in the iron links of the United States Constitution'"" and subsequently argued the Constitution was a ""'compromise'É between freedom and slavery"" Knowles Securing the 'Blessings'"" 41. Phillips' 1844 work Constitution: A Pro-Slavery Compact prompted Spooner to author Unconstitutionality of Slavery First Part: 1845 Second Part: 1847 arguing it was instead slavery that was unconstitutional not the founding document. Phillips quickly countered with this Review.""Phillips insisted the only path to justice 'is over the Constitution trampling it under foot'. and raised pertinent questions about the processes of constitutionalism. Must a just person reject an imperfect constitution or even one that sanctioned and protected an evil like slavery to work effectively for constitutional reform and to abolish injustice Or was it possible to regard the constitution as an imperfect but amendable instrumentÉ the only thing available in the here and now of a heterogeneous secular society that can serve as a means of changing a society's goals and structuring"" Wiecek 246. To Phillips Spooner's approach essentially ""leaves every one to do 'what is right in his own eyes.'"" Spooner and Phillips also disagreed on remedies to immoral laws. ""Spooner did not consider an immoral contract binding"" and argued for example that judges rely instead on natural law for their decisions. Phillips felt that in such circumstances a judge should resign. In this Review Phillips also offers ""a new area in which antislavery and anarchy"" could be connected when he describes Spooner's ""antislavery constitutionalismÉ as 'the first step toward anarchy'"" Perry Radical Abolitionism 165-66. First edition first printing. Serialized earlier the same year in the Anti-Slavery Standard the official weekly newspaper of the American Anti-Slavery Society which was co-founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappen. Sabin 62524. Dumond 93. Not in Blockson. Text fresh and about-fine. hardcover
1825réf. 6784Paris: Dondey-Dupre Pere et Fils 1825. Hardcover Tapa dura. 133x80mm. 5¼x3¼". Paris Dondey-Dupre Pere et Fils 1825. En 12º 133 x 80mm. 110 pp. 1 h. Encuadernación de la época en piel. Primera edición francesa. La Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1824 entró en vigor el 4 de octubre de ese año después del Imperio Mexicano de Agustín de Iturbide. En la nueva Constitución la República tomaba el nombre de Estados Unidos Mexicanos y era definida como una República Federal Representativa. Esta traducción francesa es rara en comercio. Dondey-Dupre Pere et Fils hardcover
1829réf. 69246Kentucky 1829. UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION; BROADSIDE. BROADSIDE. Transportation of the Mail on the Sabbath. In the Senate of the United States. Kentucky: 1829. Full Description: UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. BROADSIDE. Transportation of the Mail on the Sabbath. In the Senate of the United States. Kentucky: January 19 1829. An important and interesting broadside supporting the separate of church in state in so as it applies to the delivery of mail on Sunday the Sabbath. Broadside folio 16 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches; 428 x 266 mm. With a caption title printed above three columns separated by rules. All within a decorative woodcut border. Mounted at the top edge within a portfolio mat. Some minor toning and a few small spots of dampstaining. A One and one half-inch closed tear at right-hand margin just touching the border. Overall very good. This is a significant document in the history of the United States Constitution in relation to the concept of the separation of church and state. Christian leaders demanded that the Government institution of the Postal Office not work on Sunday as their God had deemed this the Sabbath. The following document discusses that while many Christians observe the Sabbath on Sunday others including their Jewish neighbors observe the Sabbath on Saturday. Demanding that the government institution not work on Sunday for religious reasons goes directly against the Constitution. The report states "With these different religious views the committee are of opinion that congress cannot interfere.-It is not the legitimate province of the legislature to determine what religion is true or what false. Our government is a civil and not a religious institution. Our constitution recognizes in every person the right to choose his own religion and to enjoy it freely without molestation. Whatever may be the religious sentiments of citizens and however variant they are alike entitled to protection from the government so long as they do not invade the rights of others." It goes on to powerfully state "Extensive religious combinations to effect a political object are in the opinion of the committee always dangerous. This first effort of the kind calls for the establishment of a principle which in the opinion of the committee would lay the foundation for dangerous innovations upon the spirit of the Constitution and upon the religious rights of the citizens. If admitted it may be justly apprehended that the future measures of government will be strongly marked if not eventually controlled by the same influence. All religious despotism commences by combination and influence; and when that influence begins to operate upon the political institutions of a country the civil power soon bends under it and the catastrophe of other nations furnishes an awful warning of the consequence." The five-person committee for this report consisted of Richard Johnson of Kentucky who later went on to serve as the country's 9th vice president under Martin Van Buren as well as future President John Tyler of Virgina Ellis of Mississippi Silsbee of Massachusetts and Johnson of Louisiana. "The opening of post offices on Sunday led to a national debate about the relationship of the federal government to the Sabbath day. The argument which raged from 1810 to 1830 involved whether the national government would exist as a secular commercial republic committed to a separation of church and state or as a Christian commonwealth. The U.S. postmaster general Gideon Granger responded by persuading Congress in 1810 to pass legislation to open all 2300 post offices seven days a week and transport mail every day. Congress immediately began to receive petitions from numerous religious denominations urging repeal of the law. Under strong public pressure House and Senate committees formed to study the postal law. While the chair of the House committee waffled on the subject the head of the Senate committee swayed Congress to keep the law. Gen. Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky a devout Baptist wrote in the committee's 1829 report that congressional action to stop Sunday mail would be unconstitutional. Johnson reminded Americans that they had religious freedom and that government had no right to coerce the religious homage of anyone. The invention of the telegraph in 1844 ultimately spelled the end of Sunday mail. It was now possible to get market information without the mail system. By the 1850s postmaster generals were eliminating the movement of most mail on Sunday." Free Speech Center Caryn E. Neumann. HBS 69246. $1750. Kentucky unknown
1834réf. 1215671834. First Edition. DORR Thomas Wilson. An Address to the People of Rhode-Island From the Convention Assembled at Providence on the 22nd Day of February and Again on the 12th Day of March 1834 to Promote the Establishment of a State Constitution. Providence: Cranston & Hammond 1834. Octavo period-style half diced calf gilt marbled boards pp. i-v 6-60. $2400.First edition of Dorr's foundational Address prompting his role as instigator and leader of the Dorr Rebellion placing him ""in the front rank of the political reformers of Jacksonian America.ÓBorn into privilege Rhode Island's Thomas Dorr became ""a political insurrectionaryÉ who hastened the demise of the royal charter of 1663 and the adoption of a written constitution"" Wiecek Peculiar Conservatism 242. Following the American Revolution by the 1820s Rhode Island remained the only state that clung to its colonial charter which ""restricted suffrage to white men who possessed real estate valued at a minimum of $134"" Chaput Proslavery and Antislavey Politics 662-63. It had ""evolved from the most to the least democratic state"" Lemons Rhode Island's Ten Turning Points 62. ""Dorr's political goalsÑ'free suffrage' with no discrimination against the foreign-born 'one-man one-vote' an independent judiciary a more powerful and dynamic executive the secret ballotÑthough not permanently achieved in Rhode Island during his lifetime placed him in the front rank of the political reformers of Jacksonian America"" ANB.In 1834 Dorr ""asked the General Assembly to call a convention to revise the state constitution in favor of taxpayer-militia suffrage and to adoptÉ 'equal representation'"" Wiecek 242. In this major Address delivered at that convention and ""composed primarily by Dorr"" Conley Democracy in Decline 255 he states: ""No form of a Constitution can be worth much ifÉ in this State the Legislative power isÉ in the hands of less than one third part of the qualified voters. A few political managersÉ rule the whole State as they please against the will of two thirds of the freeman and three fourths of the people"" emphasis in original."" To Dorr the state's ""strange adherence to the charter"" left Rhode Island with an ""inequality of representationÉ too unjust to be much longer tolerated."" In 1841 after Dorr was elected ""the People's governor"" under the state's ""People's Constitution"" he became the leader of the 1842 Dorr rebellion which historian Sean Wilentz calls ""'a striking and exceptional case in the history of American democratization before the Civil War' calling it no less than 'a deadly serious test of democracy's meaning and democracy's future.'"" The Dorr Rebellion increasingly viewed as the ""most significant political and constitutional event between the Age of Jackson and the election of LincolnÉDorr's constitutional understanding had roots not only in the Revolution and the post-Revolutionary era; it remained a vibrant part of American constitutionalism"" Chaput Rhode Island Question 55-56. Sabin 70537. American Imprints 26527. Text generally fresh with light scattered foxing. hardcover
2006réf. 76537Washington DC: U. S. Government Printing Office 2006. Presumed First Edition First printing. Wraps. Good. Serial No. 109-103. 4 volume set. Volume I v 1 1453 5 pages. Volume II v 1. 1455-2388 2. Volume III v 1 2389-4296. Volume IV v 1 4297-5711 3 pages. Footnotes. Illustrations. The Subcommittee will be holding its tenth hearing examining the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the temporary provisions that are to expire. They're set to expire in 2007 unless we reauthorize by Congress which I think most of us anticipate will occur. The Subcommittee examined each of the expiring provisions in great detail. This afternoon we examine the evidence of continued discrimination against racial and language minority citizens since 1982 that have been compiled by a number of non-governmental organizations who will be testifying. I'd thank these organizations for the time and effort that they have put into completing these reports and in making sure that this Committee and Congress has before it a complete and accurate record of discrimination over the last 25 years. In continuing to reauthorize the temporary provisions Congress on four separate occasions examined the extent to which discrimination continued to exist by analyzing information such as enforcement statistics minority voter registration rates minority voter turnout and litigation pursued to protect minority voting rights. Federal agencies such as the United States Commission on Civil Rights were instrumental in investigating analyzing and reporting back to Congress on the state of minority voting during each consideration. Each time Congress concluded based upon the evidence presented that the exceptional conditions which existed in 1966 continued to exist in 1970 1975 1982 and in 1992 when it was last reauthorized. This afternoon the Committee continues to examine whether the exceptional conditions warranting the extension of the temporary provisions continue to exist in 2006. U. S. Government Printing Office paperback
1848réf. 59828Kiel Schmers'sche Buchhandlung 1848. 8vo. In the original blank blue wrappers. Provisional repair with tape to spine. Front-wrapper missing upper inner corner. Two stamps to half-title title-page and verso of title-page. Upper outer corner of half-title missing far from affecting text. Occassional brownspotting throughout. 34 pp. with a blank leaf inserted between every printed leaf giving a total of 33 ff. including the blanks. The rare first printing of the drafting of the constitution by the provisional government for the Duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1848 the Schleswig-Holsteiners decided to establish a provisional government and oust the Danish king. The subsequent war 1848-1851 achieved a status quo until a permanent solution between Denmark and Germany was reached in 1920. The 1848-1852 events in Schleswig-Holstein were a Danish-German confrontation. The underlying issues were complex: The kingdom of Denmark and the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were component parts of the Danish Monarchy and were united in the person of the king/duke. Schleswig was a Danish fief Holstein a member of the German Confederation. A 1665 law introduced succession through the female line in Denmark with the survival of Salic law in the duchies held in abeyance. Schleswig had a strong Danish element in the north Holstein was German. "With the extinction of the male royal line in the offing Christian VIII declared in 1846 that the 1665 law applied to Schleswig and with some reservation to Holstein. Protests in the duchies had not been resolved when in the wake of the February revolution the liberals in Copenhagen took over and moved toward the annexation of Schleswig. In defiance the estates of Schleswig and Holstein set up a provisional government on March 24. Being composed of liberals and conservatives it obtained popular and official support in Germany and with Prussian military support gained control of most of the duchies by midsummer. But then Britain and Prussia intervened pressuring Prussia to make a truce with Denmark at Malmö August 26 1848 a truce which caused a parliamentary crisis in Frankfurt. In a short time Schleswig-Holstein had become the national issue and by acceding to the Malmö truce the Frankfurt Assembly severely damaged its political credit.Fighting resumed in 1849 and was ended by a July truce. After losing German military support the duchies were defeated in the 1850 campaign. The government abdicated on February 1 1851 and the Danish authorities took over a year later. In the final settlement the powers restored the Danish monarchy with the succession in the duchies to follow that of the kingdom Second London Protocol of May 8 1852. In separate notes the Danish government agreed to preserve the status of Schleswig and to abstain from steps leading to its incorporation. While the agreements restored the balance of power the relations between Danes and Germans suffered eroding popular sentiment for the Danish monarchy. Also Schleswig became a matter of outside concern permitting Prussian intervention in the case of Danish non-compliance." Ohio Univerty; Lawrence D. Steefel Sleswig-Holstein Question. unknown
1792réf. 76952Paris 1792. First French edition of the 1787 Federal Constitution in addition to the thirteen state constitutions the Declaration d'Independance Articles de Confederation; and several treaties. . old marbled wrappers with ms. paper labels on spines preserved in a utilitarian portfolio. . This was Kenneth Nebenzahl's copy with his book label inside the portfolio. An uncut copy in very attractive original condition. 8vo. Howes C-716. Translated and published at the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin who likely contributed footnotes. He wrote in late 1783: "The extravagant Misrepresentations of our Political State in foreign Countries made it appear necessary to give them better information which I though could not be more efectually and authentically done than by publishing a Translation into French." unknown
1850réf. 1229871850. First Edition. CONSTITUTION SPOONER Lysander. A Defence for Fugitive Slaves Against the Acts of Congress of February 12 1793 and September 18 1850. Boston: Bela Marsh 1850. Octavo original wrappers; pp. 1-2 3-4. i-iv 5 6-72. $3200.First edition of the rogue abolitionist's provocative call for ""vigorous"" public resistance to a pattern in the 1793 and 1850 Acts and court decisions such as Prigg v. Pennsylvania that demonstrated the government's refusal ""to champion liberty or justice"" especially elusive in original wrappers.The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act ""exposed the futility of antislavery constitutionalism grounded in a commitment to the 'proper rules of interpretation'"" Knowles Seeing the Light 544. It ""evinced a clear congressional policy favoring harsh and summary enforcement of the rendition policy over any solicitude for procedural or substantive rights of alleged fugitives"" Cover Justice Accused 121. Spooner crafted his answer to this in a ""devastating critique"" of both the 1793 and 1850 laws Smith Lysander Spooner. Defence one of his most elusive and provocative works offers ""significant evidence of the ways in which the passage of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act shook his faith in the ability of the nation's courts to interpret the constitution in a manner consistent with the dictates of natural justice"" Knowles 546. Closely analyzing ""reasons why the 1793 and 1850 laws were unconstitutionalÉ he made it very clear why the passage of the 1850 law pushed him away from the 'quiet argument' of the courtroom to 'more vigorous'"" public action. In Defence while he continued to argue the importance of ""procedural objections to the lawsÉ Spooner spent far greater time 1 explaining why the courts would not actually strike down either of the laws and 2 outlining 'The Right of Resistance': ways in which 'The People' could respond to what he now recognized as the 'ugly reality' of proslavery constitutionalism."" He notably pointed to ""the 1842 decision in Prigg v. Pennsylvania in which the Supreme Court held that under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act trumped Pennsylvania's personal liberty law which had made it far more difficultÉ for slaveholders to recover individuals they alleged were fugitive slavesÉ In the face of this judicial reality and to ensure the 'maintenance' of the Constitution Spooner encouraged popular resistance"" arguing the Second Amendment ""gave 'The People' an absolute and unqualified' Constitutional 'right' to do so."" By 1860 he would utterly lose ""faith in the ability or willingness of the government especially the courts to champion either liberty or justice"" Knowles 545 552. First edition: as issued with printing of 1793 Act of Congress and 1850 Fugitive Slave Act preceding title page; front and rear wrapper interior with publisher's advertisements. Sabin 89607. Work 335. Text very fresh a few minor stains to front wrapper expert repairs to wraps on the spine. Near-fine. paperback
