40 résultats
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 books
1814réf. 728671814. Piacenza: Dai Tipi d'Ignazio Orcesi 1814. Piacenza: Dai Tipi d'Ignazio Orcesi 1814. Rare Printing of the Short-Lived but Influential Constitution of 1812 Spain. Constitution. Costituzione Politica della Monarchia Spagnuola Promulgata in Cadice il 19 Marzo 1812. Piacenza: Dai Tipi d'Ignazio Orcesi 1814. 72 pp. Octavo 6" x 4". Stab-stitched pamphlet bound into recent paper-covered boards lettering piece to spine. Moderate toning negligible faint dampstaining to head of text block and upper outside corners in a few places. $650. Very rare Piacenza printing based on the translation that had appeared in Milan in the same year of the short-lived but influential Spanish constitution of 1812 one of the first attempts to construct a codified constitutional monarchy which applied not only to Spain but to the Spanish holdings in South America and the Philippines and gave Spanish citizenship to the natives of any territory that belonged to the Spanish monarchy but not necessarily those of African descent who could acquire citizenship through naturalization. This constitution was driven by the need to give legitimacy to the newly installed Joseph Bonaparte as king. Although it was repealed shortly after the restoration in 1814 of Ferdinand VII its influence was widespread. It was the model for the constitutions of Norway in 1814 and Mexico in 1824. A number of Italian printings appeared in several varying translations between 1812 and 1814. Our Piacenza printing is one of the rarest. OCLC locates 1 copy University of Turin Italy. unknown books
1791réf. 12452London: Printed for J. Debrett 1791. Two English editions of the French constitution of 1791 one in English translation described on the half title as being the third edition and the other in the original French both printed by J. Debrett of London here bound together in a single attractive volume in contemporary binding. The constitution of the French Republic horrified most Englishmen excepting Charles James Fox. Contemporary paper backed marbled boards printed paper spine label. Somewhat rubbed later endpapers. Very good untrimmed. ESTC T164253 T165382. hardcover books
1788réf. 69689Boston: Adams and Nourse 1788. UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. First edition of the proceedings leading to the Massachusetts Compromise being the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by the sixth of the needed nine States. Octavo in fours 7 1/8 x 4 1/2 inches; 180 x 115 mm. 219 1 blank pp. An early printing of the proposed Constitution appears on pages 3-19. Contemporary full speckled sheep. Boards scuffed and worn. Front outer hinge is cracked but holding firm. Without front free endpaper. Leaf U2 with one-inch closed tear no loss. Leaves are foxed and toned as usual for American paper of this time. Still overall a very good copy. Housed in a custom brown quarter calf clamshell. "Getting approval for the new Constitution was no small feat. Anti-federalists feared that the Constitution would over-centralize government and restrict individual liberties. They demanded changes and a Bill of Rights to guarantee personal freedoms. Federalists on the other hand argued that states should accept the proposed Constitution without further changes. When these opposing views clashed in Massachusetts an agreement- known as the Massachusetts Compromise- was brokered by two famous local statesmen John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Under it Massachusetts ratified the Constitution becoming the sixth U.S. state while also proposing future amendments including a Bill of Rights. The Massachusetts Compromise was used as a model by other states to reach similar agreements. Without it the U.S. Constitution may never have been ratified at all." from Bridgewater State University "Although the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia finished their work in September 1787 a ratification process of many months remained ahead before the Constitution could become the system of government for the new country. For this to happen at least 9 of the 13 states had to approve the document and Massachusetts was at the crux of that lineup. In January 1788 the Massachusetts convention met in the Old State House to address the matter; at that time Delaware Pennsylvania New Jersey Georgia and Connecticut had already ratified the Constitution. The remaining states watched the proceedings in Boston closely anticipating a close vote that could fall either way. Massachusetts had the largest convention of any state and a fundamental disagreement divided the 364 delegates: Federalists supported a strong central government and the Constitution as written; Anti-Federalists held that a centralized government would concentrate power in the hands of the elite and lead to the dissolution of the democratic ideals espoused during the Revolution. The turning point in the debate in Boston came when Gov. John Hancock proposed that Massachusetts recommend several amendments to the Constitution including a Bill of Rights. This proposal effectively gave voice to many of the Anti-Federalist concerns and after Revolutionary leader Samuel Adams spoke in favor of Hancock's "conciliatory proposition" a sufficient number of delegates shifted their positions to approve ratification. Massachusetts ratified the United States Constitution on February 6 1788 by a vote of 187 to 168. In June when New Hampshire came on board as the ninth state to ratify adoption of the Constitution was guaranteed. Its formal enactment on April 30 1789 coincided with George Washington's inauguration as the first president of the United States." Massachusetts Historical Society "In Massachusetts anti-federalist opposition to the Constitution was significant. In order to mollify their concerns convention delegate Theophilus Parsons added nine amendments which were presented by John Hancock. The Constitution was ratified by Massachusetts with the amendments added as a recommendation to "remove the fears and quiet the apprehensions of many of the good people of this Commonwealth and more effectually guard against an undue administration of the federal government." Three of these recommendations would become the Fifth Seventh and Tenth Amendments of the Constitution. The sixth state to ratify the Constitution Massachusetts was the first to suggest amendments which in turn led directly to the passage of the Bill of Rights." Freemans Evans 21242. Sabin 45702. HBS 69689. $5000. Adams and Nourse unknown books
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 books
1787réf. 69121London: Sold by T. Wilkie 1787. UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. The London Chronicle "The New Plan for the Constitution of the United States of America". Vo. LXII. No. 4834-4835. From Saturday October 27 to Tuesday October 30 1787 and From Tuesday October 30 to Thursday November 1 1787. Pages 409-424. London: Sold by T. Wilkie 1787. Likely the first public printing of the United States Constitution in England. This newspaper printing precedes the know first edition pamphlet published by Debrett as well as the first magazine printing in "The Gentleman's Magazine." It is broadly stated that news of the United States Constitution hit England early in November however the dates of the Chronicle precede this by a few days. This copy also contains the preliminary cover letter from George Washington to the president of Congress which is usually included with early printings of the Constitution and which states Washington's strong support of ratification. "The Plan" is printed in its entirety without comment or explanation from the publisher. Together two issues no. 4834 and 4834. Each issue self bound along left margin. 11 3/8 x 8 5/8 inches; 288 x 222 mm. Number 4834 is four leaves pages 409-416 and number 4835 is four leaves pages 417-424. The first part of the Constitution is printed on pages 413-414 of the first part with the end stating "To be concluded in our next" and the second part is printed on pages 420-421. Both issues very good with just some slight toning. Page 421-422 trimmed close at top margin just touching header. A small red stamp on verso of first leaf of each issue along bottom margin. Overall about fine. We could find no other copies of this or any earlier British newspaper containing the US Constitution on Rare Book Hub. We could not locate any copies on OCLC or ESTC. Housed in a custom quarter red morocco clamshell. At the time of the Constitutional Convention John Adams was living in England as a diplomat. In a letter to John Adams from Elbridge Gerry dated September 20th 1787 just one day after the first newspapers in America printed the Constitution he states "The proceedings of the Convention being this day published I embrace the Oppertunity of transmitting them by a Vessel which is to sail this morning for London." According to the National Archives "Gerry enclosed a copy of the new U.S. Constitution. Gerry likely sent this letter to John Adams via the Prince George Capt. Strong which departed New York City in late September and arrived in London on 3 Nov. New York Independent Journal 1 Sept. 1787 2 Feb. 1788." This shows that it would have been impossible for news of the Constitution to arrive in England much before this date of November 3rd. Lengthy searches turn up no indication that any other British publication has a copy of the US Constitution before this London Chronicle printing. The National Archives go on to state "The U.S. Constitution was adopted on 17 Sept. 1787 and British newspapers first published the text in late autumn. The London Chronicle printed the preamble and the first article in its 27-30 Oct. issue and the remaining articles and signatures in its 30 Oct. - 1 Nov. issue. " The London Chronicle was a thrice weekly newspaper also known for being " one of the first to break the news that the United States had declared independence from the British Empire reporting on the event in its 13 August 1776 edition. It was also one of the first to publish the declaration in its entirety in the 15-17 August 1776 edition but containing no explanation or comment as to what it was" Wikipedia. This holds true for their publication of the Constitution as well. United States Constitution now the longest continuing charter of a national government in the world and "the product of a revolution in political thought at least as important and far-reaching as the winning of American independence from Great Britain and the culmination of the intellectual ferment and political experimentation in the new republic" Richard B. Bernstein Are We to Be a Nation. HBS 69121. $20000. Sold by T. Wilkie unknown books
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 books
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 books
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 books
1682réf. 1206631682. CONSTITUTION SOMERS John. The Security of English-Mens Lives Or the Trust Power and Duty of the Grand Jurys of England. London: Printed for Benj. Alsop 1682. Small octavo 4 by 6-1/2 inches 18th-century brown morocco raised bands marbled endpapers all edges gilt; pp. 1-2 3-168. $3400.1682 edition of Somers' profoundly influential work on the power of the grand jury the second of only two 17th-century editions issued the year after the firstÑ""one of the fundamental foundations of the common law in the American colonies""Ñprompting revolution with Somers' invoking the grand jury and its protection of secrecy as key in opposing ""corrupt Ministers of State"" and those who ""abuse or oppress the PeopleÉ in the form and course of Justice"" seminal in the creation of the Constitution's Fifth Amendment with Jefferson calling grand juries ""the true tribunal of the people.""British statesman Baron John Somers' most famous and influential work is Grand Jurys. ""Of the legal scholars writing about the grand jury in the late 17th century Somers is not only representative but eminent having been read in both England and the colonies"" Kadish Behind the Locked Door 5-10. Grand Jurys is considered a seminal influence on Locke and America's Founding Fathers and it is ""likely that Locke knew Somers by the early 1680sÉ The opposition of absolute monarchy to the security provided by 'impartial law' was structurally central to Locke's Second Treatise 1689 which attacked the threat to life liberty and property posed by a loss of 'impartial justice'É Locke's arguments are a logical extension of the arguments that juries provided the only security of life"" Marshall John Locke 52. To Somers similarly the grand jury offers ""security"" from the ""Ill Designs of corrupt Minsters of State"" and those who ""dare to abuse or oppress the People."" Somers' Grand Jurys is ""a classic statement of political freedom. He works his way through a number of themes that will be frequently repeated by others."" Chief among these is his argument that ""the independent grand jury is the linchpin of the entire criminal justice system. It brings offenders to justice and protects the innocent from false accusation guaranteeing the traditional rights of Englishmen particularly their political rights in relation to the CrownÉ and joins Parliament as a counterweight to the arbitrary power of the monarch and his judges"" Shapiro Beyond Reasonable Doubt 67. With its origins found deep within English legal history the grand jury was ""eulogized by Coke and BlackstoneÉ and crossed the Atlantic as one of the fundamental foundations of the common law in the American colonies"" Roots If It's Not a Runaway. ""Indeed there is an important sense in which the jury issue united not only America's revolutionary period and Founding era but also the 'settlement' years immediately following 1789"" Stimson Juries and American Revolutionary Jurisprudence 34-5.As American ""opposition to the British became more overt grand juries became more sympathetic to the colonistsÉ the famous case of John Peter Zenger is a prime exampleÉ as two separate N.Y. grand juries refused to indict him for criminal libel. Further in 1765 a Boston grand jury refused to find an indictment against the leaders of the Stamp Act Riots"" Paule Perversion of the Historic Function 304. ""Perhaps the best known case of grand jury independence involved the twice-unsuccessful efforts to indict former Vice President Aaron Burr for attempting to involve the U.S. in a war with SpainÉ Burr was finally indicted when a grand jury was convened in Virginia the stronghold of Burr's enemy Thomas Jefferson. Despite Jefferson's best efforts Burr was acquitted at trial in part because the judge gave such a narrow jury instruction and made evidentiary rulings so favorable to the defense that conviction was nearly impossible. The trial judge was John Marshall one of Jefferson's rivals"" Leopold Why Grand Juries 286.""The framers of the Constitution perceived the function of the grand jury as so essential to liberty that they specifically provided for it"" in the Fifth Amendment Paule 305. ""With its Grand Jury Clause insuring that 'no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury'É the Clause protected the people against arbitrary and overzealous government by protecting 'against hasty malicious and oppressive prosecution.' Secrecy in grand jury proceedings played a role in that protection."" For Somers in particular the secrecy requirement was absolute. In Grand Jurys he describes ""how grand jurors were sworn not to disclose the subjects of the inquiry the witnesses or any of the evidence. In addition grand jurors were sworn not to reveal their own personal knowledge the knowledge of their fellow jurors their investigative plans or their deliberationsÉ according to SomersÉ secrecy made possible the discovery of truth and protected individuals from malicious or hateful prosecution. In sum neither the king the general public nor the individual accused could benefit by making public the proceedings of a grand jury. The Grand Jury Clause of the Fifth Amendment made grand jury secrecy an implicit part of American criminal procedure"" Kadish 5-16. ""In a petition to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia Jefferson once termed the Anglo-Saxon tradition of trial by grand and petit jury 'the true tribunal of the people'"" Shannon Grand Jury 141. Jefferson owned and held two other works by Somers in his library. Preceded only by the 1681 first edition. Anonymously issued with Wing identifying Somers as author. Precedes the 1773 American edition. Pages 156-167 containing Latin and English text printed on opposite pages; final text page with ""Finis."" ESTC R10363. Wing S4643. Sweet & Maxwell I:378 34. See Sowerby 2015 2712. Early owner signature above title page.Text very fresh expert restoration to handsome binding. A very good copy. hardcover books
1865réf. 1260191865. First Edition. CONSTITUTION. Journal of the House of Delegates of the State of Virginia. for the Session of 1864Ñ5. Alexandria: D. Turner 1865. Octavo original front printed wrapper respined renewed rear wrapper original string stitching; pp. 1-3 4-83 1. Housed in a custom chemise and clamshell box. $4500.First edition one of 500 copies of the momentous Journal featuring its February 9 1865 entry on the Alexandria Virginia government's passage of the 13th Amendment mere days after the U.S. Congress the first of the four Unionist southern states to pass the Amendment also featuring the governor's Message noting: ""though we have in inherited from our fathers of the revolution the blessings of a great nation yet they also left to us an inheritance of African slavery which has proved a bitter dreg in our cup of freedom"" a vital record of forces for constitutional change near the end of the Civil War.Soon after the 1860 election amidst southern secession ""the great questions of union or disunion war or peace hung in the balance. Probably the crucial weight on the scale was VirginiaÉ as long as the federal government did not seek to coerce the states Virginia secessionists were unable to achieve a majority. When Lincoln responded with force to the attack on Fort Sumter however the vote in Virginia went in favor of secession."" Subsequently a Virginia convention ""met in Wheeling on May 13 1861É it elected as Governor Francis Pierpont a western Virginian and ardent Unionist and arranged for the creation of a legislature to replace the body sitting in RichmondÉ in July 1861 the new legislature met at the 'Restored Virginia' capital of Wheeling in a special session called by Pierpont."" Against its ""claim to represent a majority of Virginians"" a new state of West Virginia was created in 1863 and Pierpont's government moved to Alexandria to govern areas of Virginia under Union occupation Harrison Lawfulness of the Reconstruction Amendments 380-83.Scholars observe that the 13th Amendment its fellow amendments and Reconstruction as ""both a political process made possible by military successes and constitutional thought grew from wartime as well as post-Appomattox developments"" Hyman and Wiecek Equal Justice 247. This rare first edition of Journal of the House of Delegates substantiates that in documenting passage of the 13th Amendment by Pierpont's Virginia government mere days after the U.S. Congress passed the Amendment on January 31 1865. With that Virginia became the first of the four Unionist southern states that ratified the 13th Amendment. Of those Louisiana followed on February 17 with Arkansas and Tennessee that April. The 13th Amendment is the focus of the Journal's entry for February 9 1865 which states: ""Mr. Brownley called up Senate bill No. 12 entitled 'An Act to ratify the joint resolution of Congress passed January 31 1865 proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.' The bill was read the first and second timeÉ and the rules were suspended and the bill read the third timeÉ and the bill passed."" Also notable herein is the complete printing of Governor Pierpont's opening Message where he notes: ""though we inherited from our fathers of the revolution the blessings of a great nation yet they also left to us an inheritance of African slavery which has proved a bitter dreg in our cup of freedom."" He speaks at length of the rights due people of color and the abolition of laws such as those that prohibit ""negro testimony"" or proscribe a ""different punishmentÉ for persons of African dissent"" from that of ""white persons.""""The legislature met for its second session on December 5 1864É The governor's message was a long and important document and indicated the changes of opinion that the war was bringing about. Pierpont gave his views upon the all-important negro question. He congratulated the constitutional convention which had met in the spring on the abolition of slavery in Virginia and advocated sweeping changes in the laws concerning negroes. The act prescribing different punishments for blacks should he said be altered in accordance with the amended constitution as well as the law for apprenticing them. The law prohibiting the education of negroes should be abolishedÉ His language was on the whole very moderate. He advised the legalizing of the marital relations of negroes and most important the establishment of public schoolsÉ Notwithstanding the governor's advice no acts of great importance passed the legislatureÉ On February 9 1865 the assembly ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. It adjourned on March 7"" Eckenrode Political History of Virginia During the Reconstruction. Faint ""U.N.C. Duplicate"" stamp to front wrapper.Text fine; just a bit of faint soiling and a tide line to fragile front wrapper. An excellent copy of this elusive item. unknown books
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 books
1881réf. 664891881. Concord NH 1881. Unrecorded. Concord NH 1881. Unrecorded. Are New Hampshire's U.S. Senators Serving Shorter Terms Than Their Fellow Senators Broadside. New Hampshire. U.S. Constitution. Opinion of the Supreme Court. To the Senate of New Hampshire Running Title. Concord NH June 10 1881. 18" x 9-1/2" broadside. Text in parallel columns. Light browning vertical and horizontal fold lines some with clean tears at edges. $350. This broadside records an opinion submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. It states that New Hampshire's election schedule for state offices results in terms for New Hampshire's U.S. Senators that are three months shorter than those of other senators. It questions how to adjust the election cycle to guarantee 6-year terms to New Hampshire's senators which were then elected by the state senate. Signed in type by C. Doe Wm. L. Foster C.W. Stanley W.H.H. Allen Isaac W. Smith Leis W. Clark I.N. Blodgett. This appears to be an unrecorded broadside. OCLC locates 1 copy Library of Congress. unknown books
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 books
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 books
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 books
1841réf. 37252Providence 1841. Elephant folio sheet folded to 15-1/4" x 21-1/2." 4 pp. Old folds light foxing. Good. The "Proposed Constitution" adopted at "the Convention of the People" on 18 November 1841 is printed. It would grant the suffrage to "Every white male" adult. Articles favoring its adoption are printed along with Rhode Island's 1790 Declaration of Rights. Articles on national and local political affairs plus numerous advertisements are also printed. In 1843 Thomas Dorr was arrested at the offices of the Republican Herald for high treason. unknown books
1788réf. 30007.048Philadelphia PA 1788. Softcover. Fine. The Columbian Magazine. Magazine. The Columbian Magazine Philadelphia Pa. December 1788. 52 pp. 5 x 8 in. Lacking plates. This title has the honor of being the first successful American magazine having begun in September 1786 and lasting until December 1792. Although many titles existed earlier none enjoyed the success of lasting beyond a few issues or a couple of years.Opens with five pages on ""An Account of the Ancient Colleges at Cambridge in New England."" that being Harvard University. pp. 669-673.A recipe for making artificial Asses milk p. 698.With ""The American Plutarch - Memoirs of Captain John Smith"" pp. 699-703 continued for a previous issue and concluded in the next.A section on ""American Intelligence"" pp. 715-718 with the latest news reports including an item from Edenton North Carolina:""a new convention be recommended for the purpose of reconsidering the new constitution held out by the federal convention as a government for the United States."" p. 716.With a ""List of Senators of the United States Already Chosen"" by state pp. 717-718.Also mention of the officers for the Masonic Lodge at Philadelphia p. 716. paperback books
1791réf. 1258Paris: de l'Imprimerie Nationale 1791. Book. 12mo 19th c. quarter morocco marbled boards raised bands gilt compartments. Pp. 2 iv 179 uncut. Lightly foxed near fine with the half-title. The official printing of France's first constitution and its famed preamble "Declaration de Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen" and the only 18th century edition from the national press. The priority of the various editions of the constitution printed in 1791 seems not to have been yet sorted out but it would seem that the present one would reasonably bear a particular authority. A nice uncut copy with the half title. de l'Imprimerie Nationale, hardcover books
1820réf. 3330Mexico City: July 11 1820. About very good. Large double-sheet broadside approximately 23.5 x 17 inches. Two sheets joined at central horizontal fold. Five chips at left edge not affecting text and some additional minor edge wear; otherwise light toning and dust soiling. Two contemporary manuscript signatures at foot; contemporary duty stamps on blank verso. Fascinating and otherwise unrecorded broadside that dictates the organization and process for the 1820 election of Mexican deputies to the Spanish Cortes during the second and last period of constitutional monarchy in Mexico. Colonial Mexico first achieved some representation in the Spanish government under the liberal Constitution of 1812 which lasted for two years before being revoked by Ferdinand VII upon his return to power in 1814. The reinstatement of the liberal constitution and the Cortes of Cadiz in 1820 however was not enough to prevent Mexico from obtaining full independence one year later. This broadside promulgated in Mexico on July 11 1820 by the colonial Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca y Eliza announces the renewed representation via regional elections to select Provincial Deputies for the Cortes and contains eight articles delineating the process by which these elections are to be held. In brief these articles order representation be apportioned according to the population as approximated from the 1792 census; divides Mexico into provinces for the purposes of the election; and places parameters on representation for each province. In all a very interesting window onto the formation of the brief final period of Spanish colonial rule in Mexico. July 11 unknown books
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 books
1874réf. 16168Atlanta 1874. Broadsheet 10" x 13" and printed in four columns. Light wear Very Good. The Report provides analyses "of most of the leading guanos and phosphates that are sold in this State." Included also are articlues by Mark W. Johnson of Atlanta on Cheap Corn Culture using the Thomas Patent Smoothing Harrow and Broadcast Reaper; and advice to every Georgia planter to "plant at least one to five acres of millet. unknown books
1992réf. 40426Washington D.C.: Supreme Court Historical Society. Fine. 1992. Hardcover. A lovely copy book appears to be a first edition; however bookplate on pastedown states that the book is "reprinted" in Fine condition without dust-jacket as issued; is the definitive history of the Supreme Court and its justices from the nation's founding through the present day.The Supreme Court of the United States: Its Beginnings & Its Justices 1790-1991 is the authoritative history of the nation's highest court and its justices from the nation's founding through the present day. The volume is the product of a commission appointed by the National Archives and Records Administration to commemorate the United States Constitution's 200th anniversary. The commission worked with a team of outstanding historians including Allan Nevins Stanley Kutler and Arthur Schlesinger Jr. to produce a highly readable and comprehensive account of the court and its justices. The book is organized into three parts each covering a different period of Supreme Court history. Part One covers the court's early years from its creation under the Articles of Confederation in 1787 to the appointment of John Marshall in 1801. Part Two covers the Marshall era from the first major decisions of the court under Marshall to; Color Photographs and Illustrations; 4to; 300 pages . Supreme Court Historical Society hardcover books
2000réf. 69677Gaborone: Govt. Printer 2000. Paperback. Very Good. color map iii 170p. Softcover in original wrapper. 30 cm. Pages 161-166 bound in upside down. Also included is an unbound paperclipped twenty-seven page photocopy of "Revised Draft Government White Paper No. ___ of 2002" which contains a less than enthusiastic Government response to this. Govt. Printer paperback books
1970réf. 65517Johannesburg: Black Sash 1970. Paperback. Very Good. 20p. Wrapper. 25cm. A few red ink underlinings & notes. James Michener's ownership stamp. Black Sash paperback books
