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Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America, March 4, 1789–March 3, 1791

Correspondence: Supplement

United States, First Congress, 1789-1791. Charlene Bangs Bickford, Kenneth R. Bowling, Helen E. Veit, and William Charles diGiacomantonio, eds.

Volume
Volume 22
Publication Date
Binding Type

Two volumes complete the twenty-two volume documentary history, a monumental publishing project that began in 1972.

With the publication of volumes 21 and 22, Johns Hopkins University Press completes the Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789–1791, a comprehensive edition that presents the official records (volumes 1–8) and the unofficially reported debates (volumes 9–14) of this essential congress, as well as eight volumes of correspondence. These letters and other documents bring the official record to life, illustrating the often informal political negotiations of a young...

Two volumes complete the twenty-two volume documentary history, a monumental publishing project that began in 1972.

With the publication of volumes 21 and 22, Johns Hopkins University Press completes the Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789–1791, a comprehensive edition that presents the official records (volumes 1–8) and the unofficially reported debates (volumes 9–14) of this essential congress, as well as eight volumes of correspondence. These letters and other documents bring the official record to life, illustrating the often informal political negotiations of a young nation’s earliest leaders and revealing the world they lived in.

Volume 21 begins with a section describing the move to Philadelphia’s Congress Hall. Third Session correspondence, arranged chronologically from November 1790 to March 1791, when Congress officially concluded its business, follows. Several key and potentially divisive issues—including a national bank, a tax on domestically produced spirits, and the final location of the permanent seat of the federal government—occupied the time and attention of Congress during this short session. In addition, reports of a successful attack on US troops by Native Americans in the Northwest Territory were the impetus for moves to increase the size of the military while continuing to negotiate with the Indian nations.

Volume 22 is unique among the correspondence volumes in that it is topical. It begins with a section of firsthand accounts about Congress that were written after it adjourned, some as late as the 1840s. This is followed by sections of documents relating to the 1790 Treaty of New York with the Creek Nation and its aftermath, as well as the experience of FFC incumbents during the second federal election. The final section includes letters and other documents dated 1789 to 1791 that the editors discovered after the publication of the volume in which they would have otherwise appeared. The documents gathered here include selections from a book of poems by Representatives Thomas Tudor Tucker and John Page, and Page’s wife, Margaret Lowther, as well as listings from the New York Society Library’s ledger that recorded book loans to members in 1789 and 1790, when Congress met in New York City’s Federal Hall. The final volume concludes with an extensive editorial apparatus, including the biographical gazetteer and index for the two-volume set. This extensive index continues the editors’ policy of indexing all concepts to provide intellectual access.

Reviews

Reviews

This complete and well-edited record of the First Federal Congress is a model documentary edition. Historians of the early republic owe thanks to the editors and publisher of this exemplary collection.

A treasure-trove of incomparable knowledge about the beginnings of Congress.

About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
1136
ISBN
9781421420196
Illustration Description
5 halftones, 2 maps
Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
April 1791–1848
The Treaty of New York and Its Aftermath
The Second Federal Election and Members of the First Houseof Representatives
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Maryland
Massachusetts
M

List of Illustrations
April 1791–1848
The Treaty of New York and Its Aftermath
The Second Federal Election and Members of the First Houseof Representatives
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Maryland
Massachusetts
Maine District
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Virginia
Additional Letters and Documents
Margaret Lowther Page, Poem Book
New York Society Library Records
Residences of Members
Philadelphia Weather Charts
Biographical Gazetteer
Third Session House Bills
Third Session Senate Bills
Index

Author Bios
Steven J. Bachrach, MD
Featured Contributor

Steven J. Bachrach, MD

Steven J. Bachrach, MD, is a the co-director of the Cerebral Palsy Program at Nemours / Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. He is a professor of pediatrics at the Sidney Kimmel School of Medicine and the medical director at Philadelphia’s HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy.
Featured Contributor

Charlene Bangs Bickford

Charlene Bangs Bickford is the director and coeditor of the Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789–1791.
Featured Contributor

Helen E. Veit

Helen E. Veit is an associate editor of the Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789–1791.