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Info page for book:   Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America, March 4, 1789–March 3, 1791
Info page for book:   Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America, March 4, 1789–March 3, 1791
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Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America, March 4, 1789–March 3, 1791

Correspondence: Third Session, November 1790–March 1791

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

Volume
Volume 21
Publication Date

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
1128
ISBN
9781421416069
Illustration Description
8 halftones, 2 line drawings
Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Introduction
Editorial Method
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Symbols
Members of the House of Representatives
Members of the Senate
Subjects Debated in the House of Representatives
Sub

List of Illustrations
Introduction
Editorial Method
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Symbols
Members of the House of Representatives
Members of the Senate
Subjects Debated in the House of Representatives
Subjects Debated in the Senate
Appointees to Office during the Third Session
CORRESPONDENCE
Accommodations for Congress at Philadelphia
November 1790
December 1790
January 1791
February 1791
March 1791

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Carl A. Zimring, Ph.D.

Carl A. Zimring is a professor of social science and cultural studies at Pratt Institute. He is the author of Clean and White: A History of Environmental Racism in the United States and Aluminum Upcycled: Sustainable Design in Historical Perspective.
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.