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Thomas Jefferson Act of Congress Signed as Secretary of State....
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Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson Signs the Federal Criminal Code of 1790 -- The Seminal Congressional Act Defining the First Federal Crimes of the United States and their Respective Punishments
Thomas Jefferson Act of Congress Signed as Secretary of
State. Seven printed pages on two bifolium leaves, 9.125 x
15.375 inches (232 x 391 mm). New York, April 30, 1790. [New York:
Francis Childs and John Swaine, 1790]. A printed broadside, An
Act for the Punishment of certain Crimes against the United
States, being the act that explicitly enumerated Congressional
authority to define and punish federal crimes. Signed "Th:
Jefferson" as Secretary of State and countersigned in type by
George Washington as President, Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg as
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and John Adams as
Vice-President of the United States and President of the Senate.
Docketed in ink on the second bifolium verso, "An Act for
punishing certain crimes against the United States, Jany. 4th 1790
Duplicate."The document reads, in part:
Congress of the United States: at the Second Session, Begun and held at the city of New-York, on Monday the Fourth of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety. An act for the Punishment of certain Crimes against the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled. That if any person or persons owing allegiance to the U.S. of Arms shall levy war against them, or shall adhere to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort, within the United States or elsewhere, and shall be thereof convicted, on confession in open court, or on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act of the treason whereof he or they shall stand indicted, such person or persons shall be adjudged guilty of treason against the United States, and shall suffer death.
And be it enacted, That if any person or persons, having knowledge of the commission of any of the treasons aforesaid, and not as soon as may be disclosed and make known the same to the President of the United States, or some one of the Judges thereof, or to the President of Governor of a particular State, or some one of the judges or justices thereof, such person or persons on conviction shall be adjudged guilty of misprision of treason, and shall be imprisoned not exceeding seven years, and fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.
And be it enacted, That if any person or persons shall, within any fort, arsenal, dock-yard, magazine, or in any other place of district of country, under the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, commit the crime of willful murder, such persons on being thereof convicted shall suffer death... Approved, April the 30th, 1790...
The newly adopted Constitution enumerated Congressional authority to define and punish the crimes of piracy, counterfeiting, and "offences against the Law of Nations." Other crimes not mentioned in the Constitution could be implied from other delegated Congressional powers. The Crimes Act of 1790, also known as the Federal Criminal Code of 1790, was the first attempt by Congress to establish criminal offenses punishable by the new federal government. This Act created twenty-three federal crimes and their punishments as well as addressed the criminal procedures of the federal courts and amended the recently adopted Judiciary Act of 1789.
The Act was primarily drafted by Connecticut Federalist Senator (and future Chief Justice) Oliver Ellsworth, who, as Chair of the Senate Committee, was also responsible for the Judiciary Act of 1789 and the Process Act of 1789. In drafting the Act, Ellsworth and the committee borrowed from the criminal laws of the states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.
The categories of crimes established by the Act included: treason and misprision (deliberate concealment) of treason, crimes against persons (murder, manslaughter, mayhem), piracy and the high seas (piracy, mutiny, murder, robbery or felony on the high seas), counterfeiting, crimes against the laws of nations, crimes against property, and crimes against the integrity of the judicial process. The Act defined federal crimes and set forth applicable penalties, but also specified the statute of limitations for various offenses.
Seven of the crimes defined in the Act were capital offenses punishable by the death penalty and specified that the sole method of execution was hanging by the neck. The relatively short list of capital offenses reflected a progressive departure from the conventions of the day, when most serious offenses were punishable by death. Corporal punishment was also practiced; thus, the Act permitted public whippings not exceeding thirty-nine "stripes" for certain offenses, including larceny.
The First Congress, in three sessions between March 1789 and March 1791, was one of the most productive in history, creating a working government within the framework laid out by the Constitution. A law passed on September 15, 1789 directed the Secretary of State to send two authenticated copies of each law, order, vote, or resolution of Congress to the executive of every state. Thus, this document is one of only 26 copies of this Act signed by Jefferson, and we could locate no additional copies in our search of trade records. An historic and foundational document in the history of the United States, defining federal criminal law.
Condition: Flattened folds with slight toning, two short edge tears and repair along the second bifolium center fold. Retains some threads for binding.
References: Shipton & Mooney 46041; Currie, Constitution in Congress: Substantive Issues in the First Congress, 1789-1791.
Provenance: Property of A Distinguished American Collector From The Pacific Northwest
Auction Info
2023 July 8 Historical Platinum Signature® Auction #6275 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
July, 2023
8th
Saturday
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