THE CONSTITUTION OR FRAME OF GOVERNMENT FOR THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

[Massachusetts]: [Adams, John]

Verlag: Benjamin Edes and Sons, Boston, 1781

24pp. Woodcut seal on titlepage (see below). Folio. Dbd. Lower outer corner of titlepage torn (no text affected), first two leaves detached but present. Occasional underlining in a contemporary hand, a few spots of foxing, even tanning. Very good overall. In a burgundy chemise and half red morocco and burgundy cloth slipcase, spine gilt. The first folio edition of the final ratified Massachusetts constitution, issued after corrections and revisions had been made to a second printing of the octavo edition by Edes and Sons the previous year. This ratified constitution for the Commonwealth was the product of the convention adjourned in March of 1780. The present constitution begins with a long declaration of the rights of Massachusetts citizens (including freedom of the press and protection from unreasonable searches), and then spells out the roles and powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. "The people's rejection of the 1778 constitution.ensured that Massachusetts would now hold a true constitutional convention, establishing a crucial precedent that would be repeated on both the federal and state levels for years to come. In 1779 all freemen at least twenty-one years old could vote for delegates to represent them at a gathering in Cambridge. The convention's only job was to write a constitution and to arrange for its ratification by the people. When the convention met, it appointed a committee to produce a draft. The committee asked one of its members, John Adams, to handle the bulk of the work" - Hrdlicka. "In some respects the constitution of 1780 remedied the defects of its predecessor of 1778. A bill of rights assured to each citizen 'the security of his person and property' as an unassailable condition to the social contract. A strong executive with extensive veto powers, an independent judiciary appointed for good behavior, and a senate representing property effectively restrained the house of representatives, the only popular branch of government" - Handlin. There is also a section continuing the special privileges of Harvard College, and another encouraging the appreciation of literature in the commonwealth. The Handlins note that John Adams' role was pre-eminent in the crafting of the 1780 constitution. It is a constitution that served as a guide for other states and for the Constitutional Convention of 1787. See the Handlins' COMMONWEALTH for an extended discussion of the creation and importance of the Massachusetts constitution. The state seal featured on the titlepage, quite similar to the current state seal, was almost certainly designed and engraved by Paul Revere. In an article in THE REVERE HOUSE GAZETTE, Paul Revere House Research Director Patrick Leehey writes that the case for "Revere actually having done the work is fairly strong." In 1780, Secretary of the Commonwealth John Avery appointed Nathan Cushing to oversee the creation a new state seal. In his report to Avery, Cushing described the new design (though he does not note who actually designed it) as: "Sapphire, an Indian dressed in his shirt, moggosins, belted proper - in his right hand a bow. Topaz - in his left an arrow, its point towards the base - of the second on the Dexter side of the Indian's head, a Star. Pearl for one of the United States of America. - Crest, on a wreath a dexter arm cloathed & ruffled proper, grasping a broad sword, the Pommel & hilt. Topaz - with this motto, - 'Ense petit placidam sub Libertate quietam' and around the seal, 'Sigillim reipublicae Massachusettensis.'" Avery's final report was dated December 13, 1780; ten days later Paul Revere billed the state for "engraving a seal." "Because the Avery document was included in the Revere Family Papers, and because Revere billed the state for engraving the seal only ten days later, it seems reasonable to assume that Cushing, or some other official, gave the work to Revere" - Leehey, p.4. This folio edition is quite rare in the market, and this is the first. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers WRCAM57271

Bibliografische Details

Titel: THE CONSTITUTION OR FRAME OF GOVERNMENT FOR ...
Verlag: Benjamin Edes and Sons, Boston
Erscheinungsdatum: 1781