FIRST OFFICIAL PRINTINGS OF THE ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS

Acts Passed at the First Session of the Fifth Congress of the United States of America: Begun and Held at the City of Philadelphia... Philadelphia: William Ross, 1797. 

8vo; 561, 26, iv, [48] pages. Contemporary full brown sheep, black morocco spine label. Evans 32951, 34688, and 36479; Sabin 15502. (Evans records only those printed by Richard Folwell. Sabin does not record the printer). 

Near-contemporary ink inscription to front free endpaper: "Town of Nobleboro / Property / Laws of the United States". Ink inscription dated 1823 to rear free endpaper: "Nobelboro / May 3 1823 / this does surtify [sic] / that this is my Book / [illegible] / Nobleboro, Jan. 9 1823."

All three sessions of the Fifth U.S. Congress, including the second and third sessions, with continuous pagination, each with separate title pages. Notably, the compilation of laws includes the first official printing of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which limited naturalization and granted the President authority to detain and deport foreigners under the pretense of national security. Endorsed by the Federalist Party and President Adams, the laws were issued in response to the ongoing disputes with the French revolutionary government, including the XYZ Affair and the undeclared Quasi-War. 

Other important acts include the establishment of the Department of the Navy, the Marine Hospital Act, and the Mississippi Organic Act, creating the Mississippi Territory. The book also features printings of treaties with Tripoli (promising tribute payments for American protection) and the Cherokee. Also included is a handsome printing of the Constitution of the United States. 

Printed by William Ross, who by 1797 had become the major "printer of the Acts... with the beginning of the Fifth Congress." (Powell 101-102). Richard Folwell, who printed the Acts of earlier Congresses, is also recorded as printing an issue of the Fifth Congress, though no priority is established. 

An unsophisticated copy of an important collection of laws enhanced with early 19th-century inscriptions.     

 [Books, Ephemera, Pamphlets, Publications, Booklets, Memoirs] [Politics, Legal History, Legislative History] [Quasi-War, French Revolution, XYZ Affair, Presidents, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson] 

Title page detached and with significant tear. Both board detached. Boards with scuffing, spine cracked and chipped.