HERTY, Thomas

A Digest of the Laws of the United States of America. Being a Complete System, (Alphabetically Arranged) of All the Public Acts of Congress Now in Force - from the Commencement of the Federal Government, to the End of the Third Session of the Fifth Congress, which Terminated in March 1799, inclusive.

Baltimore: W. Pechin, 1800. 8vo. 8 x 4 1/5 inches. iv, [9]-562pp. plus advertisement leaf.

Bound to style in half calf over marbled boards, leather label. Library stamp and ownership signature on titlepage.

The first digest of Federalist laws prior to Jefferson's presidency. Includes a number of laws relating to domestic commerce, foreign trade, and the military.

Thomas Herty was a conveyancer in Washington City (DC), and the author of A Digest of the Laws of Maryland (1799). Although Zepheniah Swift's index to the 1796 Folwell edition of The Laws of the United States is sometimes cited, Herty's was the first true digest of Federal laws. According to an advertisement for the book, Herty produced it to suit 'the circumstances and ease of the citizens of every denomination of those States, having for its end, conciseness in substance, simplicity in arrangement, and cheapness in the purchase thereof.' Following the model of his earlier Digest of the Laws of Maryland (1799), Herty arranged the main texts of all Federal public laws alphabetically under general heads with references to other heads as they may have enlarged, abridged, or otherwise altered each other. A useful supplement to early Federal session law, all entries contain references to the laws of the United States. The full texts of the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation are also included, as well as important treaties and a table of duties.

Evans 37613; Marvin 384; NAIP w020136; Sabin 31597.

Item #29640

Price: $600.00