Home >
Washington's Act of Congress consumes the entire front page... More inside...
Washington's Act of Congress consumes the entire front page... More inside...
Item # 703612
August 07, 1790
COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, Boston, Aug. 7, 1790
* Seamen's Act of 1790
* George Washington signed
The entire front page is taken up with the full text of: "An ACT for the Government & Regulation of Seamen in the Merchants Service" headed with an engraving of a heraldic eagle. It is signed in script type by the President: George Washington.
This may be the only issue we've handled where an Act of Congress entirely consumes the front page.
Page 2 begins with another Act of Congress signed in script type: George Washington.
Four pages, great condition.
background: The dominance of this specific Act on the front page reflects the critical transition of the United States into a centralized maritime power, as the Seamen’s Act of 1790 was the first federal effort to formalize the chaotic relationship between merchant sailors and ship owners. By dedicating the entire cover to this legislation, the Columbian Centinel acted as a legal bridge for the Boston community, where the local economy lived and died by the sea; the text outlined everything from "shipping articles" (contracts) to the mandatory provisions of bread and water, effectively transforming sailors from seasonal laborers into legally protected—and bound—subjects of the new federal government. The presence of Washington's name in script type and the heraldic eagle serves as a visual "stamp of authority," signaling to a skeptical public that the brand-new Constitution was no longer just a theoretical document, but a functioning machine capable of governing the nation's most vital industry.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
Available Now
$86.00
