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A Washington Act of Congress begins the front page...
A Washington Act of Congress begins the front page...
Item # 704043
November 26, 1791
COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, Boston, Nov. 26, 1791
* President George Washington
* Act of United States Congress
* re. census of South Carolina
The front page begins with a half-column Act of Congress headed with a nice engraving of a heraldic eagle. It is: "An Act Granting Farther Time for Making Returns of the Enumeration of the Inhabitants in the District of South Carolina", signed in script type by the President: Go. Washington.
Page 3 has an article headed: M. La Fayette". The back page is mostly taken up with ads including ten illustrated ship ads.
Fourth pages, never-trimmed margins, very nice condition.
background: In November 1791, President George Washington signed into law an act of Congress titled “An Act granting farther Time for making Return of the Enumeration of the Inhabitants in the District of South Carolina”, which extended the deadline for South Carolina to complete its 1790 federal census. The extension became necessary after reports from the district marshal, Isaac Huger, revealed that several census assistants had failed to fulfill their duties—one even absconded with the records—making it impossible to meet the original deadline mandated by the Census Act of 1790. Prompted by concerns raised by Charleston officials and federal judge Thomas Bee, Washington sent a message to Congress on November 1, 1791, outlining the issue and enclosing the grand jury’s presentment detailing the delays. Acting swiftly, Congress passed legislation within a week, officially extending the census deadline to March 1, 1792, and waiving penalties for South Carolina’s failure to comply on time. This act demonstrated the federal government's early commitment to fair representation and pragmatic governance by accommodating logistical difficulties in carrying out the Constitutionally mandated population count.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
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