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DS as secretary of state, signed “Th: Jefferson,” one page, 7.75 x 11.75, February 9, 1791. Official printing of a resolution passed by the First Congress of the United States during its Third Session, headed “An Act declaring the Consent of Congress to a certain Act of the State of Maryland.” The act reads, in full: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the consent of Congress be, and is hereby granted and declared to the operation of an act of the General Assembly of Maryland, made and passed at a session begun and held at the city of Annapolis, on the first Monday in November last, intituled, ‘An act to empower the wardens of the port of Baltimore to levy and collect the duty therein mentioned,’ until the tenth day of January next, and from thence until the end of the then next session of Congress, and no longer.” Imprinted at the conclusion with the names of Speaker Frederick Muhlenberg, Vice President John Adams, and President George Washington, and prominently signed below in ink by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Matted and framed to an overall size of 16.25 x 20. In very fine condition.
This early document reflects the young federal government's effort to regulate interstate and maritime commerce under the newly ratified Constitution. Because states could not impose duties on imports or exports without Congressional consent, early measures such as this illustrate the practical mechanics of federalism in the nation’s formative years. In this instance, the act grants Maryland temporary permission to enforce a recently passed state law, which empowers the wardens of the Port of Baltimore to levy a port duty. Congress grants Maryland’s authority only on a limited basis—until January 10, 1792, and thereafter only until the close of the next congressional session—revealing the degree of federal oversight exercised in the early republic as the new system of commercial regulation took shape. Documents from the First Congress—particularly those signed by Thomas Jefferson—are prized for their role in defining the structure of American governance.
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