The Alexander Hamilton Collection of John E. Herzog

An early Connecticut newspaper prints a key piece of Alexander Hamilton's plan to make the United States financially stable

New-London: Printed by Timothy Green and Son, Friday, August 20, 1790. Vol. XXVII, Numb. 139. Folio. (4) pp. Bifolium sheet, 15 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (387 x 260mm). Printed newspaper in three columns. Reports on the front page the Funding Act of 1790, passed in Congress only two weeks prior, on August 4. Creased from original fold, moderately toned; scattered edge-wear.

The Funding Act of 1790 was a key piece in Alexander Hamilton's ambitious plan to set the new nation on sound financial ground. It was the first act passed by Congress to enact Hamilton's plan for the federal government to assume state debts incurred during the Revolution—it laid out the specific amounts to be subsumed, as well as detailing the means by which to do so. This was the first major fiscal measure passed by Congress to address the nation's staggering debt after the ratification of the Constitution.