Books and Manuscripts

A Very Rare Credential for the Confederation Congress, Boldy Signed by John Hancock

Boston, Massachusetts, November 12, 1783. One sheet folded to make four pages, 15 5/8 x 8 7/8 in. (397 x 225 mm). Manuscript document in a secretarial hand, boldly signed by John Hancock as Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, authorizing James Sullivan to serve in the United States Congress of the Confederation; counter-signed by Secretary John Avery; large paper seal, top left; docketed on verso. Creasing from contemporary folds, repairs on verso of interior pages; one vertical fold traversing Hancock's signature repaired on verso; scattered chipping along edges of first leaf; remnants of old mount of verso of integral leaf.

A rare and magnificently signed John Hancock document, being the official credentials for Massachusetts lawyer and patriot James Sullivan to serve in the Confederation Congress of 1783-84.

"Whereas the General Court of the Commonwealth aforesaid did on the twenty eighth day of June Ao. Di. 1783 agreeable to the Constitution of said Commonwealth appoint The Honble James Sullivan Esq. a Delegate to represent this Commonwealth in the Congress of the United States of America.

Now therefore Know Ye that I do by these Presents & in persuance of the said Appointment Commission the said James Sullivan Esq. to represent this Commonwealth in Congress I vest him with all & Singular the Powers & Authorities to the said Office or Place of Delegate belonging by Virtue of the Constitution of this Commonwealth & the Appointment aforesaid. And to hold said Office until the first Monday in November Ao. Di. 1784. And the said James Sullivan Esq. is hereby required to observe the Instructions which from time to time Shall be given to him by the General Court of this Commonwealth."

Sullivan, born in Berwick, Maine (then a part of Massachusetts) was an early and ardent supporter of the American Revolution and a lifelong public servant in Massachusetts. He served in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress from 1774-75, was a member of the Massachusetts General Court from 1775-76, and helped organize colonial defenses in York County, sitting on its Committee of Safety and Inspection, as well as other committees charged with acquiring arms and equipment. In December 1774, he took part in one of the first overt acts of the Revolution when he helped raid the Fort of William and Mary in New Hampshire, seizing powder that was later used in the Battle of Bunker Hill. In 1776 he was appointed justice for the Massachusetts Supreme Court, and in 1779 participated in the convention that drafted the state's first Constitution following the Declaration of Independence. He served on the Supreme Court until his resignation in 1782, and subsequently practiced law in Boston. He was first elected to serve in the United States Confederation Congress in 1782, but he declined the appointment due to financial reasons. The following year, on June 28, 1783, he was again elected to serve in Congress, and was issued this official commission from the Massachusetts General Court, but records indicate that he did not attend sessions in Annapolis, likely due to his business engagements. He officially resigned his seat on February 3, 1784, and was replaced by Francis Dana. In 1790 Sullivan was appointed by Hancock to serve as Massachusetts Attorney General, a position he held until 1807, when he was elected Governor of the state, dying in that office the following year.

Congressional commissions are very rare, as elected delegates typically submitted their credentials to Congress upon their attendance. The large majority of these credentials were then deposited in the National Archives. As Sullivan never attended Congress, he likely never officially submitted these credentials, and thus this document represents one of only a handful that have ever reached the market. No other similar credentials have reached auction since 1968.