Books and Manuscripts

Herty, Thomas
A Digest of the Laws of the United States of America. Being A Complete System…of All the Public Acts of Congress now in force--From the commencement of the Federal Government, to the end of the third session of the fifth Congress, which terminated in March 1799, inclusive
Baltimore: Printed for the Editor, by W. Pechin, 1800. First edition. 8vo. iv, (9)-562, (1, ad) pp. Quarter tan calf over marbled paper-covered boards, red morocco spine label, stamped in blind and in gilt; ink stamp of the “Association of the Bar, Library. City of New York” on title-page, ownership signature of Theodorus Bailey, dated 1801, at top of same; gutter of title-page worn and dampstained; scattered spotting to text. Evans 37613; Marvin 384; NAIP w020136; Sabin 31597

The first digest of Federalist laws prior to Thomas Jefferson's presidency. Includes a number of laws relating to domestic commerce, foreign trade, and the military. A useful supplement to early Federal session law, all entries contain references to the laws of the United States. The full texts of the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation are also included, as well as important treaties and a table of duties.

Thomas Herty was a conveyancer in Washington, D.C., and the author of A Digest of the Laws of Maryland (1799). Although Zepheniah Swift's index to the 1796 Folwell edition of The Laws of the United States is sometimes cited, Herty's was the first true digest of Federal laws. According to an advertisement for the book, Herty produced it to suit "the circumstances and ease of the citizens of every denomination of those States, having for its end, conciseness in substance, simplicity in arrangement, and cheapness in the purchase thereof."