Fine Books and Manuscripts

FIRST SESSION UNDER THE MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION. To the Honorable Samuel Holten Esqr. You being chosen Senator by a majority of voters in the County of Essex for this Commonwealth, are hereby in the name of said Commonwealth of Massachusetts summoned to attend and assist at a General Court to be begun and holden at the State House in Boston on Wednesday the thirtieth of the present May at nine o'clock A.M. You will therefore give your attendance that there may be a due convention of Senators on the said day. Given pursuant to the Constitution of government of the Commonwealth aforesaid at the Council Chamber in Boston the fourteenth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty one, and in the fifth year of the independence of the United States of America.In 1779, the Massachusetts General Court organized the election of 312 delegates from towns across the state to participate in a convention to draft a state constitution. The convention sat from September 1 through October 30. John Adams drafted the constitution and declaration of rights, which was presented to eligible voters for ratification in 1780; it was ratified on June 15, 1780, and went into effect on October 25, 1780, and still functions today. The structure of the document served as the model for the U.S. Constitution. The declaration of rights read in part: "All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness." It effectively abolished slavery in Massachusetts. Samuel Holten, a physician, dedicated his life to public service. He served as a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress from 1774-1775, and the Massachusetts Committee of Safety in 1775. He served in the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1780. He was a member of the state constitutional convention, and served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1780-1782, and in 1784, 1786, 1789, and 1790. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1787. SCARCE: No other document in which Hancock summons a member of either house to attend the first session under the Massachusetts Constitution has appeared for sale at auction in the last 40 years, according to online records.