[American Imprints]. GAZETTE OF THE UNITED-STATES. 121 issues, biweekly, 4 pages per issue, from “May 20-23, 1789” to Oct. 13, 1790 (dates listed on p. 6), plus many duplicates. Includes 1 or more of the following issues. Nos. XII, XIX, XXX, XXXIII-XLIII, XLV, XLVII-LVI, LXI-LXXI, LXXIII to 157, and 1st leaf only of No. XIII. Vol II begins with No. 105 (Apr. 14). There is an additional issue numbering system beginning with May 5 (Whole No. 111, Vol II, No. 7, with Oct. 13 being Vol II, No. 53). Published Wednesdays and Saturdays by John Fenno, No. 9. Maiden-Lane, New York. Price Three Dollars per Ann. (Publication statement above is as it appears Feb. 13 to May 1, 1790. Beginning May 5, place of publication is "...No. 41 Broad-Street, Near the Exchange, New-York” with price omitted. At lower right of 4th page of most issues preceding Feb. 13: “Published by John Fenno, No. 9, Maiden-Lane, near the Oswego-Market, New-York.-[3 dol. Per an.]” Hyphen is omitted from the front page title’s “United-States” from Apr. 14 onward.)
Folio. 4 pages (2 leaves) per issue, mostly [3] cols per page. ESTC P3285. Sabin 26811.
Signed by the publisher “John Fenno” (lower margin of one copy of Sep. 11, 1790, front page).
Ownership signatures include that of a printer and Federalist newspaper editor in Worcester, Massachusetts: Signed “Isaiah Thomas” in margin of front page of Nov. 14; Nov. 18, 1789; Nov. 28, 1789. Signed “I. Thomas” in margin of front page of May 27, 1789; and the same copy of Sep. 11, 1790 signed by Fenno. Signed “Mr. Thomas of Worcester” on May 27, 1789, p50. One copy of Oct. 7 is signed “I. J. Thomas/Worcester” in upper margin, with ink marginalia. Binding remnants and stitchholes indicate that one copy of each of the following issues came into the possession of Isaiah Thomas and/or were bound with Thomas’s issues: Nov. 14 to Dec. 9, 1789; Dec. 16-26, 1789; the duplicate leaf of Mar. 20, 1790; June 30 to July 31, 1790; Aug. 11, 1790; Aug. 25 to Sep. 11, 1790; and Sep. 29; Oct. 6; and Oct. 13, 1790. An ink note in the margin of one copy of Dec. 26, 1789, p299 refers to a Federalist newspaper, Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy, or Worcester Gazette: “you are therefore requested to give his labours a place in your paper the Massachusetts Spy…” The words “your paper” are underlined, and the notation appears in the margin, with markings to the text of 2 lines (suggesting changes in wording and punctuation). The ink lines and squiggles that appear beside the text of articles in many other issues suggest that a correspondent (presumably a Federalist) was sending Thomas issues of the Gazette of the United States after marking off articles that Thomas might want to reprint in Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy or other publications. One copy of Sep. 18, 1790 has markings that include the word “almanack.” Also see the markings in one copy of May 22, pp462-463; one of June 30, 1790, p507; one of July 10, p519.
When 2 (or in some cases 3) of any given issue are present, one copy was bound with issues signed by Isaiah Thomas, and one copy was bound with those signed by “David D. Crane,” whose signature appears at the top of Aug. 5, 8, and 22, 1789, pages 109, 113, and 149; Jan. 9 and Mar. 27, 1790; and other issues (frequently with binder’s trimming). Binding remnants and stitchholes indicate that the following issues were bound with those signed by Crane: Aug. 22 to Oct. 21, 1789; Dec. 12; Dec. 26-30, 1789; Jan. 9, 1790; Mar. 3-13, 1790; Mar. 27, 1790; and Apr. 10, 1790. An ownership signature, possibly “Wm Witmoor” or “Wm Witmore” appears on one copy each of Jan. 20, 23, 27, and Jan. 30, 1790, in one case appended with “Caplin’s Alley,” in another “Aldens Lane.” A binding remnant and stitchholes at the issues’ inner edge links Witmore to one copy each of most of the issues in the range of Jan. 2 – May 26, 1790. At top of Apr. 3, 1790 is another signature (last name not legibile, but “Capt. John…”)
A small number of issues have full split. Occasional loss of text (for instance May 29, 1790). Tears (mostly marginal, but within text of many issues incl Nov. 14, 1789). Tape to both leaves of Aug. 19, 1789, front page of Nov. 14, 1789, 2nd leaf of Nov. 14, 1789, 2nd leaf of Nov. 21, and some other locations. Marginal chipping. Some issues stained and/or foxed. Occasional soiling. Mostly gentle creases. Small number of issues have blue notation (for instance, one copy of Jan. 2, 1790, usually in margin, mostly in those associated with David D. Crane, as described above). Sold with all faults.
From Apr. 15, 1789 until shortly after the end of John Adams’ presidency, the Gazette of the United States served as the official journal of Congress, as well as an outlet for Presidential proclamations, letters, and other statements. It also functioned as a conventional newspaper, publishing news and political tracts from a Federalist perspective, in opposition to the other side of the emerging party system, the Republicans (later the Democratic-Republicans, and eventually the Democrats). John Fenno had secured his contract as Congress’s official printer through his connections to influential Federalists, including George Washington. Despite the Republicans’ hatred for Fenno, the arrangement was not unique in an era when competitive bidding for government contracts was almost unheard of.
Congress required the Gazette of the United States to print whatever Congress ordered it to print, but the Gazette of the United States could not jeopardize its viability as a newspaper by allowing the government to occupy an entire page. Thus, with some variation, a typical act of Congress or summary of Congressional debate occupies part of a front page, continues onto the 2nd and the 3rd page, and will often be continued in the next issue, in as many installments as necessary to finish the text of the law or an official summary of a day’s debate. Especially in comparison to the modern Congressional Record, the Gazette of the United States also fell short in terms of accuracy and completeness— it sometimes failed to print everything it was supposed to print. With the encouragement of James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and other Republicans, Philip Freneau established the National Gazette, a Republican newspaper intended to compete with the Gazette of the United States. Once the Republicans gained control of the legislative and executive branches, the latter publication (the Republicans’ National Gazette) became the official journal of Congress’s proceedings, and took on most of the Gazette of the United States’ unsound editorial practices: Splitting acts of Congress between the 1st, 2nd, and 3rdpage, running longer acts of Congress in installments, and not printing everything Congress told it to, with the main change being the National Gazette’s editorial bias.
The Massachusetts Spy, or Worcester Gazette went through changes in title over the years. The newspaper began in Boston. In 1771, the colonial Governor Hutchinson tried to have Thomas prosecuted, but the grand jury refused to indict. Shortly after the Revolution broke out, Thomas moved his printing business to Worcester.
The issues of the Gazette of the United States present here include:
Congress submitting the Bill of Rights submitted to the states for ratification (Oct. 1, 1789, p199, 1st column and upper portion of 2nd column).
Earlier version of the Bill of Rights proposed to the States. (Front page, p[185], lower fifth of Col 2 and upper half of Col 3, with “establishing articles of faith” instead of “respecting an establishment of religion,” and without the phrase “by an impartial jury.”)
New York’s convention ratifying the Constitution. (Dec. 5, 1789, p271.)
Rhode Island last state to ratify Constitution (June 2, p475; and June 9, 1790, p481). The same issue covers legislative matters related to extending Federal judiciary to Rhode Island and North Carolina (p483). Statutes subjecting Rhode Island to tariffs (June 19, 1790, p493, ctr col), other Federal laws (June 19, 1790, p493), and Federal courts (June 26, p502).
First Presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving, (. “…Thursday the twenty-sixth day of November next, to be devoted… to the service of that great and glorious Being…” Oct. 7, 1789, front page, col 1. One copy has “I. J. Thomas/ Worcester” in upper margin, with ink notations resembling those of an editor. Soiling to Thomas copy’s front page.)
Text of a letter from George Washington “To the Hebrew Congregation of the City of Savannah.” (p494). June 19, 1790, p494).
Tennessee: “An Act to accept a Cession of the Claims of the State of North Carolina, to a certain District of Western Territory.” (Apr. 7, 1790, p411).
“An Act for the Government of the Territory of the United States, South of the Ohio.” (June 2, p474.)
“An Act for establishing a temporary and permanent seat of the government of the United States.” (July 17, 1790, p527). “Temporary” was a reference to Philadelphia, where Fenno’s entire family died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1798. Even at the end of this run of The Gazette of the United States, the place of publication is still New York.
George Washington nominating 6 Supreme Court justices, 13 federal District Court judges, 13 US Attorneys, 13 federal Marshalls, several infantry officers, and 4 others: “Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State. Edmund Randolph, Attorney-General. Samuel Osgood, Postmaster-General. William Carmichael, Esq. Charges des Affair from the United States to the Court of Spain.” (Sep. 30, 1789, p195, col 2. One copy has markings next to the article; that annotated copy of Sep. 30, 1789 is preceded by a Sep. 26 that has an ownership signature in the upper margin of its 1st page, not entirely legible, but may be “Dabney Cushing” or “Dalney Cushing.” One of the Supreme Court nominees listed on p195 of the Sep. 30 issue is “William Cushing, of Massachusetts.”)
First statute defining Federal crimes: “An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States.” (May 12, 1790, p449).
1st Federal copyright law (June 5, 1790, pp478-479).
“An Act for Regulating the Military Establishment of the United States.” (May 8, 1790, p445.)
Revolutionary veterans, widows, fatherless children: “The bill for the relief of disabled soldiers and seamen, and other persons lately in the service of the United States, was passed…” (July 31, 1790, p542. In one copy, small editorial-style notations in sepia appear on some other portions of the page. Page 543 of that copy has “Worcester Worcester” in margin. The Gazette of the United States reports a related statute, “An Act for the relief of the persons therein mentioned…,” as signed into law Sep. 4, 1790, p581.)
1st census: “An Act providing for the enumeration of the Inhabitants of the United States.” (Mar. 10, 1790. Debate appeared in the Jan. 27, 1790 issue, p330, with ink lines in margins. Implementing legislation July 10, 1790, p518).
“Sketch of the Debate on the question for committing the Memorials on the Slave Trade.” (Feb. 17, 1790, p354, including a summary of Madison’s statement near the middle of the page). House debate related to the slave trade, with ink markings possibly consistent with republication in Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy on the duplicate of the 1st leaf of Mar. 20, 1790, p390.
Federal budget request for “8,285,603. 87-90ths.” (July 25, 1789, upper 2/3 of middle and right column).
Passage of a Federal budget (Apr. 3, 1790, p408).
Compulsory registration/inspection of ships: “An Act for registering and clearing Vessels, Regulating the Coasting-Trade, and for other purposes.” (Sep. 26, 1789, p192, requiring Federal registration of ships and other regulations to ease the work of customs officials/tax collectors). “An Act to prevent the exportation of Goods not duly inspected…” (Apr. 7, 1790, p411, lower right). Passage of “An Act to provide more effectually for the Collection of the Duties imposed by Law on Goods, Wares and Merchandize imported into the United States, and on the Tonnage of Ships or Vessels.” (2 installments only from Sep .8 to Oct. 2, 1790, Vol II, Nos. 44-50).
“An Act for allowing a Compensation to the President and Vice President…” ($25,000 and $5,000/year, Oct. 24, 1789, p224). Also in the same issue: “Treasury Department… Estimate of the Expenditure For the Civil List…,” listing proposed salaries for Federal officials, including $25,000 salary for the President. (Oct. 24, 1789, p223, right col, lower half, 1 installment).
Setting salary of Senators and Representatives at $7 and $6 per day in session, and $7/6 per 20 miles travel. (Oct. 14, 1789, p212).
The national debt and Federal “assumption” of state government debts was a central theme in House debate for several months. See particularly Mar. 10, pp378-379; ink markings on one copy of May 22, p463; markings in one copy of July 24, 1790, p535; text of July 28, 1790, p539; ink marginalia of one copy of Aug. 11, 1790, p555). Related legislative proceedings are covered Feb. 24, 1790 (p362). Madison introduced an amendment under which debt relief to state governments would be based on population as determined by the census (Feb. 27, 1790, p366, right col, 3rd paragraph, ink line in right margin).
In Morocco, upon the “death of his father, El-Azed in an instant ordered himself to be proclaimed in the tomb of Absolem, Emperor of Morocco… every Jew in that city should be put to death.-This was nearly being carried into execution… The new emperor then ordered every man, woman, and child of the Jewish religion to be stripped naked, their goods, property, and money of every kind to be given to his troops. This was actually done… cut, beat, and abused by every rascal they came near… he inquired for the Spanish and English Vice-Consuls, who were both Jews. He ordered them to be tied up by their heels, there to remain until they died… the English Vice-Consul did not suffer, but the Spanish, suffered as above…” (Sep. 18, 1790, p598. One copy has contemporary ink marking in margin.)
“From the keeper of the goal in Philadelphia… 1780 to 1790, 4061 persons have been confined therein for debt.” (Oct. 6, 1790, p619. Contemp ink mark in margin of 1 copy.)
Postmaster-General (an act of Congress, Oct. 14, 1789, p212).
Skin color of early humans: Article related to French Revolution notes that “Among other sacrifices to the rage of the mob… house of a Mr. Faussart, surgeon, and with it his museum, containing a great collection of skulls, in a regular gradation from the human to the animal. This gentleman, in a very ingenious treatise published at Paris about two years since, asserts that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were black!” (With ink line in margin, presumably recommended for republication in Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy, Nov. 14, 1789, 248, on left).
“Africanus,” who writes that he was freed at a “young age,” argues that “…If mankind are from one stock… every reason to believe that it was a dark olive…” (Near the center of p372, Mar. 3). The same pen name was used for a follow-up on Mar. 6, p376.
French revolution coverage includes storming of the Bastile. “…When the King’s army approached the city, the inhabitants immediately armed themselves, by seizing the hospital… Mean time the people attacked the Bastile, the Governor of which having admitted a number of them, drew up the bridge, and then sacrificed the whole.-The Citizens finding that they had been deceived, took the Governor and Lieut. Governor out, and beheaded them both- and then leveled the walls to the ground-but few prisoners were found therein….” Sep. 23, 1789, p187, right col, lower portion).
Troops numbering about “...25 to 30,000 had arrived…,” including German and Swiss mercenaries, with further coverage of the attack on the Bastille, including sending the heads of the Bastille’s “Governor and Lieut. Governor… through the city in triumph to the Palace Royal.” (Sep. 26, 1789, p190, col 1, paragraph 1. Lower portion of p190, 1st column and upper portion of p190, 2nd column cover the capture and lynching of the hated French aristocrat Foulon.
“Description of the Bastile.” (Oct. 7, 1789. p203, right col).
“… ‘That all the goods of the church are at the disposal of the nation, charged only with providing, in a suitable manner, for the expense of divine worship… Forty members objected to the terms which the question was put, and refused to vote...” (French National Assembly, Dec. 26, 1789, p298. In the copy of Dec. 26, 1789, p298 that had been bound with Isaiah Thomas’s issues, it is marked off with an ink line in the margin).
In the list of issue dates below, duplicates are denoted with a “(2x)” or “(3x)”; a second copy of one leaf only is recorded as “addl. 1st leaf”:
“May 20-23, 1789”; 1st leaf only of May 27, 1789; June 17, 1789; July 25, 1789; Aug. 5; Aug. 8; Aug. 12 (2x); Aug. 19; Aug. 22; Aug. 26; Aug. 29; Sep. 2 (2 copies); Sep. 5 (w/ addl. 1st leaf); Sep. 9; Sep. 16 (w/ addl. 1st leaf); Sep. 23 (2x); Sep. 26 (2x); Sep. 30 (2x); “October 1, 1789” (2x, actually Oct. 3); Oct. 7 (2x); Oct. 10; Oct. 14 (2x); Oct. 17; Oct. 21; Oct. 24 (2x); Nov. 11; Nov. 14; Nov. 18; Nov. 21; Nov. 25; Nov. 28; Dec. 2; Dec. 5; Dec. 9 (2x); Dec. 12; Dec. 16; Dec. 23; Dec. 26 (2x); Dec. 30, 1789 (2x); Jan. 2, 1790; Jan. 6; Jan. 9 (2x); Jan. 13; Jan. 16; Jan. 20 (w/ addl. 1st leaf); Jan. 23, 1790 (w/ addl. 1st leaf); Jan. 27 (w/ addl. 1st leaf); Jan. 30, 1790 (2x); Feb. 3, 1790 (2x); Feb. 6, 1790; Feb. 10 (2x); Feb. 13 (2x); Feb. 17 (2x); Feb. 20 (2x); Feb. 24 (2x); Feb. 27 (2x); Mar. 3 (3x); Mar. 6 (3x); Mar. 10 (2x); Mar. 13 (3x); Mar. 17; Mar. 20 (w/ addl. 1st leaf); Mar. 24 (2x); Mar. 27 (2x); Mar. 31 (w/ addl. 1st leaf); Apr. 3 (2x); Apr. 7 (2x); Apr. 10 (3x); Apr. 14; Apr. 17; Apr. 21; Apr. 24; Apr. 28; May 1 (2x); May 5; May 8; May 12; May 15; May 19; May 22 (2x); May 26; May 29; June 2, 1790; June 5, 1790; June 9 (3x); June 12, 1790 (2x); June 16, 1790 (3x); June 19, 1790 (3x); June 23 (2x); June 26; June 30 (2x); July 3 (2x); July 7 (4x); July 10 (3x); July 14 (2x); July 17 (3x); July 21 (2x); July 24 (4x); July 28 (4x); July 31 (3x); Aug. 4 (3x plus addl. 1st leaf); Aug. 7 (3x); Aug. 11 (4x); Aug. 14 (2x); Aug. 18; Aug. 21, 1790 (2x); Aug. 25 (3x); Aug. 28 (4x); Sep. 1 (4x); Sep. 4 (3x); Sep. 8 (2x); Sep. 11 (4x); Sep. 15 (2x); Sep. 18 (4x); Sep. 22 (2x); Sep. 25 (2x); Sep. 29 (3x); Oct. 2 (3x); Oct. 6 (3x); Oct. 9, 1790 (3x); Oct. 13 (3x).