Jefferson Signs 1791 Act Re: SC's 1st Census; 107,094 Enslaved Persons Counted Under 3/5 Compromise, With PSA LOA
Thomas Jefferson
Philadelphia, PA, November 8, 1791
Jefferson Signs 1791 Act Re: SC's 1st Census; 107,094 Enslaved Persons Counted Under 3/5 Compromise, With PSA LOA
DS
A remarkable document connecting Thomas Jefferson, the first U.S. Census, slavery, and the Three-Fifths Compromise of 1787: one of the Constitution's most consequential legacies.
A 1p printed document boldly signed by future 3rd U.S. President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), then U.S. Secretary of State, as "Th: Jefferson" near bottom center. Introduced to Congress on October 24, 1791 and approved by President George Washington on November 8, 1791. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Signed in print by Washington, Vice President John Adams, and Speaker of the House Jonathan Trumbull above Jefferson's live signature. Printed on laid paper and matted and framed in a floating mount to the left of a high-quality color portrait of Thomas Jefferson after Gilbert Stuart. Not examined out of the frame. The document shows expected age-related condition issues such as even toning, isolated handling marks, flattened transmittal folds, and minor chipped edges. Expert and discreet professional restoration to the central horizontal fold, a small vertical area of several lines found within the largest paragraph, and the outer periphery of the document. The first three letters of Jefferson's signature are lightly discolored, but otherwise bold. A tiny area of loss to the upper left corner of the sleek mahogany-finished frame. The sight size of the document is 8" x 12.5" while the overall framed size is 22.5" x 18.625" x 1". Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity issued by PSA/DNA Authentication Services, dated April 2004.
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson signed this congressional act on or around November 8, 1791. "An Act granting farther Time for making Return of the Enumeration of the Inhabitants, in the District of South-Carolina" had been introduced before the first session of the Second U.S. Congress (in session October 1791 - May 1792). The legislation granted an extension of four months, or until March 1792, for census-taking marshals in South Carolina to complete their tallies. The original act stipulating the terms of the first-ever U.S. Census of 1790, "An Act providing for the Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the United States," had been approved on March 1, 1790.
The Constitution required the new federal government to conduct an "actual Enumeration" every 10 years for purposes of congressional representation and direct taxation. As stated in Article I, Section 2, the total would include all free persons, plus three-fifths of "all other Persons." Accordingly, America's first-ever census was divided into categories: free white males, free white females, other free persons, and enslaved people. The census was not simply a demographic survey: the inclusion of enslaved people into its final tally directly impacted the state's political representation. Nowhere was that fact more consequential than in South Carolina. When its delayed return was finally completed, the census recorded 107,094 enslaved people among 249,073 inhabitants, or approximately 43% of the state's entire population. When Congress convened in 1793, South Carolina received seven seats in the House of Representatives.
South Carolina was not alone in requesting more time to complete the U.S. Census of 1790. In June 1790, an extension was granted to Rhode Island, and Vermont was also given a new deadline in March 1791. South Carolina's need for an extension can possibly be explained by some internal changes which had recently been implemented. The state's third constitution, passed in 1790, had created 21 new election districts, and just a few years before that, in 1785, the South Carolina General Assembly had created 34 new county designations in the state. New lands located in the northwestern backcountry were increasingly being ceded by the Cherokee and taken over by white settlers. In other words, South Carolina's
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Thomas Jefferson
Philadelphia, PA, November 8, 1791
Jefferson Signs 1791 Act Re: SC's 1st Census; 107,094 Enslaved Persons Counted Under 3/5 Compromise, With PSA LOA
DS
A remarkable document connecting Thomas Jefferson, the first U.S. Census, slavery, and the Three-Fifths Compromise of 1787: one of the Constitution's most consequential legacies.
A 1p printed document boldly signed by future 3rd U.S. President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), then U.S. Secretary of State, as "Th: Jefferson" near bottom center. Introduced to Congress on October 24, 1791 and approved by President George Washington on November 8, 1791. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Signed in print by Washington, Vice President John Adams, and Speaker of the House Jonathan Trumbull above Jefferson's live signature. Printed on laid paper and matted and framed in a floating mount to the left of a high-quality color portrait of Thomas Jefferson after Gilbert Stuart. Not examined out of the frame. The document shows expected age-related condition issues such as even toning, isolated handling marks, flattened transmittal folds, and minor chipped edges. Expert and discreet professional restoration to the central horizontal fold, a small vertical area of several lines found within the largest paragraph, and the outer periphery of the document. The first three letters of Jefferson's signature are lightly discolored, but otherwise bold. A tiny area of loss to the upper left corner of the sleek mahogany-finished frame. The sight size of the document is 8" x 12.5" while the overall framed size is 22.5" x 18.625" x 1". Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity issued by PSA/DNA Authentication Services, dated April 2004.
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson signed this congressional act on or around November 8, 1791. "An Act granting farther Time for making Return of the Enumeration of the Inhabitants, in the District of South-Carolina" had been introduced before the first session of the Second U.S. Congress (in session October 1791 - May 1792). The legislation granted an extension of four months, or until March 1792, for census-taking marshals in South Carolina to complete their tallies. The original act stipulating the terms of the first-ever U.S. Census of 1790, "An Act providing for the Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the United States," had been approved on March 1, 1790.
The Constitution required the new federal government to conduct an "actual Enumeration" every 10 years for purposes of congressional representation and direct taxation. As stated in Article I, Section 2, the total would include all free persons, plus three-fifths of "all other Persons." Accordingly, America's first-ever census was divided into categories: free white males, free white females, other free persons, and enslaved people. The census was not simply a demographic survey: the inclusion of enslaved people into its final tally directly impacted the state's political representation. Nowhere was that fact more consequential than in South Carolina. When its delayed return was finally completed, the census recorded 107,094 enslaved people among 249,073 inhabitants, or approximately 43% of the state's entire population. When Congress convened in 1793, South Carolina received seven seats in the House of Representatives.
South Carolina was not alone in requesting more time to complete the U.S. Census of 1790. In June 1790, an extension was granted to Rhode Island, and Vermont was also given a new deadline in March 1791. South Carolina's need for an extension can possibly be explained by some internal changes which had recently been implemented. The state's third constitution, passed in 1790, had created 21 new election districts, and just a few years before that, in 1785, the South Carolina General Assembly had created 34 new county designations in the state. New lands located in the northwestern backcountry were increasingly being ceded by the Cherokee and taken over by white settlers. In other words, South Carolina's
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Reserve
Time, Location
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