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Sale 58
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Lot 22
Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826). Third president of the United States (1801-09). Document signed "Th: Jefferson" as Secretary of State, one page, 14 x 8¼ in., New York, May 26, 1790. With light horizontal folds clear of Jefferson’s signature, which is unusually large and bold. Professionally conserved. Signed in type by George Washington as President, John Adams as Vice President, and Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Being "An ACT for the Government of the Territory of the United States, south of the river Ohio," passed by the Second Session of Congress, "Begun and held at the City of New-York, on Monday the fourth of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety."
In part: "Be it enacted… that the territory of the United States, south of the river Ohio, for the purposes of temporary government, shall be one district; the inhabitants of which shall enjoy all the privileges, benefits and advantages, set forth in the ordinance of the late Congress…And the government of the said territory…shall be similar to that which is now exercised in the territory north-west of the Ohio; except so far as is otherwise provided in the conditions expressed in an act of Congress of the present session, intitled, 'An act to accept a cession of the claims of the state of North-Carolina, to a certain district of western territory."
In 1784, North Carolina ceded its western claims on the Territory of Tennessee to the United States. Residents of eastern Tennessee organized these lands as the "State of Franklin" in honor of Benjamin Franklin. For four years, the State of Franklin maintained a precarious existence plagued by conflict with Indians, internal dissension and ineffectual efforts to obtain official recognition. In 1789, North Carolina was able to reestablish its jurisdiction over this territory because it had been originally ceded under the defunct Articles of Confederation. The land was then transferred to the Constitutional Government in an Act ratified by the General Assembly in December, 1789.
In May 1790, Congress accepted the cession and organized the entire Tennessee area, passing this "Act for the Government of the Territory of the United States south of the river Ohio." It stipulated that the Territory would be governed in accordance with the Northwest Territory Ordinance of June 13, 1787, with the exception of its prohibition of slavery (as demanded by North Carolina when she relinquished the territory in 1790).
President Washington appointed North Carolina’s William Blount as the first Governor of the territory south of the Ohio River. By 1796, the territory had met the requirements for statehood and on June 1, 1796, Tennessee became the 16 state.
Estimated Value $20,000 - 25,000.
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