1776 Revolutionary Government of New Jersey: Original Legislative Manuscripts on Quartering Troops, Military Logistics, and Admiralty Jurisdiction
Regular price
$33,995.00
Original Revolutionary-Era Legislative Manuscript Archive
An exceptional archive of four original handwritten legislative manuscript bills prepared for the Council and General Assembly of New Jersey during the opening years of the American Revolution. These working drafts document the creation of New Jersey's new state government following independence and illustrate how lawmakers established civil authority after separating from Great Britain.
Unlike printed session laws, these manuscripts were working legislative copies, complete with extensive editorial revisions, insertions, deletions, and amendments made during the drafting process. They offer a rare glimpse into the actual legislative process as New Jersey transformed from a royal colony into an independent state.
Included are:
1. An Act to explain the New Constitution of the State of New Jersey, as to the quartering of, and furnishing Carriages for, the Army in the Service of the United States of North America, and for making some further Provision for the same
This substantial multi-page committee draft addresses one of the central constitutional questions of the Revolution.
The bill regulates:
quartering Continental troops
billeting soldiers
military transportation
wagons and horses
compensation for civilians
requisition of public buildings
protection of private property
authority of civil magistrates
limitations upon military officers
The legislation begins with an extensive constitutional analysis referencing:
the New Jersey Constitution
the Common Law of England
the English Bill of Rights
earlier parliamentary statutes
It represents an extraordinary example of Revolutionary constitutional drafting as legislators reconciled inherited English legal principles with the needs of an independent American state.
2. "An Act to Obviate Doubts with Respect to the Authority of Counsellors"
An important original Revolutionary War legislative manuscript addressing one of the most fundamental legal problems confronting the newly independent State of Delaware: the continued authority of public officials following separation from Great Britain.
Prepared during the first months of New Jersey's independence, this original committee draft confirms that existing judicial and civil officers would continue to exercise the powers previously entrusted to them under the colonial government. The legislation declares that such officers shall remain vested with full authority as conservators of the peace, retain the power to acknowledge deeds and other legal instruments, and continue to enjoy the rights, privileges, and immunities necessary for the orderly administration of justice.
Rather than creating new offices, the act ensured continuity of government by preserving the legal authority of experienced officials during the transition from colony to state. Without such legislation, the validity of judicial proceedings, land transactions, and other civil acts could have been called into question.
Written in iron-gall ink on laid paper, the manuscript preserves contemporary editorial revisions characteristic of a working committee draft prepared before the official engrossed act.
Details
Original Revolutionary War legislative manuscript
Circa 1776–1777
Committee draft
Iron-gall ink on laid paper
Contemporary revisions and interlineations
Very Good+ condition
Historical Significance
This manuscript illustrates a crucial but often overlooked aspect of the American Revolution: the preservation of legal continuity. While the Declaration of Independence severed political ties with Great Britain, state governments still had to ensure that courts remained open, deeds remained valid, and magistrates retained lawful authority. This act records Delaware's legislative solution to that problem.
3. An Act for Establishing a Court of Admiralty and Custom House Officers within the State of New Jersey
Although this was found among Delaware legislative papers, the act itself concerns New Jersey. During the Revolution, neighboring states frequently borrowed, reviewed, or adapted one another's legislation, particularly in areas such as admiralty jurisdiction, prize cases, customs enforcement, and maritime commerce. Delaware's legislators were actively reorganizing their own legal system in 1776–1777, making it plausible that this manuscript served as a reference copy or committee draft related to maritime judicial legislation.
Historical Context
Following Independence, the colonial Vice-Admiralty Courts established under the British Crown ceased to function. Each state had to create its own admiralty courts to handle:
captures of British vessels
prize litigation
confiscated Loyalist property
customs enforcement
maritime commercial disputes
violations of embargoes and navigation laws
Without such courts, privateering—the capture of enemy ships under state commissions—could not legally operate.
The opening language establishes:
"...a Court of Admiralty..."
to exercise jurisdiction within the State of New Jersey.
This placed maritime justice under state rather than British authority.
Importance
Admiralty legislation ranks among the most desirable categories of Revolutionary legal manuscripts because it directly relates to:
the American naval war
privateering
prize money
confiscated British shipping
financing the Revolution
Many fortunes during the Revolution were made through prize cases decided in these courts.
Physical Characteristics
The manuscript shares several characteristics with your other legislative drafts:
eighteenth-century laid paper
iron gall ink
legislative docket on the reverse
committee-style handwriting
working draft rather than an engrossed copy
It appears to be from the same general period (circa 1776–1777).
Condition
Very Good+
complete
attractive laid paper
strong manuscript
original docketing
customary filing folds
minor edge loss at lower right, not affecting the title or most of the text
4. "An Act for the Security of the Government of New Jersey"
Jurisdiction: State of New Jersey
Date:1776 (the text refers to legislation passed September 19, 1776, and repeals earlier colonial oath statutes)
Document Type: Original legislative committee draft
Historical Importance
This is one of the earliest loyalty laws enacted by an American state following the Declaration of Independence.
Its purpose was to secure the new Revolutionary government by requiring public officers and others holding positions of trust to renounce allegiance to Great Britain and swear fidelity to the State of New Jersey.
The opening declares:
"...it is essentially necessary for the Safety of this State that a proper Test be established..."
It authorizes a formal loyalty oath for:
civil officers
military officers
magistrates
public officials
persons holding positions of trust
Those refusing the prescribed oath were disqualified from office and could be proceeded against as persons dangerous to the security of the state.
Constitutional Importance
This manuscript demonstrates the legal transformation from colony to independent state.
One of the most significant sections repeals the traditional colonial oath:
"...Affirmation to the King of Great Britain...are hereby repealed."
That sentence marks the formal replacement of allegiance to the British Crown with allegiance to the people and government of New Jersey.
Few Revolutionary manuscripts express that constitutional transition so directly.
Physical Characteristics
Original laid paper
Iron-gall manuscript
Committee draft
Numerous editorial revisions
Contemporary insertions and deletions
Original legislative hand
Two pages
Condition:
Very Good
with edge wear and ink burn consistent with eighteenth-century legislative manuscripts.
Rarity
Original committee drafts of Revolutionary loyalty legislation are exceptionally scarce.
Most surviving examples are:
printed session laws
engrossed copies
later archives
Working legislative drafts documenting the evolution of the text rarely survive.
Original Revolutionary-Era Legislative Manuscript Archive
An exceptional archive of four original handwritten legislative manuscript bills prepared for the Council and General Assembly of New Jersey during the opening years of the American Revolution. These working drafts document the creation of New Jersey's new state government following independence and illustrate how lawmakers established civil authority after separating from Great Britain.
Unlike printed session laws, these manuscripts were working legislative copies, complete with extensive editorial revisions, insertions, deletions, and amendments made during the drafting process. They offer a rare glimpse into the actual legislative process as New Jersey transformed from a royal colony into an independent state.
Included are:
1. An Act to explain the New Constitution of the State of New Jersey, as to the quartering of, and furnishing Carriages for, the Army in the Service of the United States of North America, and for making some further Provision for the same
This substantial multi-page committee draft addresses one of the central constitutional questions of the Revolution.
The bill regulates:
quartering Continental troops
billeting soldiers
military transportation
wagons and horses
compensation for civilians
requisition of public buildings
protection of private property
authority of civil magistrates
limitations upon military officers
The legislation begins with an extensive constitutional analysis referencing:
the New Jersey Constitution
the Common Law of England
the English Bill of Rights
earlier parliamentary statutes
It represents an extraordinary example of Revolutionary constitutional drafting as legislators reconciled inherited English legal principles with the needs of an independent American state.
2. "An Act to Obviate Doubts with Respect to the Authority of Counsellors"
An important original Revolutionary War legislative manuscript addressing one of the most fundamental legal problems confronting the newly independent State of Delaware: the continued authority of public officials following separation from Great Britain.
Prepared during the first months of New Jersey's independence, this original committee draft confirms that existing judicial and civil officers would continue to exercise the powers previously entrusted to them under the colonial government. The legislation declares that such officers shall remain vested with full authority as conservators of the peace, retain the power to acknowledge deeds and other legal instruments, and continue to enjoy the rights, privileges, and immunities necessary for the orderly administration of justice.
Rather than creating new offices, the act ensured continuity of government by preserving the legal authority of experienced officials during the transition from colony to state. Without such legislation, the validity of judicial proceedings, land transactions, and other civil acts could have been called into question.
Written in iron-gall ink on laid paper, the manuscript preserves contemporary editorial revisions characteristic of a working committee draft prepared before the official engrossed act.
Details
Original Revolutionary War legislative manuscript
Circa 1776–1777
Committee draft
Iron-gall ink on laid paper
Contemporary revisions and interlineations
Very Good+ condition
Historical Significance
This manuscript illustrates a crucial but often overlooked aspect of the American Revolution: the preservation of legal continuity. While the Declaration of Independence severed political ties with Great Britain, state governments still had to ensure that courts remained open, deeds remained valid, and magistrates retained lawful authority. This act records Delaware's legislative solution to that problem.
3. An Act for Establishing a Court of Admiralty and Custom House Officers within the State of New Jersey
Although this was found among Delaware legislative papers, the act itself concerns New Jersey. During the Revolution, neighboring states frequently borrowed, reviewed, or adapted one another's legislation, particularly in areas such as admiralty jurisdiction, prize cases, customs enforcement, and maritime commerce. Delaware's legislators were actively reorganizing their own legal system in 1776–1777, making it plausible that this manuscript served as a reference copy or committee draft related to maritime judicial legislation.
Historical Context
Following Independence, the colonial Vice-Admiralty Courts established under the British Crown ceased to function. Each state had to create its own admiralty courts to handle:
captures of British vessels
prize litigation
confiscated Loyalist property
customs enforcement
maritime commercial disputes
violations of embargoes and navigation laws
Without such courts, privateering—the capture of enemy ships under state commissions—could not legally operate.
The opening language establishes:
"...a Court of Admiralty..."
to exercise jurisdiction within the State of New Jersey.
This placed maritime justice under state rather than British authority.
Importance
Admiralty legislation ranks among the most desirable categories of Revolutionary legal manuscripts because it directly relates to:
the American naval war
privateering
prize money
confiscated British shipping
financing the Revolution
Many fortunes during the Revolution were made through prize cases decided in these courts.
Physical Characteristics
The manuscript shares several characteristics with your other legislative drafts:
eighteenth-century laid paper
iron gall ink
legislative docket on the reverse
committee-style handwriting
working draft rather than an engrossed copy
It appears to be from the same general period (circa 1776–1777).
Condition
Very Good+
complete
attractive laid paper
strong manuscript
original docketing
customary filing folds
minor edge loss at lower right, not affecting the title or most of the text
4. "An Act for the Security of the Government of New Jersey"
Jurisdiction: State of New Jersey
Date:1776 (the text refers to legislation passed September 19, 1776, and repeals earlier colonial oath statutes)
Document Type: Original legislative committee draft
Historical Importance
This is one of the earliest loyalty laws enacted by an American state following the Declaration of Independence.
Its purpose was to secure the new Revolutionary government by requiring public officers and others holding positions of trust to renounce allegiance to Great Britain and swear fidelity to the State of New Jersey.
The opening declares:
"...it is essentially necessary for the Safety of this State that a proper Test be established..."
It authorizes a formal loyalty oath for:
civil officers
military officers
magistrates
public officials
persons holding positions of trust
Those refusing the prescribed oath were disqualified from office and could be proceeded against as persons dangerous to the security of the state.
Constitutional Importance
This manuscript demonstrates the legal transformation from colony to independent state.
One of the most significant sections repeals the traditional colonial oath:
"...Affirmation to the King of Great Britain...are hereby repealed."
That sentence marks the formal replacement of allegiance to the British Crown with allegiance to the people and government of New Jersey.
Few Revolutionary manuscripts express that constitutional transition so directly.
Physical Characteristics
Original laid paper
Iron-gall manuscript
Committee draft
Numerous editorial revisions
Contemporary insertions and deletions
Original legislative hand
Two pages
Condition:
Very Good
with edge wear and ink burn consistent with eighteenth-century legislative manuscripts.
Rarity
Original committee drafts of Revolutionary loyalty legislation are exceptionally scarce.
Most surviving examples are:
printed session laws
engrossed copies
later archives
Working legislative drafts documenting the evolution of the text rarely survive.
Share
Recently viewed products
×
Please wait...
Make An Offer
"1776 Revolutionary Government of New Jersey: Original Legislative Manuscripts on Quartering Troops, Military Logistics, and Admiralty Jurisdiction"
$33,995.00
"1776 Revolutionary Government of New Jersey: Original Legislative Manuscripts on Quartering Troops, Military Logistics, and Admiralty Jurisdiction"
