A Bill to Establish an Uniform System of Bankruptcy, Throughout the...
The First Federal Bankruptcy Act: OCLC Locates 1 Copy of this Printing [Bankruptcy]. [United States]. A Bill to Establish an Uniform System of Bankruptcy, Throughout the United States. Philadelphia: Printed by T.L. Plowman, 1801. 28 pp. Octavo (6-3/4" x 4-1/4"; 17.1 x 10.8 cm). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Moderate toning, light soiling to exterior, a few minor spots to title page. Rare. $1,500. * An exceptionally rare printing of the first Federal Bankruptcy Act. Though originally enacted by Congress in February 1800, this 1801 Plowman printing preserves the legislative formatting of the system that temporarily reshaped early American commerce. Designed to encourage economic risk-taking and harmonize the chaotic, conflicting patchwork of state debtor laws, the Act was closely modeled on British commercial law. However, it was deeply unpopular from its inception. Critics routinely attacked it as a moral hazard that shielded financially irresponsible speculators, leading to its swift repeal in November 1803. Following its demise, the United States would operate without a national bankruptcy framework until the passage of the short-lived General Bankrupt Law of 1841. Highly scarce in commerce and institutional holdings. OCLC locates only 1 copy of this printing (at Harvard). Not found in Cohen or Sabin.
Price: $1,500.00
Book number 73489