The Bankrupt Law of the United States, Passed August 19, 1841....
An Introduction to the Then-Recent Second Federal Bankruptcy Law: OCLC Locates 3 Copies in Law Libraries [Bankruptcy]. [United States]. A Member of the Bar. The Bankrupt Law of the United States, Passed August 19, 1841. With a Commentary Containing a Full Explanation of the Law of Bankruptcy, And Ample References to English and American Authorites [sic], Prepared for Popular and Professional Use. Philadelphia: Orrin Rogers, No. 67 South Second Street [et al.], 1841. 48 pp. Octavo (8-3/4" x 5-1/4"; 22.2 x 13.3 cm). Disbound stab-stitched pamphlet. Moderate toning, light soiling to exterior, staining along fore-edge of title page, corner folds to first few leaves, edgewear and damage to upper-outside corners of final few leaves, text not affected. A good copy of a scarce pamphlet. $350. * Only edition. Enacted in the wake of severe economic turmoil, the Bankruptcy Act of 1841 was only the second federal bankruptcy law in United States history. The nation's first federal act, passed in 1800, was a strictly pro-creditor tool meant to streamline debt collection across state lines, but it proved widely unpopular and was repealed in 1803. For nearly four decades, the U.S. relied on a chaotic patchwork of state insolvency laws. The catastrophic Panic of 1837 and the grueling five-year depression that followed fundamentally changed the political landscape. With hundreds of thousands of citizens ruined by debt, a powerful Whig-led movement championed federal relief to allow honest debtors a clean economic slate. The resulting General Bankrupt Law of 1841 was a landmark piece of legislation: it introduced the concept of voluntary bankruptcy to American law for the very first time, allowing debtors-not just aggressive creditors-to initiate proceedings. Despite its revolutionary framework, the law faced intense backlash from states' rights advocates and creditors who viewed it as an unconstitutional erasure of private contracts. The act was remarkably short-lived, suffering a swift repeal in 1843 after being active for only thirteen months. Published immediately following the law's passage, this rare pamphlet provides the complete, unabridged text of the Act alongside a comprehensive section-by-section commentary by an anonymous "Member of the Bar." The author explicitly designs the text "for popular and professional use,"
Price: $350.00
Book number 83561