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Lot 282
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John Hancock & Samuel Adams Broadside, "Act for better regulating the Militia" Rare
John Hancock & Samuel Adams Broadside, "Act for better regulating the Militia" Rare
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Description:

John Hancock
Boston, MA, March 21, 1783
John Hancock & Samuel Adams Broadside, "Act for better regulating the Militia" Rare
Printed document

SAMUEL ADAMS / JOHN HANCOCK, Printed Document Signed in Print, Resolution to Print Copies of Act, March 21, 1783, Boston, Massachusetts. 1 p., 8.5" x 7.125". Staining; general toning.

Massachusetts Governor John Hancock and Senate President Samuel Adams, along with Speaker of the House of Representatives Tristam Dalton, approved this resolution of the legislature to have 800 copies of a recently passed amendatory act printed and sent to the officers of the Massachusetts militia.

Excerpt
"RESOLVED, That the Secretary be directed to cause to be printed Eight Hundred Copies of said Act, and transmit the same to the several Field-Officers of this Commonwealth; one of which Copies to be by them delivered to the Commanding Officer of each Company under their Command."

Historical Background
The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 required all able-bodied men over the age of 16 to serve in the militia, providing their own firearms, ammunition, and other equipment and training periodically. As a part-time force, the militia acted as a defense force, police, firemen, and hosts of community events. Muster days, on which the militia trained, often involved the entire community and ended with festivities. The system suffered from a lack of professionalism and standardization among towns.

In March 1781, the Massachusetts legislature passed An Act forming and Regulating the Militia Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and for Repealing All Laws Heretofore Made for that Purpose. This act established the militia system for the state during the final years of the Revolutionary War and into the nineteenth century.

On March 21, 1783, Governor John Hancock signed An Act in Addition to and for Altering and Amending An Act, Entitled, "An Act forming and Regulating the Militia Within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and for Repealing All Laws Heretofore Made for that Purpose." This amendatory act changed the method for recovering fines and penalties from those members of the militia who failed to appear for training, appeared improperly equipped, were disobedient to orders, or were disorderly during the training. The clerk of the company was to report such offenses, and a local justice of the peace was to summon the offender to answer the charge. The amendatory act gave the forms for the legal process, including a summons and a warrant for seizing property to pay the fine. The accused could appeal to the Court of Common Pleas, but if he lost, the penalty would be three times the original fine plus court costs. The amendatory act also empowered the governor to assemble companies that had not elected officers and require them to do so.

The militia system in Massachusetts declined after the War of 1812 and was disbanded in 1840, when it was replaced with the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, consisting of younger men who voluntarily enlisted in uniformed, better-trained, and better-equipped units. In 1907, the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia was redesignated as the Massachusetts National Guard.

John Hancock (1737-1793) was a Boston merchant and leader of the colonial resistance movement. Born in Braintree, his paternal uncle, Thomas Hancock, adopted John after his father died in 1742. John Hancock graduated from Harvard College in 1754 and went to work for his uncle, from whom he learned the mercantile trade. The Hancock family engaged in smuggling with the French West Indies in defiance of the Molasses Act. When his uncle died childless in 1764, John Hancock inherited the lucrative mercantile business and became one of the wealthiest men in New England. Named a Boston selectman in 1765, Hancock opposed the Stamp Act, and upon passage of the Townshend Duties in 1767, he resolved to prohibit British customs officials from setting foot on his ships. Hancock served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and, in 1774, he was elected president of the revolutionary Provincial Congress. He and Samuel Adams were the targets of General Gage's projected campaign against Lexington and Concord in April 1775. During the war, Hancock served as President of the Continental Congress, 1775-1777, and in that capacity signed the Declaration of Independence in bold script on July 4, 1776. After Shays' Rebellion embroiled Massachusetts in civil unrest in 1786 and 1787, Hancock's support of the new Constitution was probably responsible for its ratification by Massachusetts, by a narrow margin. Under a new Massachusetts constitution, he was overwhelmingly elected governor in 1780 and served until his resignation in January 1785. When Shays' Rebellion confounded his successor, James Bowdoin, Hancock returned to office as governor in 1787 and pardoned the rebels. He won reelection annually for the rest of his life.

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) was born in Boston and graduated from Harvard College in 1740. He earned a master's degree there in 1743. With little interest in business, he soon began writing political essays and was first elected to political office in 1747. In 1756, he became a tax collector but often failed to collect, which made him friends but left him deeply in debt. He opposed British efforts to enforce tighter control over the North American colonies. Adams served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1765 to 1774, where he allied closely with John Hancock. He represented Massachusetts at the First and Second Continental Congresses, where he signed the Declaration of Independence. He and Hancock went their separate ways in the Continental Congress, and their feud continued in Massachusetts. He served as an opponent of the proposed U.S. Constitution at the Massachusetts ratifying convention, but he and Hancock reconciled, and they both agreed to support the Constitution, though both wanted the addition of a Bill of Rights. Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1789, Adams served in that office until Governor John Hancock died in 1793, when he became acting governor. Adams was elected Governor in 1794 and served until 1797.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 7.125"
  • Medium: Printed document

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$2,000 $2,999 $200
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