Resources in Early American History
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Results:  8 Items   Page: 1
1Author:  unknownRequires cookie*
 Title:  Pennsylvania. General Assembly. The Great Law, 1682     
 Dates:  1682 
 Abstract:  This collection contains a copy of the Great Law signed between William Penn and colonists when he arrived in the colony in 1682. The original is in the State Archives of Pennsylvania. Influenced by Quaker principles, the Great Law listed the crimes and punishments that the new colony would enforce and aimed to regulate morality and behavior.

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 Call #:  Mss.345.12.P38L 
 Extent:  1 volume(s) 
 Topics:  Colonial Politics | Government Affairs | Law | Pennsylvania History 
 Genre:  Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records 
2Author:  Marshall, John, 1755-1835Requires cookie*
 Title:  Opinions delivered in the circuit court of the United States     
 Dates:  1803-1831 
 Abstract:  This collection contains a series of federal circuit court decisions rendered by John Marshall. The cases heard span a wide range of areas and include such topics as international law, property, banking, bankruptcy, estates, laws of evidence, and trade. Among the cases he heard was Livingston v Jefferson, which involved property rights related to the United States' purchase of the Louisiana Territory. There are also a series of cases in 1819-1820 involving merchant ships that seem to be related to fallout from property disputes from the War of 1812. One case relates to the Bank of the United States.

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 Call #:  Mss.345.41.M35 
 Extent:  0.5 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Government Affairs | Law | War of 1812 
 Genre:  Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records 
 Subjects:  Bank of the United States (1816-1836) | Judicial opinions | United States. Circuit Court (4th Circuit) 
3Author:  State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of PennsylvaniaRequires cookie*
 Title:  State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Records     
 Dates:  1819-1955 
 Abstract:  These two volumes record the admissions to Eastern State Penitentiary for the years 1839-1850 (excluding, apparently, 1844). The records contain a wealth of information about each prisoner admitted. The entries often contain a physical description of the inmate, a description of the crime(s) committed, and, occasionally, statements the prisoner made. Most entries contain a detailed biographical history of the prisoner that includes information on the background of the criminal, such as their family life, how they were raised, previous incarcerations, and the social habits of the prisoner, such as drinking in taverns or their religiosity.

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 Call #:  Mss.365.P381p 
 Extent:  0.5 Linear Feet 
 Topics:  Government Affairs | Law | Philadelphia History | Social Life and Custom 
 Genre:  Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records 
 Subjects:  Prisoners -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | Prisons -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia | Women prisoners -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia 
4Author:  Hicks, Isaac.Requires cookie*
 Title:  Isaac Hicks account books, 1772-1797, 1810-1824     
 Dates:  1772-1824 
 Abstract:  These two volumes record Isaac Hick's financial transactions in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where Hicks was a magistrate (justice of the peace). The volumes cover the American Revolution and early republic. The types of transactions recorded are generally payments for services, although other transactions are recorded, such as how much he paid for whiskey. The volumes contain a name index in the front.

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 Call #:  Mss.B.H521 
 Extent:  2 volume(s) 
 Topics:  Business and Skilled Trades | Government Affairs | Law | Trade 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records 
 Subjects:  Judges -- Pennsylvania. 
5Author:  unknownRequires cookie*
 Title:  United States. Constitution.     
 Dates:  1787 
 Abstract:  This collection contains Benjamin Franklin's copy of the United States Constitution. It has Franklin's annotations in the margins.

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 Call #:  Mss.342.73.Un3c.d 
 Extent:  1 item(s) 
 Topics:  Early National Politics | Government Affairs | Law 
 Genre:  Legal Records | Miscellaneous | Official Government Documents and Records 
6Author:  unknownRequires cookie*
 Title:  Papers of American Loyalists, 1782-1798     
 Dates:  1782-1798 
 Abstract:  The Loyalist Collection contains ten documents that pertain to the interests and affairs of American Loyalists after the American Revolution. The items convey the grievances of Loyalists, particularly merchants. The documents of relate to how the states treated Loyalists and their property after the Revolution. Most of the documents are either official government documents or formal reports. Reports by the Committee of American Merchants, a Loyalists group that formed in Britain after the war, are included as are records relating to the disposition of Penn family interests in Pennsylvania. Also of note is a multi-page, loose-leaf list of loyalists and their claims on the British treasury for services rendered during the war.

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 Call #:  Mss.973.314.L95 
 Extent:  10 item(s) 
 Topics:  American Revolution | Colonial Politics | Government Affairs | Land and Speculation 
 Genre:  Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records | Political Correspondence 
 Subjects:  American loyalists. | Commerce. 
7Author:  VariousRequires cookie*
 Title:  Pennsylvania Stamp Act and Non-Importation Resolutions Collection     
 Dates:  1765-1775 
 Abstract:  This collection contains a range of documents on the imperial crisis in Philadelphia. Specifically, the documents focus on the Stamp Act and the Non-importation agreements of 1773. For the Stamp Act, there are many letters from John Hughes, the Stamp Tax collector. The letters detail his tribulations. There is also a large, oversize letter from John Hughes to the Commissioners of the Stamp Office in London defending his actions and outlining his experiences during the Stamp Act controversy (first page missing). The documents surrounding the 1773 boycott of tea in Philadelphia include detailed reports from commissioners appointed by residents to negotiate with the East India company officials and the testimony of the firm of James and Drinker who were designated distributors of the tea.

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 Call #:  Mss.973.2.M31 
 Extent:  2 volume(s) 
 Topics:  American Revolution | Colonial Politics | Government Affairs | Pennsylvania History | Philadelphia History 
 Genre:  Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records | Political Correspondence | Printed Material 
 Subjects:  Non-importation agreements, 1768-1769 | Sons of Liberty | Stamp Act, 1765 | Tea tax (American colonies) 
8Author:  Philadelphia (Pa.).Mayor.Requires cookie*
 Title:  Record of indentures of individuals bound out as apprentices, servants, etc., and of German and other redemptioners, 1771 October 3 - 1773 October 5     
 Dates:  1771-1773 
 Abstract:  This large volume contains the records of those entering contracts of indentured servitude in Philadelphia from 1771-1773. The records not only list the name of the person, but contain details on their profession and on the terms of the indenture. Although the volume is described as the records of German immigrants, there are other indentures included, such as that of John Slour, "a free negro," records of those arriving from Ireland, and of young Philadelphians choosing to enter indentured contracts. The volume had been on loan to the City Archives until 1987. During that time, approximately twenty pages went missing. Otherwise, the volume appears to be complete and contains over 800 pages of records with each page containing information for about four to six individuals.

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 Call #:  Mss.647.P53 
 Extent:  1 volume(s) 
 Topics:  African American | Business and Skilled Trades | Government Affairs | Philadelphia History | Social Life and Custom | Women's History 
 Genre:  Business Records and Accounts | Legal Records | Official Government Documents and Records 
 Subjects:  Apprentices -- Pennsylvania. | Germans -- United States. | Indentured servants -- Pennsylvania.