CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: AT THE THIRD SESSION, BEGUN AND HELD AT THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, ON MONDAY THE SIXTH OF DECEMBER, ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETY. AN ACT TO CONTINUE IN FORCE FOR A LIMITED TIME, AN ACT, INTITULED "AN ACT FOR THE TEMPORARY ESTABLISHMENT OF THE POST- OFFICE" [caption title and first line of text]

[Philadelphia: Childs and Swaine, 1791].. [1]p., on a 11 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches (29 1/2 x 19cm) sheet. Signed in ink by Jefferson on the recto, docketed in ink with Jefferson's name (in another hand) on the verso. Lightly soiled, old folds. Some splitting along folds, reinforced with tape on verso. A few small closed tears to margins, also repaired on verso. Very good overall. A rare and foundational piece of early American legislation and a vital steppingstone on the road to a permanent United States Post Office, signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. Originally established under the Continental Congress in 1775, the duties of the Post Office were more or less inherited by the Washington administration at the end of the Revolutionary War. Shortly after the Constitution was adopted in 1789, an "Act for the temporary Establishment of the Post Office" was passed by the first Congress, solidifying its position in the new government. The present Act is one of three passed between 1789 and 1792 which extended the duration of that original act while a final version was debated, bridging the gap until the Postal Service Act of 1792 finally made the Post Office permanent. In addition to extending the lifetime of the temporary Post Office, the present Act also provides free franking privileges to officials in the Treasury Department and extends postal service from Albany to Bennington. The main text reads in full:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the act passed the first session of Congress, intituled, 'An act for the temporary establishment of the post-office,' be, and the same is hereby continued in full force until the end of the next session of Congress and no longer.

And be it further enacted, That all letters to and from the treasurer, comptroller and auditor of the treasury, and the assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury, on public service, shall be received and conveyed by the post, free of postage.

And be it further enacted, that the postmaster-general shall be, and he is hereby authorised to extend the carrying the mail from Albany, in the state of New York, to Bennington in the state of Vermont."

The Act is signed in manuscript by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State, and is signed in type by Frederick Muhlenberg as Speaker of the House, John Adams as Vice President, and George Washington as President. The final act permanently establishing the Post Office was passed the following year and would confirm Congress's role in determining postal policy, allow for special rates on the mailing of newspapers, and forbid tampering with or opening of private mail for any reason.

ESTC and OCLC together record five copies, located at Yale, Williams College, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress. A rare and important piece of American postal history, signed by Thomas Jefferson. EVANS 23871. ESTC W17602. OCLC 54177042, 319437800, 1230250042.