Pennsylvania General Assembly | A French and Indian War–era Pennsylvania Militia law, printed by Franklin and Hall

Pennsylvania General Assembly

An Act for Forming and Regulating the Militia of the Province of Pennsylvania; which passed the House of Assembly … March, 1757, together with the Amendments proposed by the Governor. [Philadelphia: Printed by Benjamin Franklin and David Hall, 1757]

Folio (326 x 216 mm). Early manuscript annotation to final page; disbound, with the sewing intact, old folds, corners rounded, splitting along the folds and spine, a few small chips and losses along the spine and edges, trimmed close, touching page numbers, catchwords, and printed marginalia (a "1757" on each page) but with no loss to the body of the text, lightly toned, a few small spots, dust soiling to the first and last page. Half red morocco slipcase, chemise.

A French and Indian War–era act calling for a compulsory draft and the formation of an official Pennsylvania militia, printed by Benjamin Franklin.

With a growing confederation of hostile French and Native American forces on the colony’s western border, Franklin had long called for the establishment of a defensive militia (see his 1747 pamphlet, Plain Truth, lot 39). In 1747, he helped establish the Association for Defense, a volunteer defensive militia. When the French and Indian War was breaking out, Franklin spearheaded a similar effort, and another volunteer militia called the Associators was formed. An earlier militia bill in 1755 was passed, but vetoed by the crown.

This bill, brought to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in March 1757, was drafted to create an official Pennsylvania Militia. The act called for the creation of a list of every man between the ages of 17 and 55, including their name and denomination. Each community would have to furnish a company of between 60 and 100 men. Quakers and Catholics had to be included in the lists. Catholics, whose religion associated them with the enemy, were to be fined because they would "enjoy the benefit, advantage, and protection" of having a militia, while being exempted from it. The bill then lays out the various rules, regulations, structures, and payments for the militia. Interestingly, italics in the text show the parts of the bill that were rejected by the governor, William Denny, and his emendations are shown in margins in quotations. Because of these emendations, which often change wording regarding Quaker exemptions, there was a protracted debate in the General Assembly, and the bill was never passed (Kozukskanich, p. 132).

Miller ascribes the printing to Franklin and Hall based on the fact that they were the official printers to the Province when this was published.

Rare. This is the only copy of this act that we can trace that has sold at auction, and ESTC lists only a single other example held in the Library Company of Philadelphia.

REFERENCES

Miller 664; ESTC W2283; Evans 7997; Sabin 59779; Nathan R. Kozukskanich. "Pennsylvania, the Militia, and the Second Amendment," in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. CXXXIII, No. 2 (April 2009), pp. 119–147

PROVENANCE

Freeman's, 23 January 2003, lot 414 (undesignated consignor)