Nov 21 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2687 -

Sale 2687 - Lot 163

Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
(LAW.) [Henry Lee or John Marshall.] The Address of the Minority in the Virginia Legislature to the People of that State; Containing a Vindication of the Constitutionality of the Alien and Sedition Laws [caption title]. 16 pages. 8vo, stitched; moderate foxing, faint vertical fold; uncut. [Richmond, VA: A. Davis, 1799]

Additional Details

Argues that the Alien and Sedition Acts were a necessary reaction to French hostility, and argues against the recent Virginia Resolutions which sought to undercut the acts. "The address expands upon the nationalist theories of Alexander Hamilton, and articulates many of the same principles of expansively defined federal power later employed by John Marshall"--Lash, "The Lost History of the Ninth Amendment," page 154.

One of 4 printings, with priority undetermined. Evans 36635 (proposing imprint, and Lee as an author); ESTC W19502; Beveridge, Life of John Marshall, page II:401-404 (attributing authorship to Marshall). One traced of any edition at auction since 1971.