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U. S. Constitution (first printing) with annotations by Elbridge Gerry

U. S. Constitution (first printing) with annotations by Elbridge Gerry Printed document with handwrritten annotations

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    Printed document with handwrritten annotations

    39.5 cm x 25.4 cm

    The United States Constitution, first printing, 6 August 1787
    Philadelphia: printed by John Dunlap and David C. Claypool, 1787
    From Annotations on the U. S. Constitution, Massachusetts Historical Society


    [ This description is from the project: MHS Collecting History ]

    Elbridge Gerry's annotated  copy of the first printed draft of the United States Constitution shows the evolution of the text as it was amended during the debates in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Gerry, a delegate from Massachusetts and signer of the Declaration of Independence, followed the debates carefully but refused to sign the Constitution because it contained no Bill of Rights. He later served in Congress, was governor of Massachusetts, and was vice president of the United States at the time of his death in 1814.

    Provenance: Gift of James T. Austin, 1829.