Smith, William 

A Comparative View of the Constitutions of the Several States with Each Other, and With That of the United States. Philadelphia: Printed by John Thompson, 1796

4to (232 x 191 mm). 2 folding tables, 5 🍃double-folding tables; light discoloration to the first two leaves. Contemporary calf-backed marbled boards, black letter🐟ing piece; minor restoration to spine.

First edition, first state with "Booksellers" misprinted as "Boobsellers" in the imprint. Smith was a Federalist member of the First U.S. Congress from South Carolina (and the first to have his election contested, on the grounds he was not an American citizen); he served five terms until he resigned to become minister to Portugal. He is best remembered as a prolific Federalist pamphleteer; he was so outspoken in his opposition to Jefferson that in 🍬1794 his political enemies burned him in effigy in Charleston.

In this s❀hort treatise, Smith evaluates and suggests improvements for the several different state constitutions: "I have found, with regret, in travelling through the states, that, however the constitution of each state may be well known within its limits, the constitutions of the several states are b🍎ut imperfectly known beyond the territory which they are intended to govern." The text includes various tables showing the similarities and differences among the constitutions of the executive, legislative, and judiciary powers as well as methods of elections.

REFERENCE:

ESTC W20056; Evans 31209; Sabin 84820