AN EXPOSITION OF THE MEANING OF THE CLAUSE IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, THAT "NO STATE SHALL PASS ANY EX POST FACTO LAW, OR LAW IMPAIRING THE OBLIGATION OF CONTRACTS;" AND AN EXAMINATION OF THE OPINIONS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS OF KENTUCKY, IN THE CASES OF BLAIR VS. WILLIAMS AND LAPSLEY VS. BRASHEAR, IN A PETITION FOR REHEARING.
[Frankfort, Ky. Amos Kendall & Co., 1824]. 24pp, stitched, caption title [as issued]. Untrimmed, wide margins with some wear at untrimmed fore-edge, light soil. Very Good.
The interpretation of this legal issue had profound consequences for Kentucky's citizens. After the Panic of 1819, Kentucky enacted Relief Laws which stayed the payment of debts and required lenders to accept payment in notes of the new, uncapitalized Bank of Kentucky. Lenders who refused would endure lengthy delays before payment, if ever.
Bibb-- who had been Kentucky's Chief Justice and would become a U.S. Senator-- argues that the Relief Laws do not impair the obligation of contracts, that they are thus constitutional, and that it is the Legislature's duty to define what the obligations of those contracts are. His discussion of the constitutional questions is learned and highly detailed. Kentucky's future Jacksonians, like Amos Kendall and William Barry, stood with the Relief Party, blaming the Bank of the United States for the Panic. For a sketch of Bibb's life, see DAB.
FIRST EDITION. I Harv. Law Cat. 165. Cohen 1132. Not in Coleman, Marke, American Imprints. Item #10950
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