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The Revised Statutes of the United States (in citations, Rev. Stat.) was the first official codification of the Acts of Congress. It was enacted into law in 1874. The purpose of the ''Revised Statutes'' was to make it easier to research federal law without needing to consult the individual Acts of Congress published in the
United States Statutes at Large The ''United States Statutes at Large'', commonly referred to as the ''Statutes at Large'' and abbreviated Stat., are an official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress. Each act and resolut ...
. After problems were quickly identified in the first edition, a second edition of the ''Revised Statutes'' was issued in 1878 that remedied some of those problems. However, for the next 50 years, subsequent Acts of Congress were not regularly incorporated into the ''Revised Statutes'', once again requiring researchers to use the Statutes at Large or unofficial codes. This eventually led to the creation of the
United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
in 1926, which is now regularly maintained and updated.


Background

For nearly nine decades after the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
was ratified, those needing to research federal law had no official codification upon which to authoritatively rely. Instead, the only way to accurately know the law was to consult the individual acts of Congress, which had been compiled and published since 1845 as
session laws Session laws are the collection of statutes enacted by a legislature during a single session of that legislature, often published following the end of the session as a bound volume. The United States Statutes at Large are an example of session l ...
in the
United States Statutes at Large The ''United States Statutes at Large'', commonly referred to as the ''Statutes at Large'' and abbreviated Stat., are an official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress. Each act and resolut ...
. Previous codifications by private publishers were useful shortcuts for research purposes, but had no official status. Senator
Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...
of Massachusetts began to press Congress to revise and consolidate national statutes in 1851.Charles Sumner: his complete works. With Introduction by Hon.
George Frisbie Hoar George Frisbie Hoar (August 29, 1826 – September 30, 1904) was an American attorney and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1877 to 1904. He belonged to an extended family that became politically prominen ...
. Boston, Lee and Shepard. 1900. Vol. VIII. Revision and Consolidation of the National Statutes, p.5.
Ten years later, President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
recommended such revision in his annual message of December 3, 1861. It was not until 1866 and the administration of President
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...
that the Congress finally approved Sumner's ''An Act to provide for the Revision and Consolidation of the Statute Laws of the United States.'' The Act called for three commissioners to carry out this work for three years, and President Johnson appointed
Caleb Cushing Caleb Cushing (January 17, 1800 – January 2, 1879) was an American Democratic politician and diplomat who served as a Congressman from Massachusetts and Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce. He was an eager proponent of territoria ...
, Charles Pinckney James, and William Johnston as these commissioners. Cushing, James, and Johnston were unable to complete their task within the allotted time. Congress continued the work by passing a continuation of the original act in 1870. President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
renewed the appointment of Charles Pinckney James but called on
Benjamin Vaughan Abbott Benjamin Vaughan Abbott (June 4, 1830 – February 17, 1890) was an American lawyer and author noted for his efforts in drawing up the New York penal code. Early life On June 4, 1830, Abbott was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Abbott's father ...
and Victor C. Barringer to replace Cushing and Johnston. However, a House committee decided that in the process of codification, the commission had changed the original statutes too much. Congress then authorized a joint committee to appoint someone to finish the project, and Washington D.C. lawyer Thomas Jefferson Durant then finalized a revision that undid the substantive changes made by the commission.


First edition

Congress approved Durant's revision and enacted it into
positive law Positive laws ( la, links=no, ius positum) are human-made laws that oblige or specify an action. Positive law also describes the establishment of specific rights for an individual or group. Etymologically, the name derives from the verb ''to posit ...
on June 22, 1874 as the ''Revised Statutes of the United States'', covering all laws in effect as of December 1, 1873. This version was published in two volumes in 1875, and is available online. By a separate Act of June 20, 1874,ch. 33, 18 Stat. 113
/ref> Congress required the Secretary of State to publish it, and once published in 1875, it became "legal evidence" of the laws of the United States.


Second edition

Various problems soon emerged with the first edition, including substantive errors. On March 2, 1877, the Congress called for an updated and expanded edition of the Revised Statutes. Charles Pinckney James was again called to service to support George S. Boutwell, who was named commissioner for this work. The second edition was just one volume. Unlike the first edition, Congress did not enact the second edition into positive law. Instead, the second edition was specified to be ''prima facie'' evidence of the law that could be rebutted by referring to the original legal text of session laws in Statutes at Large.


Subsequent developments

Following the second edition, subsequent new enactments by Congress were not incorporated into the official code. Thus, over time, researchers once again had to delve through many volumes of the ''
United States Statutes at Large The ''United States Statutes at Large'', commonly referred to as the ''Statutes at Large'' and abbreviated Stat., are an official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress. Each act and resolut ...
'' or use unofficial, privately published supplements. According to the preface to the
United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...
, "From 1897 to 1907 a commission was engaged in an effort to codify the great mass of accumulating legislation. The work of the commission involved an expenditure of over $300,000, but was never carried to completion." During the 1920s, some members of Congress revived the codification project, resulting in the approval of the Code by Congress in 1926.


References

{{Reflist


External links

* First edition of the Revised Statutes of the United States (1875)
Volume 1
Volume 2
District of Columbia laws

Post Roads Act

Public Treaties (page by page)
(from the Library of Congres
Statutes at Large volume 18 collection
* Second edition of the Revised Statutes of the United States (1878)
complete work
also availabl
page by page
United States federal legislation Legal history of the United States 43rd United States Congress