Courtesy of Sotheby’s
PHILADELPHIA, PA (September 21, 2023) – The National Constitution Center today announced that Judge J. Michael Luttig and Mrs. Elizabeth A. Luttig have acquired and will loan to the National Constitution Center in perpetuity a first-edition, two-volume set of The Federalist, widely considered to be the most important commentary on the Constitution of the United States and America’s most significant contribution to political theory.
Judge and Mrs. Luttig have also acquired and will loan to the National Constitution Center a rare original printing of the Acts of the First Session of the First Congress, for display with The Federalist in a new gallery. The gallery, focused on America’s founding principles, is scheduled to open in 2026 in conjunction with the country’s 250th Anniversary.
“Elizabeth and I are honored that this rare, first-edition set of The Federalist will now be forever displayed at the National Constitution Center, for all Americans and all peoples of the world who cherish liberty and freedom to view and treasure,” Judge Luttig said. “The Constitution of the United States is an inspiration the world over, and the Federalist Papers are essential to an understanding of the Constitution, the unrivaled system of limited government that ‘We the People’ established in the Constitution, and the liberties and freedoms that our Constitution guarantees to all Americans. The Federalist Papers stand in testament and tribute to the American tradition of respectful, reasoned deliberation about matters of profound national consequence that the National Constitution Center strives to model today—almost 250 years after publication of the Federalist Papers.”
“As we prepare for America’s 250th Anniversary, we’re thrilled to be opening a new gallery about founding principles in 2026,” said Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. “We’re so grateful to Judge and Elizabeth Luttig for supporting the new gallery and for loaning us these rare publications of The Federalist and the Acts of the First Session of the First Congress of the United States. These historically significant volumes from the Founding period will inspire visitors to the National Constitution Center for generations to come.”
The upcoming gallery is the next phase of the National Constitution Center’s project to reimagine the Center’s visitor experience. The National Constitution Center just opened the new First Amendment gallery on September 6—the first a series of new galleries.
In 2022, Judge and Mrs. Luttig generously pledged $2M in commitment to the National Constitution Center to support the Center’s founding principles gallery and the Center’s plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s birth in 2026. In 2021, Judge and Mrs. Luttig donated the funds to move, redesign, and install the iconic 50-ton marble-engraved First Amendment Tablet in its new, permanent home inside the National Constitution Center overlooking Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Judge Luttig is a trustee of the National Constitution Center.
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Below, please find additional details on the artifacts provided by Sotheby’s, where the documents were purchased at auction:
The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787, New York: Printed and sold by J. and A. McLean, 1788, is a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, and anonymously signed “Publius,” that began circulating in New York newspapers after the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in September 1787 and continued to be published through the summer of 1788.
The essays in The Federalist urged ratification of the Constitution and were widely read, studied, and debated at the time of the Constitution’s ratification. Today, the Federalist Papers are recognized as America’s most important contributions to political theory. American historian Richard B. Morris, describes The Federalist as an “incomparable exposition of the Constitution, a classic in political science unsurpassed in both breadth and depth by the product of any later American writer.”
George Washington, who chaired the Constitutional Convention, praised the collection of essays in a letter to Alexander Hamilton dated August 28, 1788: “I have read every performance which has been printed on one side and the other of the great question lately agitated (so far as I have been able to obtain them) and, without an unmeaning compliment, I will say that I have seen no other so well calculated (in my judgment) to produce conviction on an unbiassed mind, as the Production of your Triumvirate. When the transient circumstances & fugitive performances which attended this crisis shall have disappeared, that work will merit the notice of Posterity; because in it are candidly discussed the principles of freedom & the topics of government, which will be always interesting to mankind so long as they shall be connected in Civil Society” (Papers, Confederation Series, ed. Abbot, 6:480–482).
The original printing of the Acts of the First Session of the First Congress of the United States, which includes the first prints of the new Constitution and the 12 proposed amendments passed by the First Congress for consideration by the states, is one of only 600 original printings of the Acts of the First Congress. These printings were distributed to the First Congress, the first cabinet, other new federal officials, and state officials. The printing of the Acts of the First Congress was authorized by an Act of the First Congress. The Act also named printers Francis Childs & John Swaine the first Printers to the United States and authorized payment for the printing of the Acts of the First Congress.
This first and official edition of the Acts of the First Session of the First Congress, as adjourned September 29, 1789, is preceded by a full printing of the Constitution, with a roster of its signers, the two resolutions adopted by the Constitutional Convention recommending the procedures for ratification and for the establishment of government under the Constitution, and George Washington’s influential cover letter to Arthur St. Clair, the president of the Confederation Congress, urging ratification. This printing of the Constitution was ordered by a congressional resolution of July 6, 1789.
The volume also includes a very early printing of 12 “Articles in Addition to, and Amendment of, the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the legislatures of the several states, pursuant to the fifth article of the original constitution.” Largely the work of James Madison, these 12 proposed amendments, were sent to the states for ratification. Ten were ratified by December 1791, becoming the first amendments to the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights.
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About the National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia brings together people of all ages and perspectives, across America and around the world, to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. A private, nonprofit organization, the Center serves as America’s leading platform for constitutional education and debate, fulfilling its congressional charter “to disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” As the Museum of We the People, the Center brings the Constitution to life for visitors of all ages through interactive programs and exhibits. As America’s Town Hall, the Center brings the leading conservative and liberal thought leaders together to debate the Constitution on all media platforms. As a Headquarters for Civic Education, the Center delivers the best educational programs and online resources that inspire citizens and engage all Americans in learning about the U.S. Constitution. For more information, call 215-409-6700 or visit constitutioncenter.org.
