Collection Title: Series 515:  Laws of the Mississippi Territory.  1799-1800.  (RG 5)  

Creator: Mississippi Territory.  Legislature (RG 5).

Collection Summary: Also known as Sargent’s Code, this bound volume contains original laws of the Mississippi Territory from February 1799 to October 1800. Each of the forty-five laws is undersigned by Winthrop Sargent, Territorial Governor, and Judges Peter Brian Bruin and Daniel Tilton. In the upper left-hand corner of each law a seal of the Mississippi Territory is affixed and dated.

Access Restrictions: Access to items is limited due to the fragility of the materials. Application for access, with justification, must be submitted to a Government Records archivist.

Date(s): 1799-1800.
Volume: 0.5 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Finding Aid Created By: Shaun Stalzer in March 2024

Record Group History: Although the Mississippi Territory was created in 1798, it had no general assembly until the U. S. Congress authorized the election of representatives in May 1800, ending the first stage of territorial government. According to the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, there had to be five thousand free white males in a territory before it could elect a general assembly. This assembly was to consist of a house of representatives to be popularly elected, an appointed legislative council and the governor. The legislative council was made up of five members appointed by the U. S. president from a list of ten names submitted by the representatives. In 1814 the number on the legislative council was increased to nine. The governor, legislative council, and House of Representatives had authority to make laws, but the governor had to approve all laws. An act of May 10, 1800, authorized the House of Representatives to convene in September 1800, and to meet at least once each year thereafter in December. By joint ballot, the house and council elected a non-voting delegate to the U. S. Congress until 1808 when popular election of congressional delegates was instituted (see Edward Turner's Statutes of the Mississippi Territory, 1816, pp. 31-50).

Collection Inventory:
Box Content

Box Number

Mississippi Territory laws

149