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Vol. 26:2 ISSN 0160-8460 June 1998
First Federal Congress Project Celebration
Project director Charlene B. Bickford and Col. Handy B. Fant.
On April 16, 1998, in the Mansfield Room of the United States Capitol, the editors of the Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789-1791, and the Johns Hopkins University Press presented copies of Volumes VII and VIII of the edition to representatives of the NHPRC, The George Washington University, the NEH, and the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, all sponsors/funders of the project. These volumes (Petition Histories: Revolutionary War-Related Claims and Petition Histories and Non-Legislative Official Documents) provide rich sources relating to what the citizens requested and expected of their new government and the precedents established by the First Federal Congress.
In receiving the volumes on behalf of the Commission, Acting ExecutiveDirector Roger A. Bruns thanked the project staff for their dedication and hard work and quoted froma newspaper article that appeared in April 1789: "Yesterday the doors of the House of Representatives were thrown open for the admission of the Citizens." In the same way, Bruns said, the publication of the First Federal Congress volumes provide access for the interested public today. The Commission, he said, is proud to have supported the project from its inception. To date the project has published 14 volumes on the history of the First Federal Congress.
Speaking on behalf of the NEH, James Herbert, Director of the Research and Education Division, remarked that these volumes, along with other documentary publications, will provide an understanding of the historical events in question for many years to come. He noted that just as present-day scholars and others study the history of the Romans and the Greeks and other subjects of the pre-modern era, scholars of the future, aided by these publications, will be studying United States history.
Volume VII of the edition is dedicated to Colonel Handy B. Fant, a former member of the NHPRC staff who assisted with research for many of the NHPRC projects. Project director Charlene B. Bickford presented Colonel Fant with a copy of the volume, recognizing him as a "tireless and meticulous researcher, Southern gentleman, and friend." Volume VIII is dedicated to John "Jack" G. Goellner, former director of the Johns Hopkins University Press, "a strong and persistent advocate for historical editing and a stalwart supporter" of the project.
Bickford complimented and thanked First Federal Congress project editors Kenneth R. Bowling, William C. DiGiacomantonio, and Helen E. Veit for their work on the project.
