One of the most pressing issues early in the presidency of George Washington was establishing a positive relationship with the Native American population. In 1787, Washington developed the first official method of how the government would deal with the first inhabitants of the country. Recognizing that the constitution granted the President the power to sign treaties, Congress officially approved this method of Native American relations. Washington was a firm believer in Native American sovereignty, and felt they should have their own land which they could govern autonomously. However, this belief was tempered by his thinking that Native Americans would need to assimilate into American culture due to the movement of early settlers westward. Washington would sign many Native American treaties during his two terms in office, devoting great amounts of time and resources to figuring out the best way to organize federal oversight of Native Americans. His printed name, along with that of his Vice President John Adams, graces the bottom of this extremely rarer and pristine document.

      One of the most important relationships with the Native Americans for the new America was trade. As a rapidly growing country with a skyrocketing population, the American government was open to exploring all areas of possible revenue. The Native American population, with their years of experience tilling the soil of North America, was a perfect target for this new trade. Congress, starting with the passing of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, drafted and passed numerous pieces of legislation aimed at regulating the practice of trading with Native Americans. One of the key figures in this movement to better cohabitate with the Native population was Thomas Jefferson, a man already integral to the foundations of the United States of America.

     Before becoming the third President of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson served honorably as the first Secretary of State. During his time in the cabinet of President Washington, Jefferson held several ideological battles with Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, who he saw as trying to "undermine the government." Jefferson, a master statesman, was most concerned with increasing foreign trade and eliminating the national debt during his tenure as Secretary of State. Both Jefferson, who would later complete the Louisiana Purchase, and Washington were convinced of the need to shift the country west. This would not be possible without the assistance of the Native American tribes, making regulated trade and peace treaties with the Natives a crucial building block in American domestic policy.

     This document is an act "to regulate Trade and Intercourse with the Indian Tribes". It was drafted by the Second Congress of the United States, which convened on November 5th, 1792. This act was approved by President Washington on March 1st, 1793, and slated to be law for the next two years, until the next meeting of Congress. The document has been printed on two sheets of paper, with one double-sided. It features the printed names of Jonathan Trumbull, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vice-President John Adams, and President George Washington. At the bottom of the final page, "Deposited among the Rolls in the office of the Secretary of State" is printed. Jefferson signed the paper below this line in black fountain pen. There is minimal bleeding in the signature, which presents nearly immaculately after 220 odd years. Documents like this with Native American content from Washington are of the utmost rarirty and highly desired. This item comes with a LOA from JSA (Z56895).

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