Two of the five federal bankruptcy laws were also published in a code.
The Bankruptcy Act of 1867 was rewritten into the Revised Statutes of 1874. The Bankruptcy Act of 1898 was restated in title 11 of the United States Code from 1926 until 1978. The two codifications had different legal effect:
- The Revised Statutes were enacted as law, and they replaced the 1867 Act.
- The United States Code only restated the 1898 Act, and the Act itself remained the law.
Old cases cite these laws by Act section, by Revised Statutes section, and by U.S. Code section, often in the same paragraph. The finding tables below translate between them.
The Revised Statutes (1874)
Congress enacted the Revised Statutes on June 22, 1874. They gathered the general and permanent laws in force on December 1, 1873 into a single code, and § 5596 repealed the laws they replaced.
The Bankruptcy Act of 1867 and its supplements became Title LXI, “Bankruptcy,” §§ 4972–5132. Four further sections went elsewhere in the Revised Statutes:
- § 563 (district court jurisdiction)
- § 630 (circuit court jurisdiction)
- § 711 (exclusive federal jurisdiction)
- § 5419 (forging court seals and signatures)
Title LXI was itself repealed in 1878. The Act of June 7, 1878, ch. 160, “An act to repeal the bankrupt law,” names it as “title sixty-one, Revised Statutes.”
The page images and transcriptions below come in two editions. The first edition (1875) prints the text as enacted on June 22, 1874. The second edition (1878) was published under the Act of March 2, 1877, and prints the text as amended and corrected through 1877: the new words are in brackets, and the superseded words are in italics.
Differences between the editions
We compared our transcripts of the two editions word for word and found 27 differences; §§ 630 and 5419 have none. Page numbers are the printed pages of each edition. In the 2d-edition column the brackets are the 2d edition’s own: bracketed italic words are the 1875 text struck out, and plain bracketed words are the replacement.
| Section | 1st ed. p. | 2d ed. p. | 1st edition (1875) | 2d edition (1878) | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title LXI, Bankruptcy | |||||
| table, ch. 1 (§ 4994) | 969 | 961 | 4994. Who are elegible. | 4994. Who are eligible. | spelling |
| § 5001 | 973 | 965 | receiving any proof of debts | receiving any proofs of debts | unbracketed amendment |
| § 5020 | 976 | 968 | from to time | from [time] to time | bracket-correction |
| § 5029 | 978 | 970 | those hereinbefore provided | those [hereinbefore] [hereinafter] provided | bracket-correction |
| § 5039 | 980 | 972 | which, in its judgment, | which, in his judgment, | unbracketed amendment |
| § 5054 | 982 | 974 | ought by law to be recorded. | ought by law to be recorded. [And the record of such assignment, or a duly-certified copy thereof, shall be evidence thereof in all courts.] | bracket-correction |
| § 5062 | 983 | 975 | as will, in its opinion, prove | as will, in his opinion, prove | unbracketed amendment |
| § 5079 | 985 | 978 | register having charge of the case. | register having charge of the same. | unbracketed amendment |
| § 5096 | 988 | 980 | account, and if it is found correct | account, and it is found correct | other |
| § 5101 Fifth | 988 | 981 | entitled to a priority, in like manner | entitled to priority, in like manner | unbracketed amendment |
| § 5108 | 991 | 984 | Sec. 5108. At any time after the expiration of six months from the adjudication of bankruptcy, or if no debts have been proved against the bankrupt, or if no assets have come to the hands of the assignee, at any time after the expiration of sixty days, and within one year from the adjudication of bankruptcy, the bankrupt may apply to the court for a discharge from his debts. | Sec. 5108. [At any time after the expiration of six months from the adjudication of bankruptcy, or if no debts have been proved against the bankrupt, or if no assets have come to the hands of the assignee, at any time after the expiration of sixty days, and within one year from the adjudication of bankruptcy, the bankrupt may apply to the court for a discharge from his debts.] [At any time after the expiration of six months from the adjudication of bankruptcy, or if no debts have been proved against the bankrupt, or if no assets have come to the hands of the assignee, at any time after the expiration of sixty days, and before the final disposition of the cause, the bankrupt may apply to the court for a discharge from his debts. This section shall apply in all cases heretofore or hereafter commenced.] | bracket-correction |
| § 5114 | 992 | 985 | except as hereinafter | except as as hereinafter | typographic |
| § 5115 form | 992 | 985 | district of ______. | district of ______ | punctuation |
| § 5115 form | 992 | 986 | against) him; excepting | against) him: excepting | punctuation |
| § 5115 form | 992 | 986 | court at ______, in the said | court at ______ in the said | punctuation |
| § 5115 form | 992 | 986 | this ______ day of ______, ______. | this ______ day of ______ | punctuation |
| § 5115 form | 992 | 986 | (Seal.) ______, Judge. | (Seal.) ______ Judge. | punctuation |
| table, ch. 6 (§ 5123) | 994 | 987 | 5123. Authority of State courts proceeding against corporations. | 5123. Authority of State courts in proceedings against corporations. | other |
| § 5124 Sixth | 995 | 988 | under this act, one dollar. | under this [act] [title,] one dollar. | bracket-correction |
| § 5126 | 996 | 989 | following fees, and no more: | following fees and no more: | punctuation |
| § 5129 | 997 | 990 | under this act, or to defeat | under this [act] [title,] or to defeat | bracket-correction |
| § 5132 Sixth | 997 | 990 | willfully and frauduently conceals | willfully and fraudulently conceals | typographic |
| Title LXXIV, Repeal Provisions | |||||
| § 5597 | 1091 | 1085 | The repeal of the several acts | The repeal of the severa acts | typographic |
| § 563 | |||||
| § 563 Eighth | 94 | 95 | given to the circuit courts. | given to the circuit courts. [And shall have original and exclusive cognizance of all prizes brought into the United States, except as provided in paragraph six of section six hundred and twenty-nine.] | bracket-correction |
| § 563 Ninth | 95 | 95 | fifty-three hundred and seventy-six, Title | fifty-three hundred and [seventy-six,] [eight.] Title | bracket-correction |
| § 563 Sixteenth | 96 | 96 | for a tort only in violation | for a tort ‘only’ in violation | other |
| § 711 | |||||
| § 711 Eighth | 135 | 135 | Eighth. Of all suits or proceedings against embassadors, or other public ministers, or their domestics, or domestic servants, or against consuls or vice consuls. | [Eighth. Of all suits or proceedings against embassadors, or other public ministers, or their domestics, or domestic servants, or against consuls or vice consuls.] | bracket-correction |
Finding table: the Bankruptcy Act of 1867 in the Revised Statutes →
The United States Code (1926–1978)
Congress published the first United States Code in 1926 (Act of June 30, 1926, ch. 712, 44 Stat., pt. 1). Title 11, “Bankruptcy,” restated the Bankruptcy Act of 1898 section by section, under new numbers. For example, Act § 2 became 11 U.S.C. § 11, and Act § 17 became § 35.
Unlike the Revised Statutes, the Code did not repeal or replace anything. It was prima facie evidence of the law, and the Act remained the governing statute. New editions of the Code followed every six years, from 1934 through 1976. Each one restated the Act as amended, including the chapters added in the 1930s and by the Chandler Act of 1938. Title 11 became law in its own right only in 1978, when the Bankruptcy Reform Act enacted the new Bankruptcy Code as title 11 and repealed the 1898 Act.
Title 11 in each edition (PDF):
1926 (14 pages) (opens in a new tab) 1934 (30 pages) (opens in a new tab) 1940 (108 pages) (opens in a new tab) 1946 (168 pages) (opens in a new tab) 1952 (187 pages) (opens in a new tab) 1958 (136 pages) (opens in a new tab) 1964 (134 pages) (opens in a new tab) 1970 (144 pages) (opens in a new tab) 1976 (158 pages) (opens in a new tab)
Finding table: the Bankruptcy Act of 1898 in title 11 →