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Museum object · Slavery and Freedom Objects

Petition signed by John Cuffe and Paul Cuffe regarding taxation

December 19, 1780

Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A petition to the court of Bristol County, Massachusetts, in Taunton written by an unidentified hand and signed by John Cuffe and Paul Cuffe. The text is handwritten in black ink on the front and back sides of a single sheet of off-white paper. The petition is in regards to taxation by the state upon the signatories, who being of Native American descent, are arguing they are therefore not subject to such taxation.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2009.26.1

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