Memorandum to James Monroe, [ca. 20 June 1816]
Memorandum to James Monroe
[ca. 20 June 1816]
It is presumed that Dr. Judson is sufficiently respectable to be commended for his benevolent & patriotic views; and to be informed that they will be facilitated by suitable instructions to the port officers. These will be given by the Treasury & Navy Depts. on a communication of this memorandum, by the Secy. of State.1 If the Secy. of State does not view Dr. J. & his plan in the light here presumed, he will intimate as much, and not proceed as pointed out
J.M.
RC (MHi: Washburn Autograph Collection). Undated; conjectural date assigned based on evidence in n. 1.
1. On 11 June 1816, Elnathan Judson of New York wrote to the War, Treasury, and Navy Departments, as well as to the Commissioners of Navy Hospitals, urging them to consider his plan to vaccinate seamen. On 15 June 1816 he made the same request of Monroe, asking him to seek the sanction of JM and announcing that if such permission were granted, he would visit every seaport in the United States to vaccinate seamen “gratis.” Judson sought no additional recompense for his services (MHi: Washburn Autograph Collection). The plan was implemented (, Naval Affairs, 2:640–42).