Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 [Thomas Jefferson's defense of the Embargo Act of 1807]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00115.01 Author/Creator: Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Printed document signed Date: October 1808 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 21 cm, Width: 25 cm Order a Copy
Sent to Elijah Brown, Jr. Esq. Circular sent in response to criticisms of the Embargo Act of 1807 by people in the town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Explains and defends the Embargo Act as a recourse for securing the United States' rights to freely navigate the ocean. Argues it is "the only honorable expedient for avoiding war." Jefferson received the petition from Brown on 13 October 1808. GLC00016 is a similar printed letter from another town in Massachusetts (now Maine), though it is the result of a different printing.
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