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1819 John Quincy Adams Printed Letter-Manifest Form Signed as Secretary of State

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD
1819 John Quincy Adams Printed Letter-Manifest Form Signed as Secretary of State
Autographs
Secretary of State John Quincy Adams Oversees U.S. Immigration Records and Official Documentation in 1819
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (1767-1848). Sixth President of the United States (1825-29), James Monroe's Secretary of State, largely devising the Monroe Doctrine and in later years one of the earliest Anti-Slavery Leaders.
November 30, 1819-Dated, Official U.S. Printed Circular Letter with Passenger Manifest Document Signed, “J. Q. Adams” as Secretary of State, 4 pages (Front is Signed), measures 8” x 9.75” folded size, from Washington, Very Fine. Written to Josiah Hook, the Collector of U.S. Customs at Penobscot, Maine. This Document is an official order listing the particular U.S. laws, approved by Congress, permitting the customs official to inspect incoming ships and note to their cargo, be it material or passengers. It reads, in part:

"The captain or master of any ship or vessel arriving in the United States, or any of the territories thereof, from any foreign place whatever, at the same time that he delivers a manifest of the cargo, and, if there be no cargo, then at the time of making report or entry of the ship or vessel, pursuant to the existing laws of the United States, shall also deliver and report, to the collector of the district in which such ship or vessel shall arrive, a list or manifest it shall be the duty of the said master to designate, particularly the age, sex, and occupation of the said passengers, respectively the country to which they severally belong, and that of which it is their intention to become inhabitants…”

Two adjoining internal leaves on this document provide for a list of passengers (not filled in). Signed boldly on the face page at the lower right, “J.Q. Adams”. Scarce.