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Partly-printed vellum DS, signed “Th: Jefferson” as president and “James Madison” as secretary of state, one page, 10.25 x 14.5, November 20, 1804. Scallop-topped ship’s pass issued to the “Ship John & Francis of Charleston, John Baas master or commander…mounted with Two guns, navigated with Fourteen men, to pass with her Company, Passengers, Goods and Merchandize, without any hindrance, seizure or molestation." Signed at the conclusion by President Jefferson and countersigned by Secretary of State Madison. Signed below by the collector of the port of Charleston, James Simons, who served as captain in the Continental Army with William Washington and as the aide-de-camp of Casimir Pulaski. The original white paper seal remains affixed to the lower left corner. Impressively double-matted and framed with a large portrait of Jefferson to an overall size of 35 x 31.5. In fine condition, with intersecting folds and light soiling.
This ship's pass was issued amid a period of significant risk to American maritime commerce. The ongoing Napoleonic Wars between Britain and France led both powers to interfere with neutral American shipping, while British impressment of sailors from American vessels became an increasingly contentious issue. As secretary of state, Madison articulated the American position that a neutral flag on the high seas ought to serve as a safeguard for those sailing under it. Passports of this kind, pre-signed by the president and secretary of state and completed by the local customs collector, served as official certification of a vessel's American nationality and ownership, intended to protect against seizure or interference by belligerent or hostile powers. The pass issued to the John & Francis reflects this system of federal maritime documentation under Jefferson's administration, designed to safeguard American shipping and crews as they navigated waters where seizure and impressment remained persistent threats. Dated November 20, 1804, the document was signed during another consequential moment in Jefferson's presidency, just weeks before the Electoral College formally confirmed his landslide reelection over Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
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