In 1786, a year before the publication of Schöpf's Beiträge, Samuel Vaughan, Jr., a young Englishman of a well-known pro-American family, proposed an ambitious plan of minerals exploration to support the coinage of the recently established U.S. Mint. His proposal, together with a letter of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin, was placed before the Commissioners of the Board of Treasury, which included Arthur Lee. The plan was rejected and Vaughan moved on to Jamaica, West Indies, where he spent the rest of his life. It is suggested that execution of the plan might have affected the history of American geology, or altered the course of industrial development in the new nation. There is reason to believe that the rejection of the plan was not based on its lack of merit, but on the irrelevant hostility that existed between Franklin and Lee.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
1 January 1986
