From the Mt. Vernon website:

Quote:

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By the fall of 1775 Boston--which was under British occupation--suffered from a widespread smallpox epidemic that threatened to spread throughout the ranks of Washington's army. In response, Washington forbade refugees from Boston to come near the American camp in order to avoid the risk of exposure. After the British left the city in March of 1776, Washington sent in a force of 1,000 smallpox-immune American troops to occupy Boston in order to avoid further spread of the disease.

… Washington eventually instituted a system where new recruits would be inoculated with smallpox immediately upon enlistment.

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If George Washington were standing in front of you, saying you couldn't leave your city in Michigan, or telling you that you are REQUIRED to be vaccinated, you would say he was flouting the standards of freedom that our country was built on, because he didn't let you go out in your boat. Freedom does not mean the right to imperil or threaten others, with viruses or guns. The key idea of democracy is fairness -- the rights of the individual must not be valued over the common good. Ask George.