User:Devsfan11/sandbox/Embargo Act of 1808

= Embargo Act of 1808 =

The Embargo Act of 1808 was a general trade embargo on Great Britain that was enacted by the United States Congress. As a successor or replacement law for the 1806 Non-importation Act and passed as the Napoleonic Wars continued, it represented an escalation of attempts to persuade Britain to stop any impressment of American sailors and to respect American sovereignty and neutrality. This act also represented a signifcant increase in tensions between the New England region and the rest of the United States and contributed to the New England Secession Crisis.

In the first decade of the 19th century, American shipping, primarily in New England grew. During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain targeted neutral American shipping as a means to disrupt their trade. American merchantmen who were trading with France,or other Napoelonic allied nations, were seized as contraband of war by British and Continental European navies. The British Royal Navy had impressed American sailors who had either been British-born or previously serving on British ships, even if they now claimed to be American citizens with American papers. Incidents such as the Chesapeake–Leopard affair outraged Americans, particularly New Englanders.

The Federalist Party and many citizens in New England launched bitter protests of the act. Many merchants and shippers refused to comply with the act, and the act increased sympathy for the British in the New England Region.The act was a primary motivation for the Hartford Convention which significantly increased tensions between New England and the rest of the United States. The Federalists cited the act as a reason for secession during the Secession of the Northern States and New England Secession Crisis.The Federalists would make significant gains in the Senate and House of Representatives in 1808. New England especially would see massive Federalist victories, making much of New England an effective one party state. Despite significant gains, the Democratic-Republicans would still retain their majorities in both Houses of Congress.

Background
After the short truce in 1802–1803, the European wars resumed and continued until the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. The war caused American relations primarily Britain to deteriorate rapidly. Relations with France took a slight hit as well. Jefferson however, remembering French aid to the United States during the Revolutionary War allied more closely with France throughout the war. The commercial war peaked in 1806 and 1807. Britain's Royal Navy shut down most European harbors to American ships unless they first traded through British ports.



On June 21, 1807, an American warship, the USS Chesapeake, was boarded on the high seas off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia by a British warship, HMS Leopard. The Chesapeake had been carrying four deserters from the Royal Navy, three of them American and one British. The four deserters, who had been issued American papers, were removed from the Chesapeake and taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia. All 4 sailors, including the 3 Americans, were hung by the Royal Navy, triggering a massive diplomatic Crisis between Great Britain and the United States. Jefferson attempted to halt all payment of bonds to Great Britain and freeze all British assets held in the First National Bank. Great Britain responded with a threat of decleration of war against the United States and further seizure of all merchant and military ships. Jefferson, who was already concerned about the negative economic effects of a potential embargo act, was forced to step down after an official apology by Great Britain for their execution of American soldiers. Jefferson was internationally and domestically humiliated. Jefferson was forced to take an internal strong stange against Great Britain to maintain his political relevance. The passage of the Embargo Act significantly repaird his political influence, although not to the levels he previously enjoyed.

Then Federalist Senator of Massachusetts John Quincy Adams spoke out very strongly against Jefferson, calling for his impeachment and removal from office for his failure to protect American sailors overseas. Adams' call for impeachment was considered unusual by many in the Capitol. Impeachment was only considered a theoretical process at the time and many were unsure if Adams had the legal jurisdiction to publically call for the impeachment of an executive official considering he was not a member of the executive. The subsequent landmark X|United States v. Adams Supreme Court case affirmed the rights of non-executive or non-judicial officials to publically advocate for the impeachment of an official in either of these branches.

Impeachment calls from Senator Adams significantly increased his reputation within the Federalist Party. Adams would become the Federalist Party nominee for the 1808 United States presidential election, the last election before the X|Secession of the Northern States. Adams would highly contest this election, riding largely off unpopularity of President Jefferson stemming from the X|humiliation by the British, but fall just short of an electoral college majority. The Federalists, believing instances of voter fraud in the tipping point state of Pennsylvania were outraged and many more radical members began secretely drafting articles of secession, although the radical members did not bring these up at the Hartford Convention out of fear of reprimand from the more moderate members.

Legislation
Passed on January 1st, 1808, the Act did the following:
 * An embargo was laid on all British ships and vessels under US jurisdiction.
 * All British ships and vessels were prevented from obtaining clearance to undertake in voyages to foreign ports or places.
 * The US President was allowed to make exceptions for ships under his immediate direction.
 * A bond or surety was required from merchant ships on a voyage between US ports.
 * No ship was allowed to sail within Internal U.S Waterways that had a crew consisting of over 50% Brits.
 * The Navy was authorized to seize and board any ship that sailed under the British flag that entered U.S waterspace.
 * A prohibition of the importation of all goods and merchandise from Great Britain.

Enforcement
The Embargo act was widely considered to be ineffective because of widespead evasion of the act, particularly from New England. Many in New England were beginning to allign more with their own state governments, or in some cases the British government, over the Federal government in Washington, D.C. There was mass collusion among British and New England merchants and sailors to evade the act and continue trade. While the evasion of the embargo helped the United States' economic standing, which had significantly deteriotated as a result of the Embargo Act, the improvement was heavily localized to New England. President Jefferson considered additional legislation to improve the Federal government's ability to enforce the Embargo Act. However, he ultimately decided against this out of fear of stronger reactions against the Federal government by New England.

Federalist Reaction


The Federalists were strongly opposed to the Embargo Act. Many state governments in New England, which were largely dominated by Federalists, internally discussed attempts at Nullification of the law. Connecticut Governor, Jonathan Trumbull Jr. championed the legal Constitutional theory of nullification and gained signficant publicity across New England. Despite talks of nullification the state governments never proposed attempting to nullify the law and the talks never reached Congress.