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With Britain engaged in a life-and-death war with France, the efforts of a small country like the U.S. to remain neutral were futile. The British Royal Navy controlled the seas and stopped American shipments headed to France. Worse, the Royal Navy, needing more men, boarded American merchant ships and "impressed" (seized) 6,000 sailors who were American citizens but had been born in Britain. Finally Americans were convinced that the British were using their base in western Canada to supply and encourage Indian raids on American frontier settlements.  

With Britain engaged in a life-and-death war with France, the efforts of a small country like the U.S. to remain neutral were futile. The British Royal Navy controlled the seas and stopped American shipments headed to France. Worse, the Royal Navy, needing more men, boarded American merchant ships and "impressed" (seized) 6,000 sailors who were American citizens but had been born in Britain. Finally Americans were convinced that the British were using their base in western Canada to supply and encourage Indian raids on American frontier settlements.  

The British action that irked American leaders most was the Orders in Council, issued in January 1807. These orders banned U.S trade with France and its allies. They were issued in response of to Napoleon's Berlin Decree of November 1806, which embargoed Britain. Both blockades were illegal in international law as neither country had sufficient naval forces to enforce them systematically. Restricting trade to Britain alone would make the U.S. a dependency of Britain and restore the earlier colonial trading relationship. Both Jefferson and Madison leaned toward France and against Britain in the Napoleonic Wars. As a matter of national honor, they were determined that the U.S. would assert its right to follow a foreign policy of its own choosing. When a British warship in June 1807 attacked and disabled the [[USS Chesapeake|USS ''Chesapeake'']] and impressed several crewmen, a general wave of indignation rose in which even the maritime interests joined. This was an insult to the flag. Jefferson decided against war and instead tried to punish Britain by cutting off American trade. This annoyed the British some but outraged New England, where shipping was shut down and the economy badly hurt.

The British action that irked American leaders most was the Orders in Council, issued in January 1807. These orders banned U.S trade with France and its allies. They were issued in response of to Napoleon's Berlin Decree of November 1806, which embargoed Britain. Both blockades were illegal in international law as neither country had sufficient naval forces to enforce them systematically. Restricting trade to Britain alone would make the U.S. a dependency of Britain and restore the earlier colonial trading relationship. Both Jefferson and Madison leaned toward France and against Britain in the Napoleonic Wars. As a matter of national honor, they were determined that the U.S. would assert its right to follow a foreign policy of its own choosing. When a British warship in June 1807 attacked and disabled the [[USS Chesapeake|USS ''Chesapeake'']] and impressed several crewmen, a general wave of indignation followed. Even the shipping interests were outraged. Jefferson decided against war in the hope that the embargo would give the U.S. sufficient leverage. The embargo annoyed the British and outraged New England, where shipping was shut down and the economy badly hurt.

Madison tried to negotiate a revocation of the ban on U.S. trade with France. Congress passed "Macon's Bill No. 2" in 1810 that promised if Britain or France allowed American shipping, the U.S. would put an embargo on the other country. [[Napoleon]] tricked the U.S. into believing, falsely, that France had dropped its restrictions. In February 1810, Madison slapped an embargo on trade to Britain, which was by far the largest trading partner of the U.S. Despite the renewed embargo, war remained far from the minds of America's leaders. In April, Congress voted to reduce the size of both the army and the navy.<ref>Wood, Gordon S. ''Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815'' (Oxford History of the United States Book 4). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition. p. 671.</ref> In the 1810 midterm election, many older congressmen retired and there was a generational shift. In the following Congress, sixty three of 142 House members were newly elected.<ref>Wood, p. 660.</ref> The new Congress was more hawkish and revisited the old disputes with fresh eyes. In July 1811, Madison told Congress he would call a special session in November to consider preparations for war. The only grievance Madison mentioned in his November 5 "war message" to Congress was the Orders in Council.<ref>Hickey, Donard R., ''The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict'', p. 29-30.</ref> By the end of the November, the administration and congressional leaders had privately reached a consensus that country needed to prepare for war.<ref name="warhawk">Brown, Roger H., "The War Hawks of 1812: An Historical Myth", ''Indiana Magazine of History'', Vol. 60, No. 2 (June 1964), pp. 137-151.</ref> The report of the House Foreign Relations Committee on November 29 also focused on the Orders in Council, although it mentioned impressment as well.<ref>Hickey, p. 30.</ref>

Madison tried to negotiate a revocation of the ban on U.S. trade with France. Congress passed "Macon's Bill No. 2" in 1810 that promised if Britain or France allowed American shipping, the U.S. would put an embargo on the other country. [[Napoleon]] tricked the U.S. into believing, falsely, that France had dropped its restrictions. In February 1810, Madison slapped an embargo on trade to Britain, which was by far the largest trading partner of the U.S. Despite the renewed embargo, war remained far from the minds of America's leaders. In April, Congress voted to reduce the size of both the army and the navy.<ref>Wood, Gordon S. ''Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815'' (Oxford History of the United States Book 4). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition. p. 671.</ref> In the 1810 midterm election, many older congressmen retired and there was a generational shift. In the following Congress, sixty three of 142 House members were newly elected.<ref>Wood, p. 660.</ref> The new Congress was more hawkish and revisited the old disputes with fresh eyes. In July 1811, Madison told Congress he would call a special session in November to consider preparations for war. The only grievance Madison mentioned in his November 5 "war message" to Congress was the Orders in Council.<ref>Hickey, Donard R., ''The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict'', p. 29-30.</ref> By the end of the November, the administration and congressional leaders had privately reached a consensus that country needed to prepare for war.<ref name="warhawk">Brown, Roger H., "The War Hawks of 1812: An Historical Myth", ''Indiana Magazine of History'', Vol. 60, No. 2 (June 1964), pp. 137-151.</ref> The report of the House Foreign Relations Committee on November 29 also focused on the Orders in Council, although it mentioned impressment as well.<ref>Hickey, p. 30.</ref>