Changes

The British system of [[impressment]] angered all Americans. The British warships stopped American merchant ships and looked at the papers of the crew. Anyone born in Britain, or even speaking with a British accent, was seized and forced into the Royal Navy despite his protests and actual American citizenship. 6,000 sailors were impressed. American anger peaked after June 22, 1807, when the British warship ''Leopard'' attacked the smaller American warship ''Chesapeake'' a few miles off the U.S. coast, and impressed four suspected deserters. Americans demanded war.  

The British system of [[impressment]] angered all Americans. The British warships stopped American merchant ships and looked at the papers of the crew. Anyone born in Britain, or even speaking with a British accent, was seized and forced into the Royal Navy despite his protests and actual American citizenship. 6,000 sailors were impressed. American anger peaked after June 22, 1807, when the British warship ''Leopard'' attacked the smaller American warship ''Chesapeake'' a few miles off the U.S. coast, and impressed four suspected deserters. Americans demanded war.  

Jefferson said, no war, but he did order all British ships out of American waters.  He was convinced that the United States had the power to coerce the European powers by economic methods rather than war. In December 1807, Jefferson asked Congress for an embargo which would prohibit all American ships from departing for a foreign port. Trading vessels were now required to post a bond of guarantee equal to  the value of both the ship itself and its cargo, in order to insure compliance with the law.<ref>Malone, p. 461</ref>  Secretary of the Treasury [[Albert Gallatin]] objected because of the administrative nightmare of trying to enforce such a profoundly unpopular policy. "As to the hope that it may...induce England to treat us better," wrote Gallatin to Jefferson shortly after the bill had become law, "I think is entirely groundless...government prohibitions do always more mischief then had been calculated; and it is not without hesitation that a statesman should hazard to regulate the concerns of individuals as if he could do better than themselves"<ref>Gallatin to Jefferson, Dec. 1807, in Gallatin (1879) 2:368 [http://books.google.com/books?id=xnUsAAAAMAAJ&printsec=toc&dq=inauthor:gallatin&num=30&sig=M8LZzp5Q7_KwNywJouiRe9LiPfE#PPA368,M1 online edition]</ref>

Jefferson said, no war, but he did order all British ships out of American waters.  He was convinced that the United States had the power to coerce the European powers by economic methods rather than war. In December 1807, Jefferson asked Congress for an embargo which would prohibit all American ships from departing for a foreign port. Trading vessels were now required to post a bond of guarantee equal to  the value of both the ship itself and its cargo, in order to insure compliance with the law.<ref>Malone, p. 461</ref>  Secretary of the Treasury [[Albert Gallatin]] objected because of the administrative nightmare of trying to enforce such a profoundly unpopular policy. "As to the hope that it may...induce England to treat us better," wrote Gallatin to Jefferson shortly after the bill had become law, "I think is entirely groundless...government prohibitions do always more mischief then had been calculated; and it is not without hesitation that a statesman should hazard to regulate the concerns of individuals as if he could do better than themselves"<ref>Gallatin to Jefferson, Dec. 1807, in Gallatin (1879) 2:368 [https://books.google.com/books?id=xnUsAAAAMAAJ&printsec=toc&dq=inauthor:gallatin&num=30&sig=M8LZzp5Q7_KwNywJouiRe9LiPfE#PPA368,M1 online edition]</ref>

The Embargo quickly became law and ordered the end of all American foreign trade, to all countries. Foreign ships could still come to American ports but Congress added a nonimportation act which blocked entry to many British goods. Very stringent enforcement laws were passed to ensure that vessels engaged in the coastal trade would not secretly sail for foreign ports. In January 1808 Congress closed a loophole that coasting vessels, and fishing and whaling boats had not been required to post bonds guaranteeing that they would not sail for foreign ports.<ref>McDonald p. 147</ref> War loomed, but Congress refused Jefferson's request to increase the army to 30,000 troops from 2,800.  

The Embargo quickly became law and ordered the end of all American foreign trade, to all countries. Foreign ships could still come to American ports but Congress added a nonimportation act which blocked entry to many British goods. Very stringent enforcement laws were passed to ensure that vessels engaged in the coastal trade would not secretly sail for foreign ports. In January 1808 Congress closed a loophole that coasting vessels, and fishing and whaling boats had not been required to post bonds guaranteeing that they would not sail for foreign ports.<ref>McDonald p. 147</ref> War loomed, but Congress refused Jefferson's request to increase the army to 30,000 troops from 2,800.  

* Daniels, G. W. "American Cotton Trade with Liverpool under the Embargo and Non-intercourse Acts." ''American Historical Review'' 1916 21(2): 276-287. Issn: 0002-8762 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(191601)21%3A2%3C276%3AACTWLU%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 online at Jstor]

* Daniels, G. W. "American Cotton Trade with Liverpool under the Embargo and Non-intercourse Acts." ''American Historical Review'' 1916 21(2): 276-287. Issn: 0002-8762 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(191601)21%3A2%3C276%3AACTWLU%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 online at Jstor]

* Frankel, Jeffrey A. "The 1807-1809 Embargo Against Great Britain," ''The Journal of Economic History,'' Vol. 42, No. 2 (Jun., 1982), pp.&nbsp;291–308 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0507(198206)42%3A2%3C291%3AT1EAGB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0 online at JSTOR]

* Frankel, Jeffrey A. "The 1807-1809 Embargo Against Great Britain," ''The Journal of Economic History,'' Vol. 42, No. 2 (Jun., 1982), pp.&nbsp;291–308 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0507(198206)42%3A2%3C291%3AT1EAGB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-0 online at JSTOR]

* Gallatin, Albert. ''The Writings  of Albert Gallatin'', ed. Henry Adams, (1879) [http://books.google.com/books?id=xnUsAAAAMAAJ&printsec=toc&dq=inauthor:gallatin&num=30&sig=M8LZzp5Q7_KwNywJouiRe9LiPfE#PPR5,M1 online edition at Google]

* Gallatin, Albert. ''The Writings  of Albert Gallatin'', ed. Henry Adams, (1879) [https://books.google.com/books?id=xnUsAAAAMAAJ&printsec=toc&dq=inauthor:gallatin&num=30&sig=M8LZzp5Q7_KwNywJouiRe9LiPfE#PPR5,M1 online edition at Google]

* Gordinier, Glenn Stine.  "Versatility in Crisis: The Merchants of the New London Customs District Respond to the Embargo of 1807-1809."  PhD dissertation U. of Connecticut 2001. 333 pp.  DAI 2001 62(2): 739-A. DA3004842  

* Gordinier, Glenn Stine.  "Versatility in Crisis: The Merchants of the New London Customs District Respond to the Embargo of 1807-1809."  PhD dissertation U. of Connecticut 2001. 333 pp.  DAI 2001 62(2): 739-A. DA3004842  

* Kaplan, Lawrence S. "Jefferson, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Balance of Power." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 1957 14(2): 196-217. ISSN 0043-5597 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597(195704)3%3A14%3A2%3C196%3AJTNWAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-4 online in Jstor]  

* Kaplan, Lawrence S. "Jefferson, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Balance of Power." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 1957 14(2): 196-217. ISSN 0043-5597 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0043-5597(195704)3%3A14%3A2%3C196%3AJTNWAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-4 online in Jstor]