Page 226 - American Stories, A History of the United States

protected them from seizure and deprived the European powers of needed Ameri-
can goods, especially food. The president predicted that a total embargo of American 8.1
commerce would soon force Britain and France to negotiate with the United States in
good faith: “Our commerce is so valuable to them that they will be glad to purchase
it when the only price we ask is to do us justice.” The Embargo Act became law on embargo Act In response to a 8.2
British attack on an American
December 22, 1807. warship off the coast of virginia,
But “peaceable coercion” became a Jeffersonian nightmare. The president naively this 1807 law prohibited foreign
believed the American people would enthusiastically support the embargo. Instead, commerce. 8.3
compliance required enforcement acts that became increasingly harsh.
By mid-1808, Jefferson and Gallatin were regulating the smallest details of American
economic life. The federal government supervised the coastal trade, lest a ship sailing 8.4
between two states slip away to Europe or the West Indies. Overland trade with Canada
was proscribed. When violations still occurred, Congress gave customs collectors the
right to seize a vessel merely on suspicion of wrongdoing. A final desperate act in January
1809 prohibited the loading of any U.S. vessel, regardless of size, without authorization 8.5
from a customs officer who was supported by the army, navy, and local militia.
Northerners hated the embargo. Persons near Lake Champlain in upper New York
State simply ignored the regulations and roughed up customs officers who interfered
with the Canadian trade. The administration was determined to stop the smugglers.
Jefferson urged the governor of New York to call out the militia and sent federal troops
to overawe the citizens of New York.
New Englanders considered the embargo lunacy. New England merchants were
willing to take their chances on the high seas, but for reasons that few people under-
stood, the president insisted that it was better to preserve ships from possible seizure
than to make profits. Sailors and artisans were thrown out of work. The popular press
maintained a constant howl of protest. Not surprisingly, the Federalist Party revived in
New England. Extremists suggested that state assemblies nullify federal law.
By 1809, Jefferson’s foreign policy was bankrupt. The embargo never seriously
damaged the British economy. In fact, British merchants took over lucrative markets
that the Americans had been forced to abandon. Napoleon liked the embargo, since it

the eMBArGo ACt The Ograbme (embargo spelled backward) snapping turtle, created by cartoonist
Alexander Anderson, is shown here biting an American tobacco smuggler who is breaking the embargo.
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