Embargo Act of 1807

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The Embargo Act of 1807 was an American law prohibiting all export of cargo from American ports. It was designed to force Britain to reconsider its restrictions on American trade, but failed, and was repealed in early 1809. Specifically, the Embargo act prohibited American goods from being shipped to foreign ports and all foreign vessels from taking cargo at American ports. Cargo for the coastal trade had to be bonded at double value. Foreign imports were not banned, but they mostly ceased because ships would have to return empty. It represented President Thomas Jefferson's response to the Britain's Orders in Council (1807) and France's Continental System, which were severely hurting America's merchant marines. Also, it was Jefferson's response to the British attack on the US Navy in the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. Although it was designed to force the British and French to change their commercial systems, neither country did, and the Act was repealed in 1809. Moreover, the Act failed to prevent the War of 1812. Historians in 2006 ranked it #7 of the 10 worst mistakes ever made by an American President.^[1]

From the 1790s to 1807, American shippers enjoyed their status as the primary neutral carrier between France and Britain while both countries were engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, profiting as both Nations purchased American goods and ships. Before it passed, about $120 million in American ships and cargo were on the high seas on any one day. Jefferson thought that Britain needed the business so badly it would buckle on the impressment issue, where British warships stopped American commercial ships and seized sailors they said were British subjects. The vast British Royal Navy required a large workforce to keep a stranglehold on the oceans; a need which could not be provided for by volunteer enlistment. British warships stopped American merchant ships; inspected the papers of every crewmember, and carried off those they decided were British subjects. Over 6,000 sailors with American naturalization papers were also taken because Britain did not honor "naturalized citizenship" papers issued by American courts to men born in Britain.

A political cartoon showing merchants dodging the "ograbme" = embargo spelled backwards.

Congress passed the Embargo Act on December 22, 1807, by votes of 22-6 in the Senate and 82-44 in the House. The South and West were in favor, and the Northeast opposed; the goal was to attack Britain economically for their impressment policy, and also to ensure America's neutrality in the war. Unfortunately for the success of the new law, Britain had surprisingly good crops in 1808, leaving it far less dependent on America than usual, and the parts of the British Empire hit hardest by the Embargo were too poor to convince the government it was worthwhile to repeal the Orders in Council. Although the Act did succeed in lessening impressment, it was merely because it caused so many American sailors to become unemployed that they joined Britain's merchant marine and navy willingly, to avoid starving. New England, a traditional Federalist stronghold, was in an uproar over the Act and turned to smuggling, particularly across the Canadian border. Congress repealed the Act three days before Jefferson left office, replacing it with the Non-Intercourse Act on March 1, 1809, which lifted all embargoes except for those on Britain and France. This Act was just as ineffective as the Embargo Act itself and was replaced again the following year with Macon's Bill Number 2, lifting the remaining embargos.

The entire series of events was sometimes ridiculed as the Dambargo, Mob-Rage, Go-bar-'em or O-grab-me (embargo spelled backwards). The snapping turtle, sometimes known as the Ograbme, was therefore the subject of a political cartoon ridiculing the Act.

A case study of Rhode Island shows the embargo devastated shipping-related industries, wrecked existing markets, and caused an increase in opposition to the Republican Party. Smuggling was widely endorsed by the public, which viewed the embargo as a violation of their rights. Public outcry continued, and the Federalists regained control of the state government in 1808-09. This case demonstrates how a national foreign policy issue can affect the local patterns of political allegiance. Despite its unpopular nature, the Embargo Act did have some limited, unintended benefits, especially as it drove capital and labor into New England textile and other manufacturing industries, lessening America's reliance on the British.^[2] In Vermont, the embargo was doomed to failure on the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River water route because of Vermont's dependence on a Canadian outlet for produce. At St. John, Lower Canada, £140,000 worth of goods smuggled by water were recorded there in 1808 - a 31% increase over 1807. Shipments of ashes (used to make soap) nearly doubled to £54,000, but lumber dropped 23% to £11,200. Manufactures, which had expanded to £50,000 since Jay's Treaty of 1795, fell over 20%, especially articles made near Tidewater. However, newspapers and manuscripts recorded more lake activity than usual. The amount of droving of herds across the uncontrollable land border is unknown. Southbound commerce gained two-thirds overall, but furs dropped a third. Customs officials maintained a stance of vigorous enforcement and Gallatin's Enforcement Act (1809) was a party issue. Many Vermonters preferred the embargo's exciting game of revenuers versus smugglers, bringing high profits, versus mundane, low-profit normal trade.^[3]

[edit] References

Kaplan, Lawrence S. "Jefferson, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Balance of Power." William and Mary Quarterly 1957 14(2): 196-217. Issn: 0043-5597 Fulltext: online in Jstor
Levy, Leonard W.; Jefferson and Civil Liberties: The Darker Side. (1963)
Mannix, Richard. "Gallatin, Jefferson, and the Embargo of 1808." Diplomatic History 1979 3(2): 151-172. Issn: 0145-2096
Muller, H. Nicholas. "Smuggling into Canada: How the Champlain Valley Defied Jefferson's Embargo." Vermont History 1970 38(1): 5-21. Issn: 0042-4161
Sears; Louis Martin. Jefferson and the Embargo (1927), state by state analysis of impact
Smelser, Marshall. The Democratic Republic, 1801-1815 (1968) (ISBN 0-06-131406-4) survey of political and diplomatic history
Spivak, Burton; Jefferson's English Crisis: Commerce, Embargo, and the Republican Revolution. (1979)
Strum, Harvey. "Rhode Island and the Embargo of 1807." Rhode Island History 1994 52(2): 58-67. Issn: 0035-4619