Embargo Act of 1807

The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. Much broader than the ineffectual 1806 Non-importation Act, it represented an escalation of attempts to persuade Britain to cease impressment of American sailors and to respect American sovereignty and neutrality as the Napoleonic Wars continued. It was also intended to pressure France and other nations, in pursuit of general diplomatic and economic leverage.

In the first decade of the 19th century, American shipping grew. During the Napoleonic Wars, rival nations Britain and France targeted neutral American shipping as a means of disrupting the trade of the other nation. American merchantmen bound for trade with "enemy nations" were seized as contraband of war by both European navies. The British Royal Navy were impressing American sailors into service, even if they claimed, or could present evidence of, U.S. citizenship. Many either were British-born or had previously served on British ships, or were genuinely British deserters. Incidents such as the Chesapeake–Leopard affair outraged Americans.

Congress imposed the embargo in direct response to these events. President Thomas Jefferson weighed public support for retaliation, but recognized that the United States was militarily far weaker than either Britain or France. He recommended Congress respond instead with commercial warfare. The experiment appealed to Jefferson and would harm his Northeastern opponents more than his domestic allies, irrespective of any actual impact on the European belligerents. The 10th Congress, controlled by his allies, agreed to the Act, which was signed into law on December 22, 1807.

The Embargo failed to improve the American diplomatic position, and sharply increased international tensions. Both widespread evasion of the embargo and loopholes in the legislation reduced the intended economic impact. British commercial shipping, which already dominated global trade, was successfully adapting to Napoleon's Continental System by pursuing new markets -- particularly in the restive Spanish and Portuguese colonies in South America.

The Act's prohibition on imports protected nascent US domestic industries across the board, particularly the textile industry, marking the beginning of a United States manufacturing system, and reducing the nation's dependence upon imported manufactured goods.

Americans opposed to the Act launched bitter protests, particularly in New England commercial centers. Support for the declining Federalist Party, which intensely opposed Jefferson, temporarily rebounded and drove electoral gains in 1808 (Senate and House). In the waning days of Jefferson's presidency, the Non-Intercourse Act lifted all embargoes on American shipping except cargoes bound for Britain or France. Enacted March 1, 1809, that law exacerbated tensions with Britain, eventually leading to the War of 1812.