In this situation, Jefferson did stick to his own Jeffersonian principles in using economic coercion instead of resorting to war. He believed in the importance of freedom of trade and that no foreign government had the right to interfere. However, despite his intentions, the Embargo Act had significant negative consequences on the American economy and did not achieve the desired results.
Grade: C
For each event in Jefferson’s presidency, determine if he stuck to his own Jeffersonian principles and why/why not. Then, assign him a grade (A-F or numerical) in his overall actions, taking into account context, motive, significance, outcome, etc.
During the Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain, both violated the accepted norms of neutral shipping. According to international law, neutral nations had a right to trade nonmilitary goods with countries at war. By 1806, however, both Britain and France had declared the other under blockade, seeking to deny trade with America to its rival. The Britsh were the greatest offenders, routinely attacking and boarding ships to round up British seamen who would sometimes desert the Royal Navy and attempt to blend in on American ships. In the process, the Royal Navy would sometimes impress American sailors, forcing them to serve in the British navy.
The Chesapeake–Leopard affair between the British warship HMS Leopard and the American frigate USS Chesapeake heightened tensions. The crew of Leopard pursued, attacked, and boarded the American ship off the coast of Virginia, looking for deserters from the Royal Navy. Americans were outraged and many began calling for war.
Jefferson felt that a solution short of war should be possible. Jefferson concluded that if the United States stopped all trade with both belligerents, they would be forced by economic necessity to respect American neutral rights (a policy known as economic coercion). To Jefferson, the economic health of the United States required freedom of trade with which no foreign government had a right to interfere. American farmers needed access to markets in Europe and the Caribbean. As colonial patriots had done in the 1760s and 1770s, he decided to use trade as a weapon. Jefferson signed the Embargo Act in 1807, forbidding American ships from engaging in foreign trade.
In Britain and France, the embargo was hardly noticed, while in America, exports fell by 80% and port cities, especially those in the manufacturing centers of the Northeast and the cotton producing regions of the South. Jefferson believed that Americans would cooperate with the embargo out of a sense of patriotism. However, the embargo crippled the American economy and an illicit trade in smuggling flourished, particularly through Canada. To enforce the embargo, Jefferson greatly expanded the federal government. He mobilized the army, navy and customs agents to enforce the blockade and arrest smugglers. Just before his term ended, in March 1809, Jefferson signed the Non-Intercourse Act, banning trade only with Britain and France but providing that if either side rescinded its edicts against American shipping, commerce with that country would resume. Again, this had little effect on the European powers. An alarmed Congress, yielding to the storm of public anger, finally repealed the embargo when Jefferson left office.
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