Congress Passes the Embargo Act: December 22, 1807

This text comes from our book, Lands of Hope and Promise.

The federal government of the early 19th century was not powerful nor did it always evoke loyalty—especially in those who thought their interests were threatened by it. In those days it would have been relatively easy for a state or a group of states to separate from the union, for the federal government took care of only a certain limited number of concerns; the rest fell to the states. Moreover, the patriotism of most Americans still centered on their local region or states. They had not yet developed an American consciousness.

So it was that in 1804 certain New England Federalists, fearing the policies of Jefferson and his Republicans, contemplated separating from the union and forming a “Northern Confederacy of New England and New York.” They approached Alexander Hamilton with their plan; but, unable to enlist him in their conspiracy, they turned to Aaron Burr, whom Jefferson had dropped as his running mate for the election of 1804. Deep in the conspiracy, Burr ran against the Republican candidate for the governorship of New York but lost because of Hamilton’s opposition. With Burr’s defeat, the New England secession movement fell apart.

Smarting over his loss and angry with Hamilton for his opposition, Burr wanted revenge. Taking as a pretext a newspaper story that quoted Hamilton saying Burr was “a dangerous man and ought not to be trusted with the reins of government,” Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton accepted. The two men met at Weehawken, New York on July 11, 1804. Hamilton fired into the air, but, at ten paces, Burr shot Hamilton dead. He had killed his old rival, but also his own political future. Public opinion turned against Burr, and he went west.

Aaron Burr

Burr owned land in Louisiana where he hoped to establish a colony of settlers. Together with the Irish adventurer, Harman Blennerhassett, Burr conceived a plan to conquer Mexico—whether for himself or for the United States is unclear. Burr negotiated with Louisiana governor James Wilkinson, who had long been secretly in the pay of Spain, to make Louisiana an independent republic in league with Spain. Establishing headquarters at Lexington, Kentucky, Burr and Blennerhassett began training troops. But betrayed by Wilkinson, Burr was seized and taken to stand trial for treason. Ruling that there was insufficient evidence for treason, Chief Justice Marshall acquitted Burr of all charges. But the American public was not convinced of Burr’s innocence; and he, rather than face continued public censure, exiled himself to Europe. There he remained until 1812.

Secession talk did not end with Burr’s departure. Dissatisfaction with Jefferson’s government intensified when in 1805 the British began seizing American ships engaged in trade with France. Insult was added to violence when British naval captains began boarding American merchant ships to impress sailors. Though the United States was neutral in Britain’s war with Napoleon, the British navy justified impressment by claiming that American ships carried British naval deserters. This was often true, though British captains did not shrink from impressing American citizens and black slaves.

In 1806, to strike at French trade, Great Britain issued orders blocking all trade through specified ports in Europe. Napoleon responded in 1806 by issuing the Berlin Decrees, which forbade any country to trade with Great Britain. The British countered Napoleon’s move in 1807 by issuing two “Orders in Council”: the first prohibited all trade with any port belonging to France or her allies; the second blockaded all European ports that prohibited the entry of British ships. Napoleon retaliated with a further decree on December 17 declaring that any ship searched by the British would be considered enemy property and could be confiscated. Thus caught between British orders and French decrees, American ships soon found themselves barred from most foreign ports.

Tensions increased between Great Britain and the United States when, on June 22, 1807, the British warship, the H.M.S. Leopard, fired on the U.S.S. Chesapeake ten miles off the coast of Virginia. Americans were outraged; the Federalists clamored for war. Then France began seizing neutral ships—including American vessels. Unwilling to go to war with both Britain and France (or with either of them alone), Jefferson chose instead the more peaceful expedient of an embargo. On December 22, 1807, Congress passed the Embargo Act, which forced all American ships in port to remain in port, lest they be seized by British and French ships. The act struck the port cities of New England and New York hard. Ships sat idle in the shipyards; small ship owners were ruined.

In the congressional election of 1808, every New England state went Federalist. Town councils passed resolutions calling for the repeal of the Embargo Act, some suggesting secession as a recourse if the act were not repealed. Plans were laid for a convention of New England states to consider nullifying the Embargo Act—Federalists were claiming a right championed by Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolves! But the convention never met. It did not need to. On March 1, 1809, just three days before the end of Jefferson’s second term, Congress repealed the Embargo Act.

Though the Embargo Act had won Jefferson few friends in New England, he was, it seems, still popular elsewhere in the union. In the election of 1808, Jefferson’s hand-picked successor and fellow Virginian, James Madison, successfully defeated his Federalist opponent. Virginian Republicans thus remained in control of the federal government.