For many years, white settlers in the American western territories had besieged the Indians living there. All told, American business activity declined by 75 percent from 1808 to 1809.Īnother underlying cause of the War of 1812 was British support for native resistance to U.S. The embargo hurt American farmers, who could no longer sell their goods overseas, and seaport cities experienced a huge increase in unemployment and an uptick in bankruptcies. However, while the embargo did have some effect on the British economy, it was American commerce that actually felt the brunt of the impact ( ). The logic behind the embargo was that cutting off all trade would so severely hurt Britain and France that the seizures at sea would end.
As a result of the embargo, American commerce came to a near-total halt. This law prohibited American ships from leaving their ports until Britain and France stopped seizing them on the high seas. Jefferson chose what he thought was the best of his limited options and responded to the crisis through the economic means of a sweeping ban on trade, the Embargo Act of 1807. The British then boarded the ship and took four sailors. naval ship, the Chesapeake, off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia. The issue came to a head in 1807 when the HMS Leopard, a British warship, fired on a U.S.
England was the major offender, since the Royal Navy, following a time-honored practice, “impressed” American sailors by forcing them into its service. France and England, engaged in the Napoleonic Wars, which raged between 18, both declared open season on American ships, which they seized on the high seas.
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