The Early Republic
A Time of Conflict: The Jefferson Era Part 2
In 1785 the American ship Empress of China returned to New York from China with a
highly prized cargo of tea and silk. The goods sold for a fabulous profit. Soon ships from New
York, Philadelphia, and especially New England were sailing regularly to China and India
carrying furs and other goods. In the following years, American merchant ships sailed far and
wide, making calls in South America, Africa, and lands along the Mediterranean Sea. By 1800,
the United States was second only to Great Britain in the number of merchant ships trading
around the world.
Barbary Pirates
Sailing in foreign seas was not without danger. For example, in the Mediterranean ships
had to be on guard for pirates from Tripoli and other Barbary Coast states along the coast of
North Africa. For years these Barbary pirates had been terrorizing the Mediterranean. They
demanded tribute (protection money) from European governments to let their ships pass safely
through the Mediterranean Sea. The United States had also paid tribute, but not enough.
In 1801, the ruler of Tripoli asked for more money from the United States. When
President Jefferson refused, the ruler of Tripoli chopped down the flagpole of the American
consulate. This was seen as a declaration of war. Jefferson sent ships to the Mediterranean
and blockaded (closed off) Tripoli. The American fleet, however, was not powerful enough to
defeat the Barbary pirates, and the conflict continued.
In 1804 the pirates seized the U.S. warship Philadelphia and towed it into Tripoli Harbor.
They threw the captain and crew into jail. Then Stephen Decatur, a 25-year old United States
navy captain, took action. Decatur slipped into the heavily guarded harbor with a small raiding
party and burned the captured ship to prevent the pirates from using it.
Negotiations finally ended the conflict with Tripoli in June 1805. Tripoli agreed to stop
demanding tribute, but the United States had to pay a ransom of $60,000 for the release of the
American prisoners.
Freedom of the Seas
Thomas Jefferson easily won reelection in 1804. His second term began with the nation
at peace. However, across the sea Great Britain and France were already involved in a war
that threatened to interfere with American trade.
The thriving trade of the United States depended on being able to sail the seas freely.
The nation had resolved the threat from the Barbary pirates. Now it was challenged at sea by
the two most powerful nations in Europe.
When Britain and France went to war in 1803, American enjoyed a prosperous
commerce with both countries. As long as the United States remained, neutral, shippers could
continue doing business. A nation not involved in a conflict had neutral rights. This meant it
had the right to sail the seas and not take sides.
For two years American shipping continued to prosper. By 1805, however, the warring
nations had lost patience with American neutrality. Britain blockaded the French coast and
The Early Republic
threatened to search all ships trading with France. France announced that it would search and
seize ships caught trading with Britain.
The British needed sailors for their naval war, but conditions in the British navy were
terrible. Sailors were poorly paid, poorly fed, and badly treated. Many of them deserted.
Desperately in need of sailors, the British often used force to get them. British naval patrols
claimed the right to stop American ships at sea. They seized any sailors on board suspected of
being deserters from the British navy and forced them into service. This practice was known as
impressment, and it was a clear violation of neutral rights. While some of those taken were
deserters from the British navy, the British also impressed thousands of native-born and
naturalized American citizens.
Quite often the British would lie in wait for American ships outside an American harbor.
This happened in June 1807 off the coast of Virginia. A British warship stopped the American
ship the Chesapeake and demanded to search the ship for British deserters. When the
Chesapeake’s captain refused, the British opened fire on the ship. The British attacked killed
three Americans, wounded 18, and crippled the American ship.
As news of the attack spread, Americans reacted with an anti-British fury not seen since
the Revolutionary War. President Jefferson’s Secretary of State James Madison called the
attack an outrage. Many demanded war with Britain. However, President Jefferson tried a
solution other than war.
A Ban on Trade
The British impressment of sailors had led Jefferson to ban some trade with Britain.
However, the attack on the Chesapeake resulted in even stronger measures.
In December 1807, the Republican Congress passed the Embargo Act. An embargo
prohibits trade with another country. Although Great Britain was the target of this act, the
embargo banned trade to all foreign countries. Jefferson wanted to prevent Americans from
using other countries as go-betweens in the forbidden trade.
By using the embargo, President Jefferson and Secretary of State Madison hoped to
hurt Britain but avoid war. They believed the British depended on American agricultural
products. As it turned out, the embargo of 1807 was a disaster. The measure wiped out all
American commerce with other nations. Worse, the embargo was ineffective against Britain,
because Britain simply traded with South America for its agricultural goods. Even worse, the
embargo divided the American people.
New England was the heart of the American shipping industry and the part of the country
with the strongest support for the Federalist Party.
New England and the Federalists
complained the loudest about the embargo. With ships stuck in their ports, unemployment
began to rise, and protests flooded Washington.
New England was not the only region hurt by the embargo. In the South tobacco meant
for Europe rotted on the docks, and cotton went unpicked. In the West the price of wheat
declined, and river traffic came to a halt. At first, however, these Republican regions continued
to support Jefferson.
The Early Republic
The embargo proved difficult to enforce. Before long American shippers began
smuggling their goods, just as they had done in the days of the Revolutionary War. Public
opinion started to turn against the president and the Republicans. Having suffered a disastrous
setback in the 1804 election, the Federalists now gained support from the growing feelings
against the embargo.
Jefferson Leaves Office
Thomas Jefferson followed Washington’s precedent and said that he would not be a
candidate for a third term. With Jefferson’s approval the Republicans chose James Madison as
their candidate for president. The Federalists nominated Charles Pinckney and hoped that
anger over the embargo would gain support for their party. Pinckney won in most of the New
England states, but the Federalist candidate got little support from the other regions of the
country. James Madison won with 122 electoral votes to Pinckney’s 47 votes.
The embargo clearly had not worked. On March 1, 1809, Congress repealed it. In its
place Congress passed the much weaker Nonintercourse Act. This new act prohibited trade
only with Britain and France and their colonial possessions. It was no more popular or
successful than the Embargo Act. Meanwhile Britain continued to claim the right to halt
American ships, and cries for war with Britain grew louder and louder.
The Early Republic
A Time of Conflict: The Jefferson Era Part 2
1.
By 1800, the ____________________________ was second only to _______________
___________________ in the number of _________________________________
traveling around the world.
2. Sailing in foreign seas was not without danger. In the ___________________________
__________ ships had to be on guard for __________________ from Tripoli and other
_________________________ states along the coast of ________________________.
What did pirates demand?
3. What happened when President Jefferson refused to pay more money?
4. How did Jefferson respond?
5. How did the conflict with Tripoli end?
6. The foreign trade of the United States depended on being able to __________________
______________________________________. What threatened to interfere with
American trade?
The Early Republic
7. When Britain and France went to war in 1803, the United States remained
____________________. The United States said it had neutral rights. What did this
mean?
8. Britain and France lost patience with American neutrality. What did the countries do?
(a) Britain –
(b) France –
9. What did British naval patrols do when they stopped American ships at sea.
10. What the British did was known as _________________________________, and it
was a violation of ________________________________.
11. In December 1807, the Republican Congress passed the Embargo Act. With the act
the embargo banned _____________________________________________________.
(a) Why did Jefferson do this?
(b) Why did Jefferson think this would hurt Britain?
The Early Republic
(c) How did the embargo affect Britain?
12. How did the embargo affect different parts of the country?
(a) New England –
(b) The South –
(c) The West –
13. The embargo proved difficult to ________________________. Before long American
shippers began _________________________________ their goods.
14. Jefferson followed Washington’s precedent and was not a ________________________
______________________________________. Who became president after Thomas
Jefferson?
15. In 1809, Congress replaced the Embargo Act with the Nonintercourse Act. What did this
do?