War of 1812
Embargo Act
1807

The Embargo Act of 1807 was an economic decision by the United States to protect its own product shipping rights, which were intended to eliminate Great Britain's higher quality of product. The result would draw the two nations into war once again.

Prior to the act

Before construction of the canal connecting Lake Champlain with the Hudson River, the economic development of the Champlain Valley was linked to its markets in Canada. Its inhabitants used the Richelieu River outlet of the lake to send their timber products, potash and foodstuffs to consumers in Quebec and Great Britain.

Coming from the same route via the British Isles, the British imported many of the manufactured goods that were of better quality and lower price than any readily available from the United States. A well-balanced economy for Canada and Great Britain was the result.

The calm waters, however, didn't prevail and Great Britain received its first storm on December 22, 1807, with America's enactment of the Embargo Act. The Jefferson Administration attempted, through economic duress, to persuade the British "to terminate impressment of American citizens and violation of neutral rights on the seas."

Results of the act

As a result of the new Embargo Act, a long-festering international collision came to a head. On June 18, 1812, the Senate of the United States ratified a measure which, with Jefferson's signature, committed the nation to war with Great Britain — ultimately igniting the War of 1812.

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