Troubles with Britain and France

1. Troubles with Britain and France Chapter 11 Section 3 Pages 368-371

2. Piracy in the Mediterranean: • America began trading with China, Africa, and Argentina • Pirates of the Barbary Coast States caused trouble with this trade • They captured crews, and cargo; demanding payment for protection

3. War with Tripoli: • Jefferson refused to pay the tribute and Tripoli declared war on the United States • Jefferson did not want to declare war because the constitution did not specifically give him that power • He ordered the navy to blockade (close off trade) the port of Tripoli

4. The Philadelphia: • The American war ship The Philadelphia ran aground • Pirates captured its captain and crew • Commodore Edward Preable Ordered the ship to be destroyed • At night Americans boarded the ship and set it on fire • This was called “the most daring act of the age”

5. Popularity: • This war demonstrated the need for the United States to maintain a navy • Proved to other countries that America would fight to protect its intrest

6. American neutrality challenged: • Jefferson declared the United States to be neutral during the Napoleonic Wars • However, both Britain and France declared that they would close off American trade to their enemy • They began seizing American trading ships

7. Seizing American Sailors • The British began taking sailors from American ships – this was known as impressment • The british navy claimed that the American sailors were the Kings subjects • Some of the people they seized were deserters (people who had left British ships to sail on American ships)

8. The Chesapeake-Leopard Affair: • Chesapeake- American trading ship • Leopard- British War ship • The leopard opened fire on the Chesapeake killing crew members and capturing 4 • Jefferson continued to refuse to declare war because he knew the United States was not ready for war with the greatest sea power in the world

9. A Ban on Foreign Trade • Jefferson decided to fight back by declaring an embargo (official government ban on trade) • He hoped this would hurt French and British war efforts • This prohibited all American ships and their cargo from leaving the United States and became known as the Embargo Act

10. The embargo act • This hurt American trade and Jefferson's popularity • People tried to avoid the embargo act by shipping their goods through Canada • One year after the passing of the Embargo act, sailors flew their flags at half mast and paraded through the streets to funeral music to protest the act

11. Settling the Embargo Act: • Jefferson decided not to run for a third term for president • His successor was James Madison, former secretary of state • Just before he left office Jefferson and Congress repealed the Embargo Act • They replaced it with the Non-intercourse Act (allowed America to trade with any nation except Britain and France)

12. The Non-intercourse Act • Was less harmful to American traders • However, it did not help Britain and France to respect Americas rights as a nation • Macon’s Bill No. 2 - Stated that if Britain or France agreed to respect the right of America to remain neutral, they would cut off trade with the other one.