Name: Social Studies Seven/PD: Chapter Nine/Part One – The Fall of the Federalist Party


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Chapter Nine/Part Four – American is Neutrality Violated

IV. U.S. Neutrality is Violated
A. Conflict with the Barbary Pirates:
Despite earlier violations of American Neutrality by Britain and France (in the 1790’s), the situation for American merchants was profitable

in the early 1800’s. American captains and their trading ships traveled the world’s oceans, looking for goods and rare items that could be sold for high prices in the United States.


Merchants traveled as far as China and India in search of trade goods and so many merchants from Boston visited the Pacific Northwest Coast that Indians there called all white men “Boston.” As usual, New England or “Yankee” merchants dominated the trading activity and made great profits off clever schemes such as selling ice to people in India in return for silks and spices.
By 1800, Americans could buy goods from around the world. China, silks, spices, and rare foods were all available in East Coast marketplaces. New England merchants were known as “Yankees” and had an unusual ability to make a profit through any trading that they became involved in. The flow of money into the hands of New England merchants led to the growth of cities and banking in New England. Eventually, these merchants would have enough money to invest in businesses and to build the first factories in United States History.
Trading, however, was not without its dangers and risks. The U.S. Navy was still too small to protect merchant ships around the world. One area of particular danger was the Mediterranean Sea along the North African Coast. A collection of small nations known as the Barbary States regularly attacked American ships, captured their cargoes, and held Americans as hostages until their relatives paid ransoms. The United States, like many European nations (including Great Britain) paid the “Barbary Pirates” a yearly fee or tribute to avoid these attacks. In 1801, however, the Barbary States increased their tribute demands and Jefferson refused to pay them any longer.
The Barbary States declared war on the United States and attacks on American merchant ships increased rapidly, resulting in heavy losses for American merchants. In response, Jefferson (who now regretted his decision to cut the military) ordered the United States Navy to blockade the largest port in the Barbary States – Tripoli. During the blockade, the frigate U.S.S. Philadelphia ran aground in the harbor and the Barbary Pirates captured both the ship and its crew.
Fearing that the pirates would salvage the ship and use it as a warship, the commander of the fleet blockading Tripoli ordered a young Lieutenant named Stephen Decatur to raid the ship with a small party of sailors and set it on fire. Decatur accomplished his mission after a brief and violent struggle with the Pirates and blew the Philadelphia’s powder magazine. At the same time, 500 U.S. Marines landed on the shores of Tripoli itself and launched a successful raid on the city to rescue the captured sailors.

EFFECTS: The blockade and attack on Tripoli did force the leader of the Barbary States to sign a new treaty with the United States and he promised to stop any further attacks on American ships. The United States, however, still continued to pay a reduced yearly tribute to the pirates. Although this bothered Jefferson, he knew the United States was still too weak to avoid the tribute entirely. The attack also won the United States a small measure of respect in Europe – especially from Great Britain. The brief war showed the world that the U.S. was willing to defend itself and its interests around the world.

B. Britain and French Neutrality Violations:
In 1803, the war in Europe between France and the allied nations led by Britain started again after a brief period of peace. The fighting

was intense and the French and British were far too busy fighting each other to worry about the American ships that were busily trading with both sides. For American merchants and farmers, the war in Europe was great for trading goods and selling crops. Profits increased rapidly and American merchants grew wealthy from the increase in trade with Britain and France.


The situation did not last for very long and by 1805, both Britain and France began to capture American ships once again. They were determined to stop the flow of goods from America to their enemies and the small size of the U.S. Navy did not concern either nation. The British took the attacks one step further, however.
After years of fighting the French and being forced to keep their ships at sea 365 days a year, conditions in the British Navy began to grow worse. Ships were in desperate need of repair and many men were lost to disease and accidents. The need to blockade the French Western and Northern Coasts in the Atlantic and Southeastern Coast in the Mediterranean combined with the need to chase down French squadrons and privateers that broke the blockade had stretched the British Navy to the limit. Britain did not have enough volunteer sailors to man all of their ships (by now, over 500).
In desperation, the British government allowed the Navy to send squads of armed sailors known as “press gangs” into English villages to literally kidnap men and force them into the navy. A favorite tactic was for a press gang to wait outside a tavern to attack and take away drunken men leaving at night. Criminals were even sentenced to serve in the Navy instead of going to prison for their crimes.
Faced with the possibility of not having enough men to run their ships, the British began to force American sailors from captured ships into their navy – a practice known as “pressing” or impressment. The British claimed that these Americans were really deserters from the British Navy serving on American ships, but many were really true American citizens.

Americans were outraged by impressment and called on President Jefferson to declare war on Great Britain. Jefferson, like Washington and Adams before him, knew that the United States was too weak to risk a war with Britain. Although he bitterly regretted his decision to cut the size of the military, he remained determined to keep the nation out of war and to continue to eliminate the nation’s debt to foreign nations. As an alternative, Jefferson convinced Congress to create a law banning all nations. The Embargo Act of 1807, Jefferson thought, would deprive Britain and France of needed food and force them to stop attacks on American shipping.




C. Hard Times for Americans:
Trade profits dropped to alarmingly low levels and New England merchants were driven out of business. Smuggling, as in British days,

increased rapidly. New Englanders smuggled goods into and out of harbors by ship and others smuggled goods back and forth between Canada and the United States. Anger against President Jefferson and the Republican Party in New England was intense.



President Jefferson realized that the Embargo Act was a failure and that it threatened to harm the Republicans’ chances of winning the Election of 1808. In the last days of his Presidency, Jefferson convinced Congress to pass another law, known as the Nonintercourse Act of 1809. Under the new trade law, merchants were allowed to trade with all nations except Britain and France.
The new law did improve trade slightly, but came nowhere near to restoring the level of trade that Americans enjoyed before 1807. France eventually did stop attacking American ships, but Britain continued the attacks and the impressment of American sailors. New England merchants were still hurt by the lack of trade with their major trading partner – Great Britain, and they bitterly blamed Jefferson for their troubles. Many Americans also still wanted to go to war with Britain.
Jefferson followed Washington’s example and announced that he would retire after his second term in office expired in March of 1809. In the Election of 1808, James Madison ran for President for the Republican Party and easily won the election against Charles Pinckney and the greatly weakened Federalist Party. Although the people were unhappy with the loss of trade and impressment of American sailors, a majority still voted Republican in the belief that the Republican Party represented the common American.
EFFECTS: Jefferson left the Presidency disappointed by his second four years in office and his failure to resolve (settle) America’s trade difficulties or the situation with Great Britain. Both Jefferson and Madison realized that the United States would not be able to avoid a war with Britain if impressment continued and American feelings against the British remained as strong as they had been under Jefferson. Deep inside, President Jefferson knew that his plans to keep the government small and to pay off the foreign debt would be scrapped if the United States went to war with Great Britain.





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