Jefferson's Leap of Faith: the Embargo Acts of 1807-1809 as a Failure of Jeffersonian Ideology Page: 3
This thesis is part of the collection entitled: UNT Theses and Dissertations and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
3
the difficult task of finding an appropriate response to the
actions that had plagued Americans for decades.
While Jefferson had great expectations that the embargo
acts enacted between December 1807 and January 1809 would
address the European neutrality violations, the measure
"increasingly claimed [Jefferson's] attention in matters of
administration and enforcement and led him to adopt policies
of government control inconsistent with his basic philosophy
of government." The failure of the measure, which affected
over 1,500 American ships, 30,000 seamen and workers in
allied trades and $60,000,000 worth of cargo, can be
attributed in part to Jefferson's failure to communicate his
intentions for the embargo to the American people. Instead
of expressing his rationale, which would have been
consistent with his belief in a well-informed electorate,
the president maintained a public silence on the issue.
That silence is the subject of this study.2
Strained relations between Great Britain and France on
the eve of the nineteenth century set the tone for trans-
Atlantic relations for the next two decades. While
Napoleon's 1805 victory over the combined armies of Austria
and Russia at Austerlitz gave the French supreme control
over the European continent, Lord Horatio Nelson's triumph
over the French and Spanish navies at Trafalgar later that
year established the English as masters of the oceans. This
stalemate prevented either side from securing a significant
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This thesis can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Thesis.
Hamilton, James M. (James Milburn). Jefferson's Leap of Faith: the Embargo Acts of 1807-1809 as a Failure of Jeffersonian Ideology, thesis, December 1994; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278383/m1/7/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .