Chapters 8-10: The Confederation, Constitution, and Jefferson Presidency

Question 1

List the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Answer 1

1. It was difficult for Congress to enact laws because nine votes out of thirteen were required.
2. Congress had no power to levy taxes but could only request funds from the states. The states ignored three-fourths of these requests.
3. Congress could issue money but couldn’t prevent states from issuing their own. Rhode Island, for example, issued its own inflated and nearly worthless paper currency and then passed laws mandating that creditors accept this paper money for payment of all debts. Six other states also issued large quantities of paper money.
4. Congress couldn’t control interstate or foreign commerce. As a result, states competed for control of commerce by levying their own tariffs on trade with foreign countries and even on trade with other states.
5. There was no provision for an independent executive branch or for a national court to handle disputes between citizens of different states.

Question 2

What did the Land Ordinance of 1785 do?

Answer 2

The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided that the acreage of the Old Northwest (the area north and west of the Ohio River) should be sold and the proceeds used to pay off the national debt.
The ordinance provided for surveying the frontier to make settlement simpler and prevent confusing legal disagreements over land.

Question 3

What was the significance of the Land Ordinance of 1785?

Answer 3

The ordinance made provision for funding public education.

Question 4

What did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 do?

Answer 4

The Northwest Ordinance established the procedures for territories becoming states on an equal basis with existing states. These procedures were applied to other territories acquired later. The ordinance also forbade slavery in the Old Northwest (that area north and west of the Ohio River).

Question 5

What happened in Shay’s Rebellion?

Answer 5

Led by Captain Daniel Shays, the rebellion began in western Massachusetts; backcountry farmers were losing their farms through mortgage foreclosures and tax delinquencies.
They demanded cheap paper money, lower taxes, and a suspension of mortgage foreclosures.

Question 6

What did Shay’s Rebellion demonstrate?

Answer 6

This rebellion struck fear in the hearts of the propertied class. It demonstrated the need for a stronger central government.

Question 7

What and when was the Annapolis Convention?

Answer 7

Virginia called the Annapolis convention in 1786 because of interstate squabbling over regulation of commerce. Only five states were represented. With such a poor showing, nothing could be done.
However, the Annapolis Convention followed Alexander Hamilton’s recommendation and called upon Congress to summon a convention to meet in Philadelphia the next year to deal with not only commerce but also the whole structure of the Articles of Confederation.

Question 8

Describe the Virginia Plan.

Answer 8

Known as the “large state plan,” the Virginia plan stated that representation in both houses of a bicameral legislature should be based on population, an arrangement that would naturally give the larger states an advantage.

Question 9

Describe the New Jersey Plan.

Answer 9

Known as the “small state plan,” the New Jersey Plan provided equal representation in a unicameral congress by states regardless of size and population. The weaker states feared that under Virginia’s plan the larger states would control the rest.

Question 10

What was the Great Compromise?
How many senators did each state have?
Where do taxes originate?

Answer 10

Also known as the Connecticut Plan, this plan gave the larger states representation by population in the House of Representatives, and the smaller states equal representation in the Senate. Each state had two senators.
The large states would have to bear the major burden of taxation, so the delegates agreed that every tax measure must originate in the House where population counted more heavily.

Question 11

What was the Three-Fifths Compromise?

What did the Southern and Northern states want?

Answer 11

Southern states wanted slaves counted for purposes of apportioning representation in the House but for not taxation. Northern states wanted slaves counted for taxation but not representation.
The compromise was to count slaves as three-fifths of a free person for both representation and taxation.

Question 12

What was the Slave Trade Compromise?

Answer 12

The agreement was that Congress could not ban slave trade (not slavery) until 1808.
In addition, the Constitution forbade any state’s people from blocking the return of runaway slaves to another state. It also continued the earlier ban on slavery in the Old Northwest.

Question 13

Explain the separation of powers.

Answer 13

As a means of limiting the power of any one part of the government, the Constitution provided that the powers of the federal government be separated among three distinct branches.
The legislative branch, Congress, makes the laws. The executive branch headed by the president carries out the laws. The judicial branch, the court system, settles disputes by interpreting the meaning of the laws.

Question 14

Explain the checks and balances.

Answer 14

The president can veto legislation, nominate judges, and grant pardons.
Congress can override vetoes, confirm or reject presidential appointments (e.g., nominations to the Supreme Court or nominations of ambassadors), ratify or reject treaties, and impeach members of the other two branches.
The judicial branch can declare actions of the executive branch unconstitutional and declare laws made by Congress unconstitutional.

Question 15

What are expressed powers?

What is one example?

Answer 15

These are powers explicitly granted to the federal government by the Constitution, e.g., the power to coin money.

Question 16

What are implied powers?

What is one example?

Answer 16

These are powers not explicitly granted by the Constitution but are powers derived from the elastic clause plus one or more of the expressed powers. For example, Congress has the expressed power to declare war. This implies that Congress has the power to establish a draft to provide soldiers for the military.

Question 17

What is the necessary and proper clause, and what was it used to authorize?

Answer 17

Also known as the elastic clause, the Constitution grants Congress the power “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.” This is the basis of implied powers. For example, it was used to authorize a national bank.

Question 18

What are reserved powers?

What part of the government do they limit?

Answer 18

The powers not granted to the federal government by the Constitution nor prohibited to the states are given to the states or people. For example, the states, not the federal government, control education, traffic laws, and laws regarding marriage and divorce.
This is another way the power of the federal government is limited.

Question 19

What are concurrent powers?

Answer 19

Concurrent powers are those powers given to both the federal government and the states. These include levying taxes, borrowing money, building roads, and maintaining courts.

Question 20

What is Federalism?

What part of the government does it limit?

Answer 20

This is the dual system of government set up by the Constitution. It allows both the states and the federal government to directly govern the people.
This is one way the power of the federal government is limited.

Question 21

What did the Antifederalists oppose and why were they significant?

Answer 21

They opposed the ratification of the Constitution because it gave more power to the federal government and less to the states, and because it did not ensure individual rights. The Antifederalists were instrumental in obtaining the promise of a bill of rights as a condition for ratifying the Constitution.

Question 22

What were the Federalist Papers and who wrote them?

Answer 22

This was a set of articles in New York newspapers by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. The intent was to persuade New York to ratify the Constitution.

Question 23

What was in Federalist #10?

Answer 23

In Federalist #10, Madison explained that human nature follows self-interest and, as a result, people form factions or groups to pursue that self-interest. He argued that the Constitution set up a government likely to control the damaging effects of factions.

Question 24

What was in Federalist #51?

Answer 24

In Federalist #51, Madison explained how the checks and balances system would prevent abuse of power by any one part of the government.

Question 25

What did Republican Motherhood lead to?

Answer 25

This did not lead to political or legal equality for women. It did, however, lead to increased educational opportunities for women as they needed a certain amount of education if they were to educate their children and instill republican virtues.

Question 26

What was the Judiciary Act of 1789?

Answer 26

The Judiciary Act organized the Supreme Court (with a chief justice and five associates) as well as federal district and circuit courts. It established the office of Attorney General. John Jay became the first chief justice.

Question 27

What was the Tariff of 1789 and why was it passed?

Answer 27

This was the first tariff law; it was very low, just 8% on the value of dutiable imports. It was passed to raise revenue for the federal government and was to protect infant industries.

Question 28

Who introduced the amendments in the Bill of Rights? Who did it apply to?

Answer 28

In the first session of Congress, Representative James Madison introduced a set of amendments that were submitted to the states for ratification. Ten were approved in 1791. Note that until 1925 when the Supreme Court began the process known as selective incorporation, the Bill of Rights did not apply to the states, only to the federal government.

Question 29

When was the Excise Tax on Whiskey?

Answer 29

1791

Question 30

What was the Excise Tax on Whiskey designed to do? | Who paid it?

Answer 30

This was designed to raise revenue for Hamilton’s funding and assumption program. The tax was paid chiefly by farmers in the West where bad roads made it hard to transport bulky crops such as grain; they distilled the grain into more condensed and easily transported whiskey.

Question 31

When was the Funding Bill?

Answer 31

1790

Question 32

Describe the Funding Bill. Who supported it? Why was it important?

Answer 32

The Funding Bill regarded the nation’s domestic debt. Speculators had purchased government bonds from their original owners at prices far below face value. The original owners (and those who would be paying the taxes to repay the debt, e.g., western farmers) protested that repaying the domestic debt in full would enrich the speculators. Hamilton successfully argued that the measure was necessary to establish the nation’s credit. The term funding “at par” meant that the federal government would repay the bonds at face value plus accumulated interest. By doing this, Hamilton hoped to make the wealthy (who had purchased the bonds) financially interested in the success of the new government.

Question 33

When was the Assumption Bill?

Answer 33

1790

Question 34

What did the Assumption Bill intend to do? | Who supported it?

Answer 34

Hamilton argued that the federal government should assume and repay the Revolutionary War debts of the states. By doing so, he hoped to bind the states more closely to the federal government. Southern states that had already taxed themselves and paid off their debts objected. Hamilton brokered a deal that located the national capital in the South in return for Southern support for his plan.

Question 35

Describe the conflict over the Bank of the United States.

Answer 35

Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury, proposed the Bank of the United States. This Bank would issue paper currency, sell government bonds, and assist in tax collection. Thomas Jefferson opposed this idea, pointing out that Congress was not specifically authorized to establish a national bank by the Constitution. Hamilton pointed out that the Bank was “necessary and proper” for carrying out the delegated power “to coin money” and “regulate the value thereof.” George Washington, who signed the bill chartering the bank, accepted Hamilton’s loose interpretation of the Constitution. This conflict between Hamilton and Jefferson over the Bank led to the development of competing political parties.

Question 36

What is Loose Construction (in a constitutional sense)? | Where is its basis in the Constitution?

Answer 36

Loose interpretation allows the government to do anything that the Constitution does not specifically forbid it from doing. Its constitutional basis is the elastic clause in Article I, Section 8.

Question 37

What is Strict Construction? | What is its basis in the Constitution?

Answer 37

Strict interpretation forbids the government from doing anything except what the Constitution specifically empowers it to do. Its constitutional basis is the Tenth Amendment.

Question 38

When was the First Party System?

Answer 38

1796 - 1828

Question 39

Describe the First Party System. Who were the leading figures? When did it end and why?

Answer 39

The framers of the Constitution hoped there would be no permanent political parties and Washington even warned against the dangers of parties, but the fight between Jefferson and Hamilton over the Bank of the United States led to what became known as the First Party System (or Era). Jefferson and Madison were the leading figures for the Democratic-Republicans (also known as the Republicans, the Democrats, the Jeffersonians, and the Anti-Federalists). They formed the basis of what eventually became today’s Democratic Party. Hamilton and John Adams were the leading figures for the Federalists. This party continued through the War of 1812, but the Hartford Convention and the shift in population away from New England resulted in their demise. With the disappearance of the Federalists, the country entered what became known as the Era of Good Feelings, a period with only one political party.

Question 40

Which party did Madison and Jefferson support?

Answer 40

Democratic-Republicans (also known as the Republicans, the Democrats, the Jeffersonians, and the Anti-Federalists)

Question 41

Which party did Hamilton and John Adams support?

Answer 41

Federalists

Question 42

What did the Federalist Party believe in?

Answer 42

Favored a strong central government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Feared the excesses of democracy. Supported Hamilton’s economic program. Supported by merchants, bankers, and large landowners.

Question 43

What did the Democratic-Republican Party believe in?

Answer 43

Favored states’ rights and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Feared the tyranny of a strong central government. Opposed Hamilton’s economic program. Supported by farmers, shopkeepers, and urban workers.

Question 44

When was the Whiskey Rebellion?

Answer 44

1794

Question 45

What happened in the Whiskey Rebellion?

Answer 45

Farmers in Pennsylvania rebelled against Hamilton’s excise tax on whiskey, and several federal officers were killed in the riots caused by their attempts to serve arrest warrants on the offenders. The army, led by Washington, put down the rebellion.

Question 46

What did the Whiskey Rebellion show?

Answer 46

The incident showed that the new government under the Constitution could react swiftly and effectively to such a problem, in contrast to the weakness of the government under the Articles of Confederation.

Question 47

When was the Treaty of Greenville?

Answer 47

1795

Question 48

What happened in the Treaty of Greenville?

Answer 48

Encouraged by the British, Native Americans in the Ohio Valley had successfully pushed back US military efforts to control the area. But at the Battle of the Fallen Timbers in 1794, General Anthony Wayne defeated the Indians. The treaty opened the Ohio region to white settlement and, for a time, ended hostilities in the region between the US and Native Americans.

Question 49

When was the Neutrality Proclamation?

Answer 49

1793

Question 50

What was the Neutrality Proclamation? | Why was it significant?

Answer 50

Washington urged Americans to be impartial in the conflict between Great Britain and France. He feared American involvement in the European war would be dangerous for the young nation. Washington also feared that America would be called on for military assistance because of the Franco-American treaty of 1778. This was a beginning for the American tradition of isolationism.

Question 51

Who was Citizen Edmond Genêt?

Answer 51

France’s ambassador to the US, Genêt was swayed by the pro-French enthusiasm of the Democratic-Republicans. Defying Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality, he outfitted privateers in American harbors and commissioned them to raid British and Spanish ships and colonies. Fearing that Genêt would involve America in the war, Washington ordered Genêt to halt his activities and eventually requested Genêt’s recall by the French government.

Question 52

When was Jay's Treaty?

Answer 52

1795

Question 53

What happened in Jay's Treaty?

Answer 53

Britain seized American merchant ships bound for French ports, impressed American seamen into British naval service, and still held posts in the Northwest Territory (despite the promise to evacuate those forts made in the Treaty of Paris). The treaty provided that Great Britain would withdraw her troops from the American Northwest. It also created commissions to settle financial claims of the two nations against each other. This treaty was highly unpopular (Jay was burned in effigy) because it did not guarantee freedom of the seas or halt the seizure of American ships and impressment of American seamen. Nonetheless, the treaty did secure peace with Britain.

Question 54

When was Pinckney’s Treaty?

Answer 54

1795

Question 55

What happened in Pinckney's Treaty?

Answer 55

In 1784 Spain closed New Orleans to American goods shipped down the Mississippi River. This meant that 100,000 Americans who lived west of the Appalachians could only move their goods to market by crossing the almost-roadless mountains. Talk of secession was heard. In addition, Spain and the US disputed the southern and western American boundaries. Jay’s Treaty led Spain to fear a secret Anglo-American alliance to seize Spanish territories. So Spain agreed to negotiate disputes it had with the US. The resulting treaty established the Mississippi River as the westward boundary and the 31st parallel as the southern boundary of the United States, guaranteed the Americans free navigation of the Mississippi River, and the right of deposit in New Orleans. (The right of deposit was the right to transfer of goods from riverboat to ocean boat without paying a tariff to Spain.)

Question 56

When did Washington give his Farewell Address?

Answer 56

1796

Question 57

What did Washington say in his farewell address?

Answer 57

In foreign affairs, Washington urged developing of commercial relations with all nations but avoiding political entanglements. He stated that America should steer clear of any permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world but that temporary alliances were acceptable for extraordinary emergencies. This address helped to solidify the policy of isolationism.

Question 58

How did the Democratic-Republicans react to the French Revolution?

Answer 58

The Democratic-Republicans supported the French Revolution. They believed that the French were fighting for democracy; they had overthrown their king, written a declaration of the rights of man, and proclaimed democratic ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Question 59

How did the Federalists react to the French Revolution?

Answer 59

The Federalists were unsympathetic toward the French and in the war between France and England generally sided with England. Federalists saw in the excesses of the French Revolution the lesson that it was dangerous to give too much power to the common people.

Question 60

When was the XYZ affair?

Answer 60

1797

Question 61

What happened in the XYZ affair?

Answer 61

Seeking to ease tensions with France, President Adams sent a delegation to Paris. The US delegation was told by three French intermediaries (known as X, Y, and Z) that if they wanted to meet with the French foreign minister, they would have to pay a huge bribe and make a $12 million loan to France. Americans were outraged. South Carolina Congressman Robert Goodloe Harper captured the national mood with his statement, “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.”

Question 62

How did the political parties react to the XYZ affair?

Answer 62

Republicans attempted to excuse French behavior; Federalists condemned the French and rode a wave of patriotism to victory in the 1798 elections.

Question 63

What happened in the Quasi War?

Answer 63

The US still had a treaty of alliance with France (1778), but Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation and Jay’s Treaty created tension with France. French warships seized hundreds of American merchant vessels. The US established a Department of the Navy, built warships, and captured over a hundred French vessels. Despite demands for war, President Adams relied on negotiations with Napoleon. The two sides agreed to end the naval conflict and to abrogate the 1778 treaty of alliance.

Question 64

Who was involved in the Quasi War?

Answer 64

The US and France

Question 65

When was the Quasi War?

Answer 65

1798-1800

Question 66

When was the Alien Act & Alien Enemies Act?

Answer 66

1798

Question 67

What was stated in the Alien Act & Alien Enemies Act? | What were they passed for?

Answer 67

These laws, along with the Sedition and Naturalization acts, were purportedly designed to deal with alien, especially French and Irish, agitators. In reality, they were Federalist efforts to weaken the Democratic-Republicans. The Alien Act empowered the president to arrest and deport dangerous aliens during peacetime. The Alien Enemies Act allowed for the detention and deportation of individuals from countries at war with the US if those persons were thought to be spies or saboteurs. Neither of these two laws was invoked by Adams.

Question 68

When was the Naturalization Act?

Answer 68

1798

Question 69

What did the Naturalization Act state?

Answer 69

The Naturalization Act increased the waiting period for an immigrant to become a citizen from five to fourteen years. The Federalists passed this law because most immigrants, once citizens, became supporters of the Democratic-Republicans.

Question 70

When was the Sedition Act?

Answer 70

1798

Question 71

What did the Sedition Act state?

Answer 71

The Sedition Act made it illegal to publish defamatory statements about the federal government or its officials. This law, unlike the other three, could be used against US citizens. Ten Republicans including a member of Congress were convicted under the Sedition Act.

Question 72

When were the Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions?

Answer 72

1798

Question 73

What did the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions state?

Answer 73

Kentucky and Virginia passed resolutions drafted by Jefferson and Madison condemning the Alien, Alien Enemies, Sedition, and Naturalization acts as unconstitutional.

Question 74

What was the basis of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions' argument?

Answer 74

The resolutions presented the states’ rights doctrine claiming that 1) the federal government was created by the states to serve as their agent and 2) state legislatures could declare laws of Congress unconstitutional and 3) since there are no legitimate implied powers, these acts were therefore null and void.

Question 75

What was the Revolution of 1800? | Why was it significant?

Answer 75

Jefferson felt his election was a revolution in the sense of a return to the ideals of 1776. He favored agrarian interests over business, reduced government expenditures and debt, and repealed some Federalist legislation. More importantly, the election was a revolution in the sense that a peaceful transition of power from one party to another took place and was accepted by all.

Question 76

What did the Twelfth Amendment state? | What was it trying to prevent?

Answer 76

The Twelfth Amendment said that electors (members of the Electoral College) were to cast separate ballots for president and vice president. According to the original Constitution, each elector voted for two persons. The candidate with the most votes became president and the runner-up the vice president. The framers had not anticipated the emergence of political parties. In the election of 1800, there was a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr; this amendment was meant to keep such a tie from occurring again.

Question 77

Who were the midnight judges?

Answer 77

In the election of 1800, the Federalists lost the presidency and much of Congress to the Republicans. The lame-duck Federalist Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801, creating new federal judgeships in an attempt to retain control of one of the three branches of government. Adams worked until late in the evening of his last night in office filling these positions with Federalist appointees.

Question 78

Who was John Marshall? | For which case is he famous?

Answer 78

John Marshall was appointed by President John Adams as the chief justice to the Supreme Court. He served for thirty-four years. Marshall was notable for his many decisions that solidified the power of the central government at the expense of the states. Marshall wrote the Marbury v. Madison decision that established the power of judicial review for the Supreme Court.

Question 79

When was Marbury v. Madison?

Answer 79

1803

Question 80

What happened in Marbury v. Madison? | Which principle did the case establish?

Answer 80

William Marbury, one of Adams’s last-minute judicial appointments, did not receive his commission. He sued Jefferson’s new secretary of state, James Madison, for its delivery, following the provisions of the Judiciary Act of 1789. Marshall dismissed the suit, giving Jefferson a victory. However, Marshall made this a victory for the power of the Supreme Court. He said that the Judiciary Act of 1789 on which Marbury was trying to base his appeal was unconstitutional. With this action, Marshall greatly magnified the authority of the court and gave the Supreme Court the last word on the question of constitutionality. In other words, this is the case that established the principle of judicial review.

Question 81

What happened in the Tripolitan War?

Answer 81

The rulers of several countries on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa had long demanded tribute in exchange for refraining from attacking ships in the Mediterranean. From 1795-1801, the U.S. paid these states for protection against the Barbary pirates. Jefferson stopped paying the tribute, and the U.S. fought the Barbary Wars (1801-1805) against the countries of Tripoli, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria. After four years of fighting, Jefferson succeeded in acquiring a treaty of peace. It was secured at a price of $60,000, a sum representing ransom payment for captured Americans, about half the amount that the US had been paying annually.

Question 82

Who was Toussaint L’Ouverture? | Why was he significant?

Answer 82

L’Ouverture led an army of ex-slaves against Napoleon when he tried to recapture the island of Santo Domingo. Aided by yellow fever, L’Ouverture turned back the French. This defeat at the hands of L’Ouverture and Napoleon’s fear that Britain might take control of Louisiana led Napoleon to sell Louisiana to America.

Question 83

When was the Louisiana Purchase?

Answer 83

1803

Question 84

Why was Jefferson hesitant in the Louisiana Purchase?

Answer 84

Thomas Jefferson purchased 828,000 square miles of land for 15 million dollars from Napoleon. But the Constitution did not expressly grant the president the power to purchase territory, and Jefferson was a strict constructionist. Jefferson considered asking for a constitutional amendment to legitimize the purchase. But he feared that Napoleon would change his mind, so he submitted the treaty to the Senate, which enthusiastically approved it. In doing so, Jefferson adopted Hamilton’s doctrine of implied powers.

Question 85

Who were Lewis and Clark?

Answer 85

This expedition solidified the American claim to the Oregon territory, brought back a wealth of scientific and geographical data, and stimulated interest in settlement of the West.

Question 86

When was Lewis and Clark's expedition?

Answer 86

1804-1806

Question 87

What did Zebulon Pike do?

Answer 87

Pike’s two expeditions into the Louisiana Territory up the Mississippi and into Colorado also encouraged settlement.

Question 88

Where were Zebulon Pike's expeditions?

Answer 88

1805, 1806

Question 89

When were the British Orders in Council?

Answer 89

1806-1807

Question 90

What were the British Orders in Council?

Answer 90

Britain, at war again with France, issued the Orders in Council, restricting the trade of neutral nations (such as the US) with France by closing all French ports to foreign shipping, including American, unless the vessels first stopped at a British port. There they would pay the necessary fees, and if acceptable, secure clearance papers.

Question 91

When were the Berlin & Milan Decrees?

Answer 91

1806-1807

Question 92

What were the Berlin and Milan Decrees?

Answer 92

The French similarly blocked trade of neutral nations with Britain. Napoleon ordered any ship entering British ports to be seized. As a result of the Orders in Council and the Berlin and Milan decrees, US foreign trade was severely limited. However, those American captains who managed to reach European ports successfully received top prices for their cargoes, and Americans continued to send ships to sea.

Question 93

What was impressment?

Answer 93

Britain claimed the right to board ships, seize deserters from the British navy, and press them back into military service. The British navy would even seize US-born seamen and former Britons who had become American citizens, as well as British citizens.

Question 94

Between the years of 1808 and 1811, ____ Americans were impressed by Britain.

Answer 94

6,000

Question 95

When was the Chesapeake Affair?

Answer 95

1807

Question 96

What happened in the Chesapeake Affair?

Answer 96

A British ship, the Leopard, fired on a US military vessel, the Chesapeake, off the Virginia coast. British forces boarded the Chesapeake and seized four men, one a deserter; the other three were US citizens. This outraged the nation. But Jefferson sought peace, first through fruitless negotiations with Britain and then through the Embargo Act.

Question 97

When was the Embargo Act?

Answer 97

1807

Question 98

What did the Embargo Act do?

Answer 98

This act forbade American trading vessels from leaving the US and forbade US exports to any country. It was meant to force Britain and France to change their policies towards neutral vessels by depriving them of American trade. The Embargo Act severely damaged the New England shipping as well as agricultural producers in the South and West. The Embargo did, however, stimulate domestic industry since foreign products were not available.

Question 99

When was the Non-Intercourse Act?

Answer 99

1809

Question 100

What happened in the Non-Intercourse Act?

Answer 100

Faced with widespread opposition to the Embargo Act, Congress replaced it with the Non-Intercourse Act. This new act opened trade with all nations except France and Britain. It promised to restore trade with those two countries if they stopped violating neutral rights. They did not.