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Admin moved page How did the Napoleonic Wars in Europe cause the War of 1812? to How did the Napoleonic Wars in Europe cause the War of 1812
In 1806, Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree, which forbade trade with Britain, and the British Government responded the next year with Orders in Council, which instituted a blockade of French-controlled Europe, and authorized the British navy to seize ships violating the blockade. Napoleon responded with further trade restrictions in the Milan Decree of 1807.
U.S. relations with Great Britain became increasingly rocky during this period. On June 22, 1807, the H.M.S. Leopard bombarded and forcibly boarded the U.S.S. Chesapeake off Norfolk, Virginia in search of British navy deserters. President Jefferson responded with an embargo the [[Why was the Embargo Act of 1807 a failure for President Thomas Jefferson?| Embargo Act of 1807]] on all foreign trade in an effort to weaken the British economy.
The embargo was extremely unpopular in New England, where the economy was heavily dependent on trade with Britain. Moreover, the British economy was not strongly affected by the embargo, which proved difficult to enforce. In early 1809, in one of his final acts as president, Jefferson replaced the embargo with the Non-Intercourse Act, which allowed trade with other nations except Britain and France. This act also proved virtually impossible to enforce.
During this period, Madison also had to address a problem created by Secretary of State, Robert Smith, who had personally stated to the British minister his pro-British sympathies. When Madison confronted Smith and offered him a graceful departure as U.S. Minister to Russia, Smith appeared to accept his offer, and then leaked cabinet papers as part of a smear campaign against President Madison. U.S. diplomat Joel Barlow published a reply and swung public opinion against Smith, who resigned on April 1, 1811.
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* Article: [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/napoleonic-wars| Napoleonic Wars and the United States, 1803–1815]
[[Category:US State Department]] [[Category:Wikis]][[Category:United States History]] [[Category:Colonial American Historyof the Early Republic]] [[Category:18th Century History]] [[Category:Political History]] [[Category:Diplomatic History]]
