Just 29 years after America defeated its mother country Great Britain, they were at war with them again. Washington issued a proclamation asking his countrymen to be impartial to Britain and France. Then John Adams agreed to the convention of 1800, which ended the alliance between the U.S. and France. After Adams, Jefferson created the Embargo of 1807 because France and Britain was violating the U.S.’s trading rights, seizing cargoes, and kidnapping sailors. The embargo failed to make Britain respect America’s trading rights, so when James Madison can into presidency in 1809 he had the same problem. Great Britain did not respect America’s rights to use the ocean and were violent towards American seamen in American vessels; this was going on …show more content…
America used the ocean to trade things with other countries. This is how they managed to have a thriving economy. There is no way America could make all the products it needed, so they had to trade with other countries to get specific items they did not have. In document 1 is states “United States… claimed the right to use the ocean, which is the common and acknowledged highway of nations, for the purposes of transporting, in their own vessels, the products of their own soil and the acquisitions of their own industry”. This was America’s right, however, Britain was not respecting that because they would seize American vessels that were going to or coming from a destination where the British did not want American commerce. A Democratic- Republican congressman made a speech where he foresaw the threat of war. In his speech he asked a question of whether to abandon or defend America’s commercial and maritime rights (Document 2). He also said that ours rights were being violated and if British continues to do this America will have to resist. America should definitely defend their commercial and maritime rights, because trading is a big part of its economy. How can a country take vessels and cargo of another country. They don’t have any rights to do so, especially if they seize ships in international waters. America had to declare war if they wanted to protect their ability to buy and sell goods or services