Jefferson’s Embargo Act
In 1807, amongst the Napoleonic wars, President Jefferson signed off on the Embargo Act. This act would prevent trade between the United States and specific European nations. This was created to put a stop to the interference American ships were experiencing at the hands of British military. With Britain and France at war, each was trying to prevent U.S. marine vessels from interacting with the other.
The Embargo Act did serve its purpose, to some degree. Unfortunately, it also had the unintended side effect of stripping the American economy down to almost nothing. The resulting depression took nearly a decade to recover from after the act itself was repealed in 1809.
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