Jefferson never lost his self-poise. While a thorough patriot, he knew the meaning of war. He sent a message to Congress on the subject in January, 1806, and the question was one of earnest and prolonged discussion, ending in the adoption of a resolution to prohibit certain articles of British manufacture.
But matters rapidly grew worse. In May following England declared the coast of Europe, from the Elbe in Germany to Brest in France, in a state of blockade. Bonaparte retaliated with the famous Berlin Decree, which blockaded the British Islands. In the spring of 1807 the British ship Leander fired into a coasting vessel and killed one of the men. The President issued a proclamation forbidding the Leander and the two ships in her company from entering any of the waters of the United States; calling upon all officers to apprehend the captain of the Leander on a charge of murder; prohibiting all communication between the shore and the ships, and warning all citizens from giving them aid under penalty of the law. Envoys were sent to England to adjust the trouble, but their efforts came to naught.
THE AFFAIR OF THE LEOPARD AND CHESAPEAKE.
Matters were in this tense state when the most glaring outrage of all was perpetrated. The British ship-of-war Leopard, of fifty guns, was cruising off the capes of Virginia, hunting for the American frigate Chesapeake, which she claimed had a number of English deserters on board. The Chesapeake was hailed, and the English captain asked permission to send dispatches on board. Such courtesies were common, and Captain James Barron, the American commander, willingly complied with the request. When the boat arrived, a letter was presented to Captain Barron, containing the orders of the British admiral to search the Chesapeake for a number of deserters, who were mentioned by name. Captain Barron sent word that he had no knowledge of any deserters, and refused to submit. Thereupon the Leopard fired several broadsides into the Chesapeake, which, being entirely unprepared for battle, was obliged to strike her flag, three men having been killed and eighteen wounded. Four men were then selected from the crew of the Chesapeake, three of whom were negroes, all declared to be deserters, and taken on board the Leopard.
The country was thrown into a tumult of excitement, and the President, by proclamation, closed all American harbors and waters against the British navy, prohibited any intercourse with such vessels, and sent a special minister to England to demand satisfaction. Congress was called together, and a hundred thousand men in the different States were ordered to hold themselves in readiness for service. The action of the captain of the Leander was disavowed, reparation offered, and the offending admiral was recalled, but the reparation promised was never made, and Great Britain refused to give up the right of search.
THE EMBARGO ACT.
Although the action of England was anything but satisfactory, it averted war for the time. In December, Congress passed the Embargo Act, which forbade all American vessels to leave the coast of the United States. The belief was that by thus suspending commerce with England and France, the two countries would be forced to respect our neutrality. The real sufferers, however, were ourselves; New England and New York, whose shipping business was ruined, denounced the act in unmeasured terms. Thus the administration of Jefferson, which had brought so much material prosperity to the country and was so prolific in beneficent events, closed amid clouds and threatened disaster.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1808.
In the presidential election of 1808, the electoral vote was as follows: James Madison, of Virginia, Republican, 122; Charles C. Pinckney, of South Carolina, Federalist, 47; George Clinton, of New York, Republican, 6. For Vice-President, George Clinton, Republican, 113; Rufus King, of New York, Federalist, 47; John Langdon, of New Hampshire, 9; James Madison, 3; James Monroe, 3. Vacancy, 1. Thus Madison and Clinton became respectively President and Vice-President.