What were the initial reasons for the Embargo of 1807?
The reasons for the Embargo Act of 1807 was to hurt Britain but avoid war. They believed the British depended on American agricultural products. As it turned out, the embargo of 1807 was a disaster. The measure wiped out American trade with other nations. Worse, it proved ineffective against Britain. The British simply traded with Latin American for its agricultural goods.
The Embargo Act was a series of laws passed by the Congress of the United States between the years 1806-1808, during the second term of President Thomas Jefferson. It was partly brought upon by the Chesapeake Incident involving Britain attacking a U.S. ship, and partly by Britain prohibiting on her trading partners from trading with France. Britain and France were at war; the U.S. was neutral and trading with both sides. Both sides tried to hinder American trade with the other. Jefferson’s goal was to use economic warfare to secure American rights, instead of military warfare. Initially, these acts sought to punish the United Kingdom for its violation of American rights on the high seas; among these was the impressment of those sailors off American ships, sailors who claimed to be American citizens but not in the opinion or to the satisfaction of the Royal Navy, ever on the outlook for deserters. The later Embargo Acts, particularly those of 1807-1808 period, were passed in an attempt
