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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
[[File: Napoleon-bonaparte-62860_960_720.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px250px|Napoleon Bonaparte]]__NOTOC__
The Napoleonic Wars continued the Wars of the French Revolution. Great Britain and France fought for European supremacy and treated weaker powers heavy-handedly. The United States attempted to remain neutral during the Napoleonic period, but eventually became embroiled in the European conflicts, leading to the War of 1812 against Great Britain.
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.
====Madison Aligns with France====
[[File:James_Madison.jpg|thumbnail|left|250px|President James Madison]]
Jefferson’s successor, President James Madison, confronted a dilemma—to continue with the ineffective Non-Intercourse Act was effectively to submit to British terms of trade since the British navy controlled the Atlantic. Madison was assisted by the passage in 1810 of Nathaniel Macon’s Bill No. 2, which offered Britain and France the option of ceasing their seizure of U.S. merchant ships in return for U.S. participation in their trade bloc. Napoleon was the first to offer concessions, which Madison publicly accepted at face value despite his private skepticism. In doing so, Madison pushed the United States closer to war with Britain.
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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====Related Articles====
{{#dpl:category=Colonial American History|ordermethod=firstedit|order=descending|count=6}}
* 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]]
