Macon's Bill Number 2
Macon's Bill Number 2 was an import control act.
Contents
History
During the Napoleonic Wars, the impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy became a major sovereignty crisis. The Embargo Act of 1807 sought to remedy this through economic retaliation, but largely was considered a failure.
Nathaniel Macon introduced a bill written by Gallatin in late 1809. This became known as Macon's Bill Number 1. It would have established a new embargo against both the UK and France, and also provided the president with power to revoke the embargo if either nation ended their own trade controls. It passed in both the House and the Senate, but with important amendments in the latter's bill, and no attempt to reconcile the bills was made.
In the following April, an amended bill known as Macon's Bill Number 2 was passed. It established a deadline of March 1811 for both the UK and France to end trade controls, at which point the embargo would be re-implemented. In effect, it was an offer to embargo the enemy of whichever nation ended trade controls voluntarily. Madison signed the bill into law in May.
Napoleon saw an opportunity to weaponize American trade against the British; he declared his trade controls revoked effective November, conditional on British trade controls also being revoked. This was never a possible outcome, and so effectively forced Madison to declare for the French side.