In November 1808, American voters went to the polls on the heels of President Jefferson's Embargo Act. The Act was intended to compel European powers to respect U.S. independence. Instead, it might have hurt the U.S. economy.
James Madison, the Democratic-Republican nominee to replace Jefferson, defended the embargo as a means of protecting American sailors and U.S. independence; the Federalists, represented by Charles Pickney, saw the Act and its military enforcement as tyrannical.
Which party, and way of engaging with the world, would prevail? |