Post-Embargo Actions, Continued
Britain also responded to the "Non-Intercourse Act" (MacDonald, No. 27), declaring: "His Majesty is therefore pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to revoke and annul the said several orders, except as hereinafter expressed; and so much of the said orders, except as aforesaid, is hereby revoked accordingly. And His Majesty is pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, that all the ports and places as far north as the river Ems, inclusively, under the government styling itself the Kingdom of Holland, and all ports and places under the Government of France, together with the colonies, plantations, and settlements in the possession of those Governments, respectively, and all ports and places in the northern parts of Italy, to be reckoned from the ports of Orbitello and Pesaro, inclusively, shall continue, and be subject to the same restrictions, in point of trade and navigation, without any exception, as if the same were actually blockaded by His Majesty's naval forces in the most strict and rigorous manner; and that every vessel trading from and to the said countries or colonies, plantations or settlements, together with all goods and merchandise on board, shall be condemned as prize to the captors." ("Documents"). The "British Order in Council" ("Documents") did the same thing as the "Non-Intercourse Act" (MacDonald, No. 27): it lifted some, but not all, of the trade restrictions Britain had in place.
This was only meant to be a temporary fix, as the last section of the "Non-Intercourse Act" stated: "And be it further enacted, That this act shall continue and be in force until the end of the next session of Congress, and no longer; and that the act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States, and the several acts supplementary thereto, shall be, and the same are hereby repealed from and after the end of the next session of Congress." (MacDonald, No. 27).
The final piece of American legislation was "Macon's Bill, Number 2", the distinguishing part being: "And be it further enacted, That in case either Great Britain or France shall, before the third day of March next, so revoke or modify her edicts as that they shall cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, which fact the President of the United States shall declare by proclamation, and if the other nation shall not within three months thereafter so revoke or modify her edicts in like manner, then the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eighteenth sections of the act, entitled "An act to interdict the commercial intercourse between the United States and Great Britain and France and their dependencies, and for other purposes," shall, from and after the expiration of three months from the date of the proclamation aforesaid, be revived and have full force and effect, so far as relates to the dominions, colonies and dependencies, and to the articles the growth, produce or manufacture of the dominions, colonies, and dependencies of the nation thus refusing or neglecting to revoke or modify her edicts in the manner aforesaid. And the restrictions imposed by this act shall, from the date of such proclamation, cease and be discontinued in relation to the nation revoking or modifying her decrees in the manner aforesaid." ("United States")
Both France and Britain soon declared that if the other should retract their orders, so would they. President Madison decided that France's proclamation would be sufficient for "Macon's Bill, Number 2", and gave Britain three months to do the same. They never did. So the embargo was resumed against Britain, and the U.S. came one step closer to war.
Of the two possible enemies, many Americans took the view of the editor of "Niles Weekly Register", who said, "The injuries received from France do not lessen the enormity of those heaped upon us by England... In this 'straight betwixt two' we had an unquestionable right to select our enemy. We have given the preference to Great Britain... on account of her more flagrant wrongs." (qtd in Kennedy, 229)
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