1 From the late 1790s until 1815, France, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, fought with England, Russia and
Austria. These series of conflicts are known as the Napoleonic Wars. To fund the expensive Napoleonic
Wars, both the English and the French began seizing American ships. Tensions flared in 1807, when the
captain of the USS Chesapeake refused to let the British aboard. The British frigate HMS Leopard fired on
the American ship. The British finally did board and hanged four American sailors. Jefferson was
outraged. He banned all British warships from American waters. Congress quickly passed the Embargo
Act of 1807. It ended all imports and exports because it banned any ships from sailing from a US port to a
foreign port. The act was designed to hurt the British and French economies. But it mostly hurt the United
States.
According to the passage, the Embargo Act of 1807
A. was designed to raise funds for the
B. backfired because it mostly damaged the
Napoleonic Wars.
United States.
C. was vetoed by President Thomas Jefferson. D. offered a peace treaty for the British and
American governments.