Snoop+Dogg,+Impressment,+and+Pirates

toc =Questions= How did the impressment of American sailors lead Jefferson to create the Embargo of 1807, and what were its results? We choose this question because its answer could explain the main part of the dilemma, as well explain an event that had a large impact on all early Americans.
 * What was the total number of casualties, men and ships impressed and the total amount of tribute paid?
 * What role did the Europeans play in helping defeat the Barbary pirates?
 * Was everyone in the United States against the Embargo Act?
 * Was the Embargo Act Jefferson’s only choice for peace?

=Gathering and Evaluating Evidence= Our group, consisting of Mars Mason and Nathan Nohr, scoured our resources searching for documents concerning the time period of 1800-1815, specifically the Embargo Act and the impressment that caused it. We first looked at the websites loc.gov (library of congress), archives.gov, and gilderlehrmen.org for information about things like the embago act and the Barbary pirates. We found very few legible or transcribeded primary sources that had a large to moderate relation to our subject. We also found a Wikipedia a secondary source which provided a large amount of helpful information. Nathan also found a transcript on gilderlehrman.org concerning the embargo act. When we reviewed our evidence, we searched for information that provided more, added to, or answered our questions, through the opinions, remarks, facts, and events described in the articles. During our research, we ran into a few problems. First, we had quite a bit of trouble finding primary sources that had any relation to our subject where the original handwriting was legible or where the document had been transcribed. We found several useful secondary sources, but most of the sources reliability was questionable, so we decided not to use the majority of the secondary sources, aside from Wikipedia. These were the main problems that we faced through-out our research, and they were the main obstacles in answering and developing our questions. In the evidence we examined we looked for authors like sailors, farmers, businessmen, and British traders, for various views on the Embargo,s impact. When reading we looked for people ho opposed the embargo and why.

Documents
This document is the full transcribed letter by Thomas Jefferson to Elijah Brown Jr. in response to his criticisms to the Embargo Act. In it he brings up how it is "the only honorable expedient for avoiding war" and how he is trying to secure the United States right to navigate the oceans freely. From this document, we learned that the Embargo was Jefferson's only choice for peace and that, at the time which it was passed, he thought that it was the best and the only option for the United States to stay out of war. This document answered one of our initial questions, which was, "Was the Embargo Act Jefferson's only choice for peace?".
 * Document 1: [|Jefferson's defense letter for the Embargo Act of 1807]

This essay was written by Christopher L. Miller on how the U.S. Navy built a navy, sent the marines to the Barbary Coast and took out the Barbary Pirates. After viewing this document, we realized that it did not directly relate to our questions, but we realized Jefferson’s decision of the Embargo Act was also influenced by the pirates, who were attacking ships and adding to the ships impressed. This document also helped us answer our question, "What role did the Europeans play in helping defeat the barbary pirates?".
 * Document 2: [|Essay on United States Navy taking out the Barbary Pirates]

This is the official Wikipedia page on the Embargo Act of 1807. It includes topics such as background, initial legislation, and the effects that it had on the average American citizen. After reading this page, we had a better insight into the reasons that Jefferson chose to make the Embargo Act and the consequences that it had on the United States economy. We learned that the effects were felt all over the U.S., but in different ways, from the boats in the wharves of the north atlantic states rotting away to the farmers in the southern states not being able to sell their crops. This proved to us that the United States could not yet be self-sufficient. This document also helped answer one of our original questions, which was, "Was everyone in the United States against the Embargo Act?" because it showed that no matter what class or area of the country you were in, the Embargo made it difficult for everyone.
 * Document 3: [|Wikipedia page on the Embargo Act of 1807]

This is the official Wikipedia page on Impressment. It includes topics such as the basis of impressment, the conflict with the United Sates, and the end of impressment. From this document, we learned how the United States tried to deal with impressment with treaties and the total number of ships impressed. It helped answer part of one of our original questions, of which the rest was answered by our text book.
 * Document 4: [|Wikipedia Page on Impressment]

=Interpretation= In response to our question we synthesized that after attempting to have peace with the countries who continued to impress seamen, Jefferson decided the only way to prevent large future loses or even worse war, from happening was to stop the trade with the British and French through the Embargo act. The embargo caused much turmoil for the northern states who relied on trade, sailors lost their jobs, the farmers in the south couldn't sell their crops; the U.S. as it seemed could not be self sufficient. Jefferson was in a pickle he could not continue the embargo or create treaties to stop the other countries from attacking. These condition showed Jefferson his last choice, create a treaty to one of the countries agreeing to not trade with the other countries for impressment free trading. But Napoleon turned back on his deal, which was resolved in the later dilemmas. I feel like we have a great idea of why Jefferson choose the embargo and why America couldn't self sustain. I was surprised with our conclusion because at first I thought America had enough farms to provide food for people but as we learned the northern states and the farmers relied on selling and trading as a business, including the farmers because they sold crops.

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