later, December 17, 1807, when Napoleon issued his Milan Decree.
Henceforth any vessel which submitted to be searched by an English
cruiser or which paid any tonnage duty to the British Government or
which set sail for any British port was subject to capture and
condemnation as lawful prize. Such was to be the maritime code "until
England returned to the principles of international law which are also
those of justice and honor."

American commerce was now, indeed, between the hammer and the anvil. The
Nicholson Non-Importation Act, which had been twice suspended and which
had only just gone into effect (December 14), seemed wholly inadequate
to meet this situation. It had been designed as a coercive measure, to
be sure, but no one knew precisely to what extent it would affect
English trade. The time had come for the blow which Jefferson and his
advisers had held in reserve. On December 18, the President sent to
Congress a message recommending "an immediate inhibition of the
departure of our vessels from the ports of the United States." The
Senate responded by passing a bill (which Jefferson probably drafted)
through its three stages in a single day; the House passed the measure
after only two days of debate; and on December 22, the Embargo Act
received the President's signature.

The temper of those who supported the embargo was reflected by Senator
Adams, of Massachusetts, who was reported to have said: "The President
has recommended the measure on his high responsibility. I would not
consider, I would not deliberate; I would act." Yet there were members
of Congress who were not prepared to accept the high authority of the
President. The vote in the House of Representatives indicates that
opinion was divided in Adams's own State. Boston with its environs and
the interior counties were opposed to the embargo. New York was also
divided, though here the commercial areas favored the measure. Maryland
showed a like division of opinion. Connecticut was a unit in opposing
the President's policy.

What was the measure which was accepted almost without discussion on
"the high responsibility" of the President? So far as it was defended at
all, it was presented as a measure for the protection of American ships,
merchandise, and seamen. It forbade the departure of all ships and
vessels in the ports of the United States for any foreign port, except
vessels under the immediate direction of the President. Foreign armed
vessels we