Notes

The peace that John Adams achieved with France did not last long. In 1803, France and Great Britain were again at war. As the conflict heated up, both nations began seizing American ships that were trading with their enemy. President Thomas Jefferson, who took office in 1801, complained bitterly that “England has become a den of pirates and France has become a den of thieves.” Still, like Washington and Adams before him, Jefferson tried to follow a policy of neutrality.
Impressment Remaining neutral when ships were being seized was hard enough. It became even harder when Great Britain began impressing American sailors—kidnapping them and forcing them to serve in the British navy. The British claimed that the men they impressed were British deserters. This may have been true in some cases, as some sailors may well have fled the terrible conditions on British ships. Yet thousands of unlucky Americans were also impressed.
American anger over impressment peaked in 1807 after a British warship, the Leopard, stopped a U.S. warship, the Chesapeake, to search for deserters. When the Chesapeake’s captain refused to allow a search, the Leopard opened fire. Twenty-one American sailors were killed or wounded. This attack triggered another case of war fever, this time against Great Britain.