Macon's Bill Number 2, which became law in the United States on May 14, 1810, was intended to motivate Great Britain and France to stop seizing American ships, cargoes, and crews during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. This was a revision of the original bill by Representative

Nathaniel Macon Nathaniel Macon (December 17, 1757June 29, 1837) was an American politician who represented North Carolina in both houses of Congress. He was the fifth speaker of the House, serving from 1801 to 1807. He was a member of the United States House of ...

, known as

Macon's Bill Number 1 Macon's Bill Number 1 was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on December 19, 1809, by Nathaniel Macon from the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations. The bill was drawn up by Albert Gallatin and prohibited public vessels o ...

. Macon's Bill Number 2 was the fourth in a series of embargo measures, coming after the

Non-Importation Act The Non-Importation Act, passed by the United States Congress on April 18, 1806, forbid any kind of import of certain British goods in an attempt to coerce Britain to suspend its impressment of American sailors and to respect American sovereignt ...

, the

Embargo Act The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. As a successor or replacement law for the 1806 Non-importation Act and passed as the Napoleonic Wars continued, it repr ...

, and the

Non-Intercourse Act (1809) In the last sixteen days of President Thomas Jefferson's presidency, the Congress replaced the Embargo Act of 1807 with the almost unenforceable Non-Intercourse Act of March 1809. This Act lifted all embargoes on American shipping except for th ...

. Macon neither wrote the bill nor approved it. The law lifted all embargoes with Britain and France for three months. It stated that if either belligerent ceased disrupting American shipping, the United States would embargo the other, unless that other country also agreed to cease disrupting American shipping.

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

successfully exploited the bill to further his

Continental System The Continental Blockade (), or Continental System, was a large-scale embargo against British trade by Napoleon Bonaparte against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berli ...

, effectively a French embargo on Britain that France tried to enforce on continental Europe, and to damage British-American relations. A message was sent to the United States, purporting to agree to the law's demand. President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

, a staunch opponent of the bill, had little choice but to accept Napoleon's ostensibly sincere offer. However, as Madison suspected, Napoleon's purpose was manipulative. When Britain threatened force against the United States in response, Napoleon reneged anyway, having achieved his goal of pushing the United States and Britain closer to the eventual

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

Notes

{{Reflist 1810 in law 11th United States Congress Legal history of the United States War of 1812 legislation United States federal trade legislation 1810 in the United States