Chesapeake Incident
The Chesapeake incident took place prior to the war of 1812. It was an act committed against a US sailing vessel, the Chesapeake, by the British close to the shores of Virginia. The British stopped the vessel, attempting to search for supposed deserters and when the US refused they seized the vessel and forced several US citizens to join the British military. The practice of forcing “British citizens” to join the military was known as Impressment.The British were often low on men and felt justified in committing Impressment because they were supposedly taking former British citizens, now Americans, and making them perform their duty to England. They way they viewed it, once someone was a British citizens, they always were a British citizen. …show more content…
Although the waters outside of Virginia where the Chesapeake sailed when seized were considered international, it was an outrage that the British literally almost came to American soil, seized an American ship, and kidnapped American citizens. The British were treating the US as if she were not a sovereign nation but still subject to British rule and they stomped on America 's rights as a neutral nation. This humiliation was a large factor in the call for war later on. In addition, as a reaction to Chesapeake, Jefferson created The Embargo Act of 1807, which prohibited any international trade. This led to severe economic hardship and suffering in the
The Chesapeake incident took place prior to the war of 1812. It was an act committed against a US sailing vessel, the Chesapeake, by the British close to the shores of Virginia. The British stopped the vessel, attempting to search for supposed deserters and when the US refused they seized the vessel and forced several US citizens to join the British military. The practice of forcing “British citizens” to join the military was known as Impressment.The British were often low on men and felt justified in committing Impressment because they were supposedly taking former British citizens, now Americans, and making them perform their duty to England. They way they viewed it, once someone was a British citizens, they always were a British citizen. …show more content…
Although the waters outside of Virginia where the Chesapeake sailed when seized were considered international, it was an outrage that the British literally almost came to American soil, seized an American ship, and kidnapped American citizens. The British were treating the US as if she were not a sovereign nation but still subject to British rule and they stomped on America 's rights as a neutral nation. This humiliation was a large factor in the call for war later on. In addition, as a reaction to Chesapeake, Jefferson created The Embargo Act of 1807, which prohibited any international trade. This led to severe economic hardship and suffering in the