he recommended his famous gunboats which have been the cause of much merriment from that day to this. In his message of December 3, 1805, he recommended the construction of a "competent number of gunboats" to protect the coast towns. Between the years 1806 and 1812, one hundred and seventy-six of these boats were built at a cost of $1,700,000. It seems ridiculous in the extreme to put his "mosquito fleet" composed of boats whose entire armament consisted of a single gun, and whose crews numbered from five to seven men, against that armada which triumphed at Trafalgar. "Every one has heard of," says John T. Morse, Jr., "and nearly every one has laughed at these play-house flotillas, which were to be kept in sheds out of the sun and rain until the enemy should appear, and were then to be carted down to the water and manned by the neighbors, to encounter, perhaps, the fleets and crews which won the fight at Trafalgar, shattered the French navy at the Nile, and battered Copenhagen to ruins. It almost seemed as though the very harmlessness of the craft constituted a recommendation to Jefferson. At least they were very cheap, and he rejoiced to reckon that nearly a dozen of them could be built for a hundred thousand dollars."

Another part of the plan of Jefferson was the negotiation of a new treaty with Great Britain. To this end he nominated James Monroe and William Pinckney, in May, 1806. The two envoys concluded a treaty on December 31st, following, which was deemed so objectionable that Jefferson never sent it to the Senate. It contained no clause against impressment, and the American claim that "free ships make free goods" was not recognized.

The third part of Jefferson's plan was embodied in the Non-Importation Act of April 18, 1806. This act which was to go into effect on the 15th of November following, prohibited the importation of manufactured goods from Great Britain and her colonies. It was suspended on December 29, 1806. Jefferson's pacific policy was a failure, but he dominated Congress so completely that the

legislative branch of the government accepted, almost without question, his various proposals, which so speedily proved ineffectual. His first administration was a successful one, but the second was quite the opposite. The times were not suited to Jefferson's peculiar abilities. As an executive in time of impending or actual hostilities, Jefferson showed to poor advantage. As Governor of Virginia during the Revolutionary War, he was as inefficient as he was during his second presidency.

Although the various outrages to which American commerce was compelled to submit had aroused a spirit of hostility among the people, an event of June 22, 1807, marked the climax. On this date the British frigate Leopard fired upon the American frigate Chesapeake near Hampton Roads. The American vessel was caught unawares, overpowered, and compelled to surrender. Four seamen, three of whom were Americans, were removed from the Chesapeake and impressed into the British service. The whole nation was aroused. Men wore crape in honor of the Chesapeake's dead, and cried out for war. "Never," said Jefferson, in a letter to Lafayette, "since the battle of Lexington, have I seen this country in such a state of exasperation as at present." On the 2d of July he issued a proclamation commanding "all armed vessels bearing commissions under the government of Great Britain now within the harbors or waters of the U. S. immediately and without any delay to depart from the same; and interdicting the entrance of all the said harbors & waters to the said armed vessels, & to all others bearing commissions under the authority of the British government." Jefferson displayed unusual activity. He sent a messenger by special vessel to England to demand reparation, and summoned Congress to meet in extraordinary session on October 26th. It seemed that war was at hand. Congress met at the appointed time, but the reply of Great Britain had not been received, as Jefferson had expected. It came in December. Great Britain promised to send a special envoy to America, to adjust the difficulty. Mr. Rose came

THE GHOST of a DOLLAR or the BANKERS SURPRIZE

"The Ghost of a Dollar or the Bankers Surprize." From the caricature by W. Charles, in possession of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

for this purpose, but hampered by instructions from his government, which was offended by Jefferson's proclamation, he was unable to accomplish anything, and returned home. It was not until November of 1811 that reparation was offered and accepted for the Chesapeake outrage.

Upon the failure of these various plans of the President, Jefferson suggested another,—the Embargo,—just as ineffectual and still more suicidal in character. In his message

of December 18, 1807, Jefferson called the attention of Congress to the dangers to which our seamen, ships, and merchandise were subjected, and recommended, to obviate this, an "inhibition of the departure of our vessels from the ports of the United States." This recommendation contained the germ of the famous embargo. Congress took the hint and speedily acted upon it. A bill embodying the idea of Jefferson was introduced into the Senate on the same day on which the message had been received. Behind closed doors and under a suspension of the rules, the measure was rushed through all its stages in a single day and passed by the Senate. The House debated it for three days and passed it by a vote of eighty-two to fortyfour. Jefferson signed the bill on the 22d of December, 1807,—four days after the reading of his message. It was now illegal for an American ship to leave for a foreign port under any condition; and foreign ships were not allowed to depart, except in ballast, or with a cargo which was on board at the time the act was passed. The language of the law was sweeping and specific. It was enacted "that an embargo be, and hereby is laid on all ships and vessels in the ports and places within the limits or jurisdiction of the United States, cleared or not cleared, bound to any foreign port or place; . . ." It was specified, however, that nothing in the act should "be construed to prevent the departure of any foreign ship or vessel, either in ballast, or with the goods, wares and merchandise on board of such foreign ship or vessel, when notified of this act."