Article (in French and English) on Embargo Act, 1807
Document Description:
This article provides a good example of international events having a local effect. The Napoleonic Wars between Great Britain and France in the early 19th Century forced trade restrictions on American exports and brought prompted a reaction in Charleston, SC. President Thomas Jefferson and the United States Congress began a variety of legislation to counteract what had become European control of America’s maritime trade. This article appears between the passage of the Nonimportation Act of 1806 and the Embargo Act of 1807 and demonstrates how South Carolina residents reacted to the larger economic and political issues of the day. It is also worth noting that the article was printed in L’Oracle, a bilingual newspaper for French and English speakers in the Charleston population. It highlights the cultural diversity that has always been a part of American history.
Citation:
“What We Can Do.” (Charleston) L’Oracle francias- americain. July 18, 1807, p 2 c 3 & 4. Early American newspapers microfilm series. Thomas Cooper Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Correlating SC Social Studies Academic Standards:
Standard USHC-3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the westward movement and the resulting regional conflicts that took place in America in the nineteenth century.
Indicator USHC-3.3 Compare economic development in different regions of the country during the early nineteenth century, including agriculture in the South, industry and finance in the North, and the development of new resources in the West. (E, H, G)