Macon's Bill Number 2
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Macon's Bill Number 2, which became law on May 1 1810, was intended to motivate Britain and France to stop seizing American vessels during the Napoleonic Wars. This bill was a revision of the original bill by Representative Nathaniel Macon, known as Macon's Bill Number 1. The law lifted all embargoes with England or France.
- If one country stopped molesting American shipping, the United States would cease trade with the other, unless that country agreed to recognize the rights of the neutral American ships as well.
Napoleon immediately saw a chance to cripple the British economy, if he simply said he would stop harassing American ships.
A message was sent to the United States, stating the rights of the American merchant ships as neutral carriers would be recognized. Napoleon had no intention of ever following through on his promise, and James Madison soon realized this as well, ignoring the French promise.
A general consensus among historians is that this bill was effectively useless, as it was quickly seen that the European economies played upon the weaknesses this bill created. As a result, the bill's parameters were never enforced, due to Madison's correct interpretation of France's deviation.
The continued harassment of American ships caused tensions between the United States and the nations of Europe to escalate, leading to the War of 1812.
Macon's Bill Number 2 responded to the ineffectiveness of the Non-Intercourse Act and the Embargo Act before it.