ships and cargoes on the suspicion of the mere intent to sail for Europe. The administration found itself deep in the monitoring of the coastal trade so much that even Jefferson felt it necessary to send troops to upstate New York in order to prevent violations. With no evidence what so ever to suggest that the boycott was having desired effect on Britain or France the Republican Congress repealed the embargo legislation at the end of Jefferson’s second term. Much was owing to the fact that the Federalist were reaping political gains from the whole ordeal. Commerce with the world was once again permitted, if it was once considered to be impossible. The Nonintercourse Act of 1809, which replaced the embargo, prohibited all trade with the nation’s principal trading partners, Great Britain and France, until they recognized the maritime rights of neutrals. James Madison, who succeeded Thomas Jefferson in the presidency of 1809, continued to guide American relations with Europe by the policy of “peaceable coercion.” During his administration, the challenges posed by the Napoleonic Wars became more frequent and menacing.Jefferson’s election of the presidency put an end to the ideological struggle that had brought the nation to the brink of civil war. In office he fulfilled his promise to reduce government expenditures, taxes, and the national debt ( $83,038,051-$53,173,218 from 1800 to 1809 ). He also expanded his consensus and moved it to the moderate center, gaining the support from Adams Federalists and further eradicating the high Federalists. Faced with challenges to his leadership and opportunities of national import, he demonstrated flexibility, making full use of the tools provided to him by government to establish control and achieve what he regarded to be worthy republican ends. Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison after him, believed they could alter hostile British policies toward the United Stated b...
