President Thomas Jefferson expressed the anxiety of American neutrality amidst European conflicts, observing, "What an awful spectacle does the world exhibit in this instant, one man bestriding the continent of Europe like a Colossus, and another roaming unbridled on the ocean".
The Chesapeake-Leopard affair, where the British fired on the USS Chesapeake, symbolized America's struggles for sovereignty while it attempted to maintain neutrality during the turbulent Napoleonic Wars.
In 1807, the U.S. emerged as the largest neutral carrier with $243 million in trade, showcasing both the tensions of neutrality and economic opportunity.
Collection
[
|
...
]