Macon's Bill Number 1
Encyclopedia
Macon's Bill Number 1 was introduced in the United States House of Representatives
on December 19, 1809, by Nathaniel Macon
from the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations. The bill was drawn up by Albert Gallatin
and it prohibited public vessels of France
or England
, or private vessels owned by subjects of either power from entering American ports; forbade the importation of goods from either country or its colonies; and provided that whenever either country should revoke or modify her edicts so that they would cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States
, the President of the United States
should issue a proclamation announcing the cessation of the prohibitions of the act towards the revoking power.
He afterwards moved an amendment to make the act expire with the present session of the United States Congress
, when by its terms it would not go into effect till April 15, his object being to make it useless. It finally passed by the unsatisfactory vote of 73 to 52. The United States Senate
amended it by striking out all but the sections prohibiting British and French public vessels from entering American ports and limiting the act to the next session of Congress. The House of Representatives refused to recede and the bill was lost.
On April 8, 1810, Congress brought in another bill, commonly known as Macon's Bill Number 2
even though Nathaniel Macon had nothing to do with this bill and didn't even support it, providing that if France or Great Britain should revoke her edicts before March 3 of the next year, the President should proclaim the fact, and if within three months thereafter the other nation did not repeal its edicts, the non-intercourse regulations should be effective against it. This bill, after undergoing various amendments, passed the House of Representatives on April 19, 1810, by a vote of 61 to 40. It was sent back to the Senate with further amendments and finally passed on the last day of the session, May 1, 1810, being approved on the same day.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
on December 19, 1809, by Nathaniel Macon
Nathaniel Macon
Nathaniel Macon was a spokesman for the Old Republican faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that wanted to strictly limit the United States federal government. Macon was born near Warrenton, North Carolina, and attended the College of New Jersey and served briefly in the American...
from the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Relations. The bill was drawn up by Albert Gallatin
Albert Gallatin
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was a Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, politician, diplomat, congressman, and the longest-serving United States Secretary of the Treasury. In 1831, he founded the University of the City of New York...
and it prohibited public vessels of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
or England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, or private vessels owned by subjects of either power from entering American ports; forbade the importation of goods from either country or its colonies; and provided that whenever either country should revoke or modify her edicts so that they would cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
should issue a proclamation announcing the cessation of the prohibitions of the act towards the revoking power.
He afterwards moved an amendment to make the act expire with the present session of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, when by its terms it would not go into effect till April 15, his object being to make it useless. It finally passed by the unsatisfactory vote of 73 to 52. The United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
amended it by striking out all but the sections prohibiting British and French public vessels from entering American ports and limiting the act to the next session of Congress. The House of Representatives refused to recede and the bill was lost.
On April 8, 1810, Congress brought in another bill, commonly known as Macon's Bill Number 2
Macon's Bill Number 2
Macon's Bill Number 2, which became law in the United States 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...
even though Nathaniel Macon had nothing to do with this bill and didn't even support it, providing that if France or Great Britain should revoke her edicts before March 3 of the next year, the President should proclaim the fact, and if within three months thereafter the other nation did not repeal its edicts, the non-intercourse regulations should be effective against it. This bill, after undergoing various amendments, passed the House of Representatives on April 19, 1810, by a vote of 61 to 40. It was sent back to the Senate with further amendments and finally passed on the last day of the session, May 1, 1810, being approved on the same day.