The political and military events of the early national period often had significant economic aspects, as exhibited by the Embargo of 1807. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, Britain, France, and many other European nations were at war almost constantly from 1793 to 1815. As part of this conflict, each side attempted to maintain a naval blockade of the ports of the other side, limiting their opponent's ability to send out warships and merchant vessels. The United States remained neutral in this conflict for most of this period. Because of this neutrality, American ships were permitted to trade with parties on all sides of the conflict. This was a significant advantage to American trade, still recovering from the disruption of the American Revolution, and it profited substantially from the charges for carrying goods to and from European ports. All this changed after 1805. In that year, in...