<P> In December, news arrived that Napoleon had extended the Berlin Decree, globally banning British imports . In Britain, King George III ordered redoubling efforts at impressment, including American sailors . But the war fever of the summer faded; Congress had no appetite to prepare the U.S. for war . Jefferson asked for and received the Embargo Act, an alternative that allowed the U.S. more time to build up defensive works, militias, and naval forces . Later historians have seen irony in Jefferson's assertion of such federal power . Meacham claims that the Embargo Act was a projection of power which surpassed the Alien and Sedition Acts, and R.B. Bernstein writes that Jefferson "was pursuing policies resembling those he had cited in 1776 as grounds for independence and revolution". </P> <P> Secretary of State James Madison supported the embargo with equal vigor to Jefferson, while Treasury Secretary Gallatin opposed it, due to its indefinite time frame and the risk that it posed to the policy of American neutrality . The U.S. economy suffered, criticism grew, and opponents began evading the embargo . Instead of retreating, Jefferson sent federal agents to secretly track down smugglers and violators . Three acts were passed in Congress during 1807 and 1808, called the Supplementary, the Additional, and the Enforcement acts . The government could not prevent American vessels from trading with the European belligerents once they had left American ports, although the embargo triggered a devastating decline in exports . </P> <P> Most historians consider Jefferson's embargo to have been ineffective and harmful to American interests . Appleby describes the strategy as Jefferson's "least effective policy", and Joseph Ellis calls it "an unadulterated calamity". Others, however, portray it as an innovative, nonviolent measure which aided France in its war with Britain while preserving American neutrality . Jefferson believed that the failure of the embargo was due to selfish traders and merchants showing a lack of "republican virtue ." He maintained that, had the embargo been widely observed, it would have avoided war in 1812 . </P> <P> In December 1807, Jefferson announced his intention not to seek a third term . He turned his attention increasingly to Monticello during the last year of his presidency, giving Madison and Gallatin almost total control of affairs . Shortly before leaving office in March 1809, Jefferson signed the repeal of the Embargo . In its place, the Non-Intercourse Act was passed, but it proved no more effective . The day before Madison was inaugurated as his successor, Jefferson said that he felt like "a prisoner, released from his chains". </P>

British philosopher who’s writing influenced early american leaders