April 18, 1806. In his study, President Thomas Jefferson signs a law that doesn’t look like an act of war. It bans imports. Leather. Silk. Glass. Playing cards. A strange list. A quiet move. But Jefferson is trying to confront one of the most powerful empires in the world, without firing a shot.

Britain is stopping American ships at sea. Boarding them. Taking sailors by force. The country is furious. War feels close.

Jefferson has another idea.

How did Jefferson—an avatar of individual liberty—become the president who suspended due process, militarized the coastline, and nearly tore his country apart? And what can his legacy teach us about the prevailing winds of global trade?

Special thanks to Harvey Strum, professor of History and Political Science at Russell Sage College in Albany and Troy, New York; and Lawrence Hatter,  associate professor of Early American History at Washington State University.

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