COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, Boston, Dec. 30, 1807  

* Embargo Act of 1807 signed into law
* President Thomas Jefferson & shipping

Page 2 has the full text of the historic Embargo Act, headed: "EMBARGO" "An Act Laying an EMBARGO on all Ships and Vessels in the ports & harbours of the United States" signed in type by the President: TH: Jefferson.
This controversial act that essentially banned trade with foreign countries such that no foreign ships were permitted to carry cargo out of American ports. This was widely protested by the New England states because of the effect on their economy.
Four pages, damp stain at the right side, some foxing, good condition.

Background: The Embargo Act of 1807 represents one of the most polarizing and economically devastating exercises of federal power in early American history, serving as a critical turning point for the nation's fragile economy and its fractured political landscape. Intended as a peaceful alternative to war that would pressure Great Britain and France into respecting American neutrality, the total ban on foreign trade backfired spectacularly by strangling the United States’ own merchant fleet. New England, whose livelihood depended entirely on maritime commerce, bore the brunt of the fallout; the act triggered widespread unemployment, bankrupted shipping houses, and ultimately fueled an era of rampant domestic smuggling and fierce regional rebellion against the federal government. By demonstrating the limits of economic coercion and deeply embittering the Federalist Northeast against Thomas Jefferson's administration, the embargo not only failed to stop European aggression but also inadvertently pushed a deeply divided nation further down the path toward the War of 1812.