Embargoes Quotes

One of the strong motivations of Islamic terrorists is the fact that they believe that a Muslim who dies fighting for Islam goes immediately to Paradise. However, terrorists create Hell for innocent civilians and people who have no desire to harm Islam—in many cases babies and young children who do not even know what religion is. While this statement represents the beliefs of most moderate Muslims, it was made after he was out of office. It is doubtful that an Iranian President—a position without much power in the Iranian theocracy where the religious leader rules—in office would dare say something like this when Iran supports Islamic terrorist organizations throughout the world.

The pope attempted a boycott of weapons against the Ottomans who were threatening Crete, then controlled by Christian Venice. The French and others did not respect the boycott. As in modern times, boycotts were easily broken by those wishing to profit from trade. Crete fell. The Catholic boycott had actually started in the 16th Century with minimal effectiveness, but Clement IX made a vain effort to enforce it.

The United States economic embargo of Cuba is

At the outbreak of the Civil War the President maintained that the United States was not at war with another nation but was merely putting down a rebellion. When he then ordered a blockade of Southern ports, he was legally blockading his own country. See Thaddeus Stevens.

The problem of fictitious blockades vexed the world until 1856. See {613802}.

The British had closed Boston Harbor until the English merchants who lost their goods at the Boston Tea Party were paid for their damages. A convention was called to discuss a response to the closing of Boston Harbor and New York City convened a public meeting to come up with instructions for their delegates to the conference. One amazing thing was that they advocated a boycott of English goods. What was amazing was that there was no nation and New York and Massachusetts were separate entities and sectionalism was rife, yet New Yorkers were willing to sacrifice to help Bostonians. The New York sacrifice was all the greater because most of the imports from England landed at New York harbor where there was work created for New Yorkers and business for New York companies. New York stood to lose the most with a boycott. Philadelphia which also advocated a boycott, lost little as they were not a harbor for imports. New Yorkers also provided assistance to their competitors, the Bostonians who were out of work. See {589413}.

Madison’s view is at odds with International Law.

Note that Britain was blockading Boston in the middle of 1775, some time before the outbreak of battles in Concord and Lexington in 1776. What Gates did not tell Lord Dartmouth, and maybe did not know himself, was that the skilled Massachusetts sailors smuggled a great deal through the blockade in small boats at night landing in the many inlets and coves in the Boston area. Also, do not think of Boston in 1775 as today. At that time most people had, in the city, their own farms and gardens and grew much of their own food. The Boston Commons was a common area for grazing sheep. So the British Blockade of Boston was not very effective.

In 1980 Russian troops moved into Afghanistan, and President Jimmy Carter imposed an American grain export embargo against Russia:

Charles Wilkes, a Union Navy Captain enforcing the naval blockade of the South, intercepted a British mail ship in the Caribbean and discovered two Confederate diplomats on board. He took them into custody to the cheers of Congress. England, however, was outraged that passengers—diplomats—on one of their ships was seized after boarding. This was technically an act of war. Abraham Lincoln, to the distress of many in Congress ordered the Confederate diplomats released explaining with this quotation.

2nd Earl of Guilford. This bill cut off all trade with the American Colonies. It was meant as pressure to cease the rebellion. It did not work.

This is often true of State and local taxes as well. Politicians have been very creative in creating taxes, rebates, credits, deductions and enforcement schemes that favor a local constituency at the expense of “outsiders” or schemes that favor specific special interest groups at the expense of the body politic and common weal.

In 1980 Russian troops moved into Afghanistan, and President Jimmy Carter imposed an American grain export embargo against Russia: