Two extremely rare Boston broadsides printed back-to-back, both excoriating French depredations on American shipping, President Jefferson, and the Democrat-Republicans. 

Background
During the Wars of the French Revolution (1792-1802) and the Napoleanic Wars (1803-1815), Britain and France sought to starve each other’s commerce by enacting policies of systematic predation on neutral shipping.  The American merchant fleet bore much of the burden, and by one estimate the British and French seized in aggregate nearly 1500 American vessels in the years 1803-1812 alone (with Britain taking 917 and the French 558). Even more inflammatory than the vessel seizures was the British Navy’s policy of impressing from American vessels any sailors thought to be British nationals, in order to meet its enormous manpower needs.

Unsurprisingly, Anglophilic Federalists and Francophilic Democrat-Republicans put their own “spin” on these events, each using them to bludgeon the other party for its foreign sympathies. Indeed, conflicting views toward Britain and France formed one of the major fault lines separating the two nascent political parties, and had been since they first emerged during Washington’s first presidential term.

In late 1807 President Jefferson signed the “Embargo Act”, which prohibited American vessels from trading with any foreign nations. The embargo was intended to force the British and French to respect American neutrality at sea, but this was wishful thinking: American commercial might was nowhere near sufficient to exert that kind of leverage. The embargo did little other than impoverish American merchants, put sailors out of work, and enrage the Federalists. It was repealed in early 1809, at the very end of Jefferson’s Presidency.

The broadsheet
British and French misbehavior, and the Embargo Act, together provide the political and emotional backdrop for this extraordinary broadsheet, which features two separate broadsides—both very rare—published on the recto and verso. The sheet was issued by partisans of Federalist Christopher Gore—signing as “The Friends of Peace”–during his 1808 campaign for the governorship of Massachusetts. Gore was seeking to unseat the incumbent, Democrat-Republican James Sullivan (1744-1808).

Both broadsides deplore French seizures of American shipping and excoriate the francophilic President Jefferson, his Republican Party, and Governor Sullivan. One is headlined “American Commerce in Flames! / AMERICANS! / See the EXECUTION of BONAPARTE’s Orders / to Burn, Sink, and Destroy your Ships!” and tells of the destruction by the French of the American vessels William, Eliza and Brutus.  Lending particular drama to the image are large woodcuts representing the burning vessels.  This broadside is extraordinarily rare, with a single example known, at the New York Public Library.

The broadside printed on the reverse is addressed “To all the Electors of Massachusetts of whatever Political Party they may be” and offers up ten arguments for unseating Sullivan and electing Gore. The tenth, for example attacks Jefferson for exercising what we today would call an “imperial Presidency”, using a quiescent Congress[1] for window-dressing:

“10thly. IT is a fact worthy of great attention, that for the first time in our Country, on the most perilous and alarming occasion, a system of blind confidence has been adopted, a confidence not in our rulers… but in ONE MAN. For who are our Rulers! Is the President our only Ruler? If he is, let Congress adjourn—Why summon themn at all? Let our American Emperor proceed alone, but do not let him have the credit and countenance of a Legislative corps, who have no will but his.”

Gore ended up losing the 1808 election, though he made a strong showing with 49% of the vote. He ran again and won in 1809, but lost his 1810 reelection bid to the Democrat-Republican Elbridge Gerry.

References
American Commerce:  Shaw-Shoemaker #14339 (giving no known holdings). I have found a sole example, at the New York Public Library, which is probably the source for the digital edition listed in OCLC.

Electors of Massachusetts:  Shaw-Shoemaker #15137 (American Antiquarian Society, Boston Public Library, Massachusetts Historical Society, Peabody Essex Museum and University of Virginia).  OCLC #58784013 adds an example at the New York Historical Society.

[1] The 1807-08 Senate had 28 Democrat-Republicans and 6 Federalists. The House had 116 Democrat-Republicans and 26 Federalists.