On May 14, 1810, President James Madison signed Macon's Bill No. 2 giving Great Britain and France each approximately 11 months to revoke her edicts. If not, the president was authorized within three months to impose the non-intercourse act restricting all importation of goods from either France or Britain. In the fall of 1811, Madison received Napoleon's St. Cloud Decree which had formally repealed the Berlin and Milan Decrees. This Decree gave Great Britain a just reason to revoke her own Orders in Council, but instead of repealing, as Madison stated that the orders were "put into more rigorous execution". Furthermore Madison stated that the British Government even went as far as denying that they were made aware of the St. Cloud Decree. Yet, at a later date it appeared that the British Government did receive communication of the Decree. In fact, it was even suggested that the British diplomat in America was suppose to receive this communication so that it might "receive full consideration in the depending discussions". It was all a mess. Apparently the British government received the communication, but it was not shared with their diplomat in America.
This was the situation in November of 2011, when Madison called congress together sooner than normal. Madison was ready to invoke the non-intercourse act as authorized by Macon's Bill No. 2. America, was just seven months away from declaring war on Great Britain. Madison seemed to believe that it was not only inevitable, but that all of the blame was to be placed squarely on Great Britain: "In the unfriendly spirit of those disclosures indemnity and redress for other wrongs have continued to be withheld, and our coasts and the mouths of our harbors have again witnessed scenes not less derogatory to the dearest of our national rights than vexation to the regular course of our trade."
Here is the full section of Madison's opening remarks in his 1811 State of the Union address:
"In calling you together sooner than a separation from your homes would otherwise have been required I yielded to considerations drawn from the posture of our foreign affairs, and in fixing the present for the time of your meeting regard was had to the probability of further developments of the policy of the belligerent powers toward this country which might the more unite the national councils in the measures to be pursued.On June 18th, 1812 President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain.
At the close of the last session of Congress it was hoped that the successive confirmations of the extinction of the French decrees, so far as they violated our neutral commerce, would have induced the Government of Great Britain to repeal its orders in council, and thereby authorize a removal of the existing obstructions to her commerce with the United States.
Instead of this reasonable step toward satisfaction and friendship between the two nations, the orders were, at a moment when least to have been expected, put into more rigorous execution; and it was communicated through the British envoy just arrived that whilst the revocation of the edicts of France, as officially made known to the British Government, was denied to have taken place, it was an indispensable condition of the repeal of the British orders that commerce should restored to a footing that would admit the productions and manufactures of Great Britain, when owned by neutrals, into markets shut against them by her enemy, the United States being given to understand that in the mean time a continuance of their nonimportation act would lead to measures of retaliation.
At a later date it has indeed appeared that a communication to the British Government of fresh evidence of the repeal of the French decrees against our neutral trade was followed by an intimation that it had been transmitted to the British plenipotentiary here in order that it might receive full consideration in the depending discussions. This communication appears not to have been received; but the transmission of it hither, instead of founding on it an actual repeal of the orders or assurances that the repeal would ensue, will not permit us to rely on any effective change in the British cabinet. To be ready to meet with cordiality satisfactory proofs of such a change, and to proceed in the mean time in adapting our measures to the views which have been disclosed through that minister will best consult our whole duty.
In the unfriendly spirit of those disclosures indemnity and redress for other wrongs have continued to be withheld, and our coasts and the mouths of our harbors have again witnessed scenes not less derogatory to the dearest of our national rights than vexation to the regular course of our trade."
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29453
http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/british/decrees/c_britdecrees1.html
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