The biggest problems with Britain came on the high seas. British naval vessels had been stopping American cargo ships for years prior to 1812 and impressing American sailors. British officers boarded the American ships in search of British deserters. They left with American citizens with no connection to the British navy. The number of American men who had been impressed by the start of the war was close to 10,000. Document 1 is a congressional report that describes Britain’s violations of our right “to use the ocean, which is the common and acknowledged highway of nations, for the purposes of transporting, in their own vessels, the products of their own soil and the acquisitions of their own industry,” The report calls Britain’s impressment and seizure of ships a direct violation of our rights as a neutral nation. The report exaggerates the frequency of these occurrences, “[Great Britain] captures every American vessel, bound to, or returning from, a port where her commerce is not favored;” Most of the ships trading with Britain had no problems, but some were stopped. One of the most well known incidents was an engagement between the American U.S.S. Chesapeake and the British H.M.S. Leopard. The Chesapeake was approached by the Leopard and the British officers tried to board. The captain of the…