Macon's Bill No. 2, "An Act concerning the commercial intercourse between the United States and Great Britain and France and their dependencies, and for other purposes," was enacted by Congress on 1 May 1810, during the period preceding the War of 1812. The objective was to compel Great Britain and France to stop their restrictions against U.S. shipping. Designed as a substitute for the unsuccessful Nonintercourse Act, it prohibited British and French armed vessels from entering American waters and ports unless forced in by distress or to deliver dispatches. The measure reopened American trade to the entire world. The act stated that if either France or Britain removed its restrictions on American commerce by 3 March 1811 and the other failed to do so within three months, the president would revive the restrictions of nonintercourse against that other nation.