The Barbary Wars

On May 10th, 1801, the first ever official declaration of war on the United States was presented to newly elected President Jefferson.The declaration came not from Britain, France, or Spain, but instead from Tripoli on the North African coast. In the years preceding Jefferson’s presidency the Barbary Pirates, many of whom came from Tripoli, continually raided and enslaved American seamen, often sold back to their country at prices circa $250,000, at a time when the annual income of the government barely exceeded ten million dollars. However, unlike his predecessors, pacifist Jefferson took the fight to the pirates and in 1805 secured a permanent protection treaty for the paltry sum of $60,000.

Map of the Barbary Coast

But, the First Barbary War was more than just a maritime conflict. Due largely in part to the daring exploits of several unknown American heroes, namely William Eaton and Stephan Decatur, the war was a decisive victory. In addition, the political fallout of the war heavily influenced the Hamiltonian vs Jeffersonian debate, perhaps the most important in American history.

The American victory at Tripoli was memorialized in the second line of the Marine Hymn:

From the Halls of Montezuma
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country’s battles
In the air, on land and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
of United States Marine.