rosborne979 wrote:hephzibah wrote:Quote:As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
Sounds to me like someone was accusing them of trying to start a religious war in the name of "christianity", therefore the declaration here is that their foundation was not based on christianity nor their actions. They weren't rejecting "christianity" necessarily, so much as the idea that it was influencing them to make certain decisions that could interrupt the harmony.
A Treaty is a formal agreement between two or more states in reference to peace, alliance, commerce, or other international relations. I'm not sure what they were 'treating' over, but it might have been over commerce and not war.
I'm guessing that the muslims just wanted to know who they were dealing with (not having had a pleasant experience with the Christians before), and George Washington and John Adams told them, "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion". I'm just taking them at their word.
I guess we just disagree on the interpretation.
Muslim petty rulers on the north African coast had long supported their extravagent tastes by practicing piracy and selling captives into slavery. Because the French maintained a substantial navy with its principle base at Toulon on the Mediterranean coast, and the English Royal Navy heavily patrolled the Mediterranean, these jokers had learned that it did not pay to attack the shipping of those two nations.
But attacking the American shipping seemed profitable and unlikely to bring an unpleasant reaction. Both Washington and Adams negotiated and paid tribute to these petty rulers, collectively known as the Barbary Pirates (the north African coast was then usually referred to as the Barbary coast, probably from Berber, which is what the tribesmen of northern Africa were called). But both Washington and Adams also urged Congress (successfully) to raise the funds to build a modern navy. The United States could not afford the large line of battle ships such as the English and French used, but they could and did build frigates, a class of ship smaller, but also faster and just as dangerous. The American frigates were built on a massive scale, so much so that during the War of 1812 (known to the English as the American War), the Americans were accused of using "razees," which is to say, cut-down line of battle ships. Ironically, it was under Jefferson--no friend to the Navy--that a flotilla was sent to Tripoli (the largest pirate den on that coast) to blockade the pirates.
Philadelphia was captured after it ran aground, so the early American naval hero Stephen Decatur took a captured pirate zebec, dressed his men as the Barbary pirates were wont to do, and sailed into the middle of the harbor, retook
Philadelphia and set fire to it, so as to deny it to the enemy. No less a naval luminary than Horatio Nelson described it as the greatest heroic act of the age.
An overland expedition of Marines was also sent against the Barbary Pirates (hence, the line "shores of Tripoli" in the Marine Corps Hymn), and finally, in 1804, the Bey of Tripoli surrendered, and accepted terms. Nevertheless, the pirates went back to their bad old ways, and Jefferson, who opposed maintaining a large navy, paid them tribute once again.
I cannot find a source to support the claim, but i believe the language used in the treaty was intended to prevent the Muslims of the north African coast from characterizing the Barbary Wars (the United States fought two Barbary wars) as holy wars, which authorized selling prisoners into slavery, and all manner of murder and cruelty. The point of such a passage would be to underline the intent of the United States to end the piracy, and not to conquer or convert the Berbers of northern Africa.
