Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with ... - Bibliothèque

character and interests of the United States.” 91 Finally Madison provided the
cover up: “if the flag of the United States should he engaged in a war with
either of them [Barbary States], it will be a war of defence and necessity, not of
choice or provocation.” 92
Hardly such disguised aggression could probably
have existed then!
Today it is well known that the United States provoked the war of 1801-
1805 against Tripoli—also called the First Barbary War—and that the
Jefferson-Madison policy, aided by Eaton’s machinations, were at the origin of
the war. 93 The United States then had just ended the Quasi-War of 1798-1801
with France and the emerging U.S. navy and privateers had caused havoc
among French shipping which gave the Americans further confidence in their
navy. 94
Jefferson then had the naval strength and political power that had
eluded him in the 1780s and he was determined to assert American commercial
interests in the Mediterranean. 95 He was also determined to secure a naval
presence for the United States among the European naval powers in the area. 96
So, he decided to dispatch a naval force, or what he called ‘a squadron of
observation’ to the Mediterranean. Circumstances could not serve him better:
91 This extract from the letter is worth quoting in full: “The policy of exhibiting a naval force on the
coast of Barbary, has long been urged by yourself and the other consuls. The present moment is
peculiarly favourable for the experiment, not only as it is a provision against an immediate danger, but
as we are now at peace and amity with all the rest of the world, and as the force employed would, if at
home, be at nearly the same expense, with less advantage to our mariners. The President has, therefore,
every reason to expect the utmost exertions of your prudence and address, in giving the measure an
impression most advantageous to the character and interests of the United States.
92 ASP/FA, 2:348, Extract of a Letter from the Secretary of State to William Eaton, May 20, 1801.
93 Sofka, “Jeffersonian Idea of National Security,” pp. 536-37.
94 Howard P. Nash, The Forgotten Wars: The Role of the U. S. Navy in the Quasi War with France and
the Barbary Wars 1798-1805 (New York/London: Thomas Yoseloff, Ltd., 1968), pp. 137-147.
95 James R. Sofka, “American Neutral Rights Reappraised: Identity or Interest in the Foreign Policy of
the early Republic?” Review of International Studies, 26: 4 (Oct. 2000), pp. 609-15.
96 Craig L. Symonds, “‘A Squadron of Observation’: Thomas Jefferson and America’s First War
against Terrorism,” White House Studies, 4: 2 (2004), pp. 132-35.
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