Watchman Willie Martin Archive



������������������� Treaty of Tripoli

������������������� by David Barton

������������������� Over the last several months we have noticed with increasing interest how often

������������������� the Treaty of Tripoli, specifically article XI, is being misused in editorial columns,

������������������� articles, as well as in other areas of the media, both Christian and secular. We

������������������� have received numerous questions from people who have been misled by the

������������� ������claims that are being made, namely, that America was not founded as a Christian

������������������� nation. Advocates of this idea use the Treaty of Tripoli as the foundation of their

������������������� entire argument, and we believe you deserve to know the truth regarding this

������������������� often misused document.

������������������� The following is an excerpt from David�s book Original Intent:

������������������� To determine whether the "Founding Fathers" were generally atheists, agnostics,

������������������� and deists, one must first define those terms. An "atheist" is one who professes

������������������� to believe that there is no God;1 an "agnostic" is one who professes that nothing

������������������� can be known beyond what is visible and tangible;2 and a "deist" is one who

������������������� believes in an impersonal God who is no longer involved with mankind. (In other

������������������� words, a "deist" embraces the "clockmaker theory" 3 that there was a God who

��������� ����������made the universe and wound it up like a clock; however, it now runs of its own

������������������� volition; the clockmaker is gone and therefore does not respond to man.)

������������������� Today the terms "atheist," "agnostic," and "deist" have been used together so

������������������� often that their meanings have almost become synonymous. In fact, many

������������������� dictionaries list these words as synonym.4

������������������� Those who advance the notion that this was the belief system of the Founders

������������������� often publish information attempting to prove that the Founders were irreligious.5

������������������� One of the quotes they set forth is the following:

������������������������ The government of the United States is in no sense founded on the

������������������������ Christian religion.GEORGE WASHINGTON

������������������� The 1797 Treaty of Tripoli is the source of Washington�s supposed statement. Is

������������������� this statement accurate? Did this prominent Founder truly repudiate religion? An

������������������� answer will be found by an examination of its source.

������������������� That treaty, one of several with Tripoli, was negotiated during the "Barbary

������������������� Powers Conflict," which began shortly after the Revolutionary War and continued

������������������� through the Presidencies of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison.6 The

������������������� Muslim Barbary Powers (Tunis, Morocco, Algiers, Tripoli, and Turkey) were warring

������������������� against what they claimed to be the "Christian" nations (England, France, Spain,

������������������� Denmark, and the United States). In 1801, Tripoli even declared war against the

������������������� United States,7 thus constituting America�s first official war as an established

������������������� independent nation.

������������������� Throughout this long conflict, the five Barbary Powers regularly attacked

������������������� undefended American merchant ships. Not only were their cargoes easy prey but

������������������� the Barbary Powers were also capturing and enslaving "Christian" seamen8 in

������������������� retaliation for what had been done to them by the "Christians" of previous

������������������� centuries (e.g., the Crusades and Ferdinand and Isabella�s expulsion of Muslims

������������������� from Granada9).

������������������� In an attempt to secure a release of captured seamen and a guarantee of

������������������� unmolested shipping in the Mediterranean, President Washington dispatched

������������������� envoys to negotiate treaties with the Barbary nations.10(Concurrently, he

������������������� encouraged the construction of American naval warships11 to defend the

������������������� shipping and confront the Barbary "pirates"�a plan not seriously pursued until

������������������� President John Adams created a separate Department of the Navy in 1798.) The

������������������� American envoys negotiated numerous treaties of "Peace and Amity" 12 with the

������������������� Muslim Barbary nations to ensure "protection" of American commercial ships

������������������� sailing in the Mediterranean.13 However, the terms of the treaty frequently were

������������������� unfavorable to America, either requiring her to pay hundreds of thousands of

������������������� dollars of "tribute" (i.e., official extortion) to each country to receive a

������������������� "guarantee" of safety or to offer other "considerations" (e.g., providing a warship

����������������� ��as a "gift" to Tripoli,14 a "gift" frigate to Algiers,15 paying $525,000 to ransom

������������������� captured American seamen from Algiers,16 etc.).

������������������� The 1797 treaty with Tripoli was one of the many treaties in which each country

������������������� officially recognized the religion of the other in an attempt to prevent further

������������������� escalation of a "Holy War" between Christians and Muslims.17 Consequently,

������������������� Article XI of that treaty stated:

�� ���������������������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 [hatred] against the laws, religion or tranquility of

������������������������ Musselmen [Muslims] and as the said States [America] have 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.18

������������������� This article may be read in two manners. It may, as its critics do, be concluded

������������������� after the clause "Christian religion"; or it may be read in its entirety and

������������������� concluded when the punctuation so indicates. But even if shortened and cut

������������������� abruptly ("the government of the United States is not in any sense founded on

������������������� the Christian religion"), this is not an untrue statement since it is referring to the

������������������� federal government.

������������������� Recall that while the Founders themselves openly described America as a

������������������� Christian nation (demonstrated in chapter 2 of Original Intent), they did include a

������������������� constitutional prohibition against a federal establishment; religion was a matter

������������������� left solely to the individual States. Therefore, if the article is read as a

������������������� declaration that the federal government of the United States was not in any

������������������� sense founded on the Christian religion, such a statement is not a repudiation of

������������������� the fact that America was considered a Christian nation.

������������������� Reading the clause of the treaty in its entirety also fails to weaken this fact.

������������������� Article XI simply distinguished America from those historical strains of European

������������������� Christianity which held an inherent hatred of Muslims; it simply assured the

������������������� Muslims that the United States was not a Christian nation like those of previous

������������������� centuries (with whose practices the Muslims were very familiar) and thus would

������������������� not undertake a religious holy war against them.

������������������� This latter reading is, in fact, supported by the attitude prevalent among

������������������� numerous American leaders. The Christianity practiced in America was described

������������������� by John Jay as "enlightened," 19 by John Quincy Adams as "civilized," 20 and by

������������������� John Adams as "rational." 21 A clear distinction was drawn between American

������������������� Christianity and that of Europe in earlier centuries. As Noah Webster explained:

������������������������ The ecclesiastical establishments of Europe which serve to support

������������������������ tyrannical governments are not the Christian religion but abuses and

������������������������ corruptions of it.22

������������������� Daniel Webster similarly explained that American Christianity was:

���������������������� ��Christianity to which the sword and the fagot [burning stake or hot

������������������������ branding iron] are unknown�general tolerant Christianity is the law of

������������������������ the land!23

������������������� Those who attribute the Treaty of Tripoli quote to George Washington make two

������������������� mistakes. The first is that no statement in it can be attributed to Washington

������������������� (the treaty did not arrive in America until months after he left office);

�������������� �����Washington never saw the treaty; it was not his work; no statement in it can be

������������������� ascribed to him. The second mistake is to divorce a single clause of the treaty

������������������� from the remainder which provides its context.

������������������It would also be absurd to suggest that President Adams (under whom the treaty

������������������� was ratified in 1797) would have endorsed or assented to any provision which

������������������� repudiated Christianity. In fact, while discussing the Barbary conflict with

������������������� Jefferson, Adams declared:

������������������������ The policy of Christendom has made cowards of all their sailors

������������������������ before the standard of Mahomet. It would be heroical and glorious in

������������������������ us to restore courage to ours. 24

������������������� Furthermore, it was Adams who declared:

������������������������ The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence

������������������������ were. . . . the general principles of Christianity. . . . I will avow that I

������������������������ then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of

������������������������ Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and

�� ���������������������attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as

������������������������ unalterable as human nature. 25

������������������� Adams�own words confirm that he rejected any notion that America was less

����������������� ��than a Christian nation.

������������������� Additionally, the writings of General William Eaton, a major figure in the Barbary

������������������� Powers conflict, provide even more irrefutable testimony of how the conflict was

������������������� viewed at that time. Eaton was first appointed by President John Adams as

������������������� "Consul to Tunis," and President Thomas Jefferson later advanced him to the

������������������� position of "U. S. Naval Agent to the Barbary States," authorizing him to lead a

������������������� military expedition against Tripoli. Eaton�s official correspondence during his

������������������� service confirms that the conflict was a Muslim war against a Christian America.

������������������� For example, when writing to Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, Eaton

������������������� apprised him of why the Muslims would be such dedicated foes:

������������������������ Taught by revelation that war with the Christians will guarantee the

����������������������� �salvation of their souls, and finding so great secular advantages in

������������������������ the observance of this religious duty [the secular advantage of

������������������������ keeping captured cargoes], their [the Muslims�] inducements to

�������� ����������������desperate fighting are very powerful.26

������������������� Eaton later complained that after Jefferson had approved his plan for military

������������������� action, he sent him the obsolete warship "Hero." Eaton reported the impression of

������������������� America made upon the Tunis Muslims when they saw the old warship and its few

������������������� cannons:

������������������������ [T]he weak, the crazy situation of the vessel and equipage

������������������������ [armaments] tended to confirm an opinion long since conceived and

������������������������ never fairly controverted among the Tunisians, that the Americans

������������������������ are a feeble sect of Christians.27

������������������� In a later letter to Pickering, Eaton reported how pleased one Barbary ruler had

������������������� been when he received the extortion compensations from America which had

������������������� been promised him in one of the treaties:

������������������������ He said, "To speak truly and candidly . . . . we must acknowledge to

������������������������ you that we have never received articles of the kind of so excellent

������������������������ a quality from any Christian nation." 28

������������������� When John Marshall became the new Secretary of State, Eaton informed him:

������������������������ It is a maxim of the Barbary States, that "The Christians who would

������������������������ be on good terms with them must fight well or pay well." 29

������������������� And when General Eaton finally commenced his military action against Tripoli, his

������������������� personal journal noted:

������������������������ April 8th. We find it almost impossible to inspire these wild bigots with

������������������������ confidence in us or to persuade them that, being Christians, we can

������������������������ be otherwise than enemies to Musselmen. We have a difficult

������������������������ undertaking!30

������������������������ May 23rd. Hassien Bey, the commander in chief of the enemy�s

������������������������ forces, has offered by private insinuation for my head six thousand

������������������������ dollars and double the sum for me a prisoner; and $30 per head for

������������������������ Christians. Why don�t he come and take it?31

������������������� Shortly after the military excursion against Tripoli was successfully terminated,

������������������� its account was written and published. Even the title of the book bears witness

������������������� to the nature of the conflict:

������������������������ The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton . . . commander of the

������������������������ Christian and Other Forces . . . which Led to the Treaty of Peace

������������������������ Between The United States and The Regency of Tripoli32

������������������� The numerous documents surrounding the Barbary Powers Conflict confirm that

������������������� historically it was always viewed as a conflict between Christian America and

������������������� Muslim nations. Those documents completely disprove the notion that any

������������������� founding President, especially Washington, ever declared that America was not a

������������������� Christian nation or people. (Chapter 16 of Original Intent will provide numerous

������������������� additional current examples of historical revisionism.)

������������������� Endnotes

������������������� 1. American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd College Edition, s.v. "atheism."

������������������� 2. Id., s.v. "agnostic."

��� ���������������3. Id., s.v. "deism"; see also American College Dictionary (1947), s.v. "deism."

������������������� 4. Webster�s New World Dictionary of the American Language (1964), see synonym for "deist";

������������������� Webster�s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary(1963), see synonym for "atheism"; The Century

������������������� Dictionary and Cyclopedia(1895), Vol. I, see synonym for "atheist"; Funk & Wagnalls Standard

������������������� Dictionary of the English Language (1966), see synonyms for "skeptic."

������������������� 5. Society of Separationists, "Did you know that these great American thinkers all rejected

������������������� Christianity?" (Austin, TX: American Atheist Center); see also Los Angeles Times, August 3,

���������������� ���1995, p. B‑9, "America�s Unchristian Beginnings," Steven Morris.

������������������� 6.Naval Documents Related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers, Claude A. Swanson,

������������������� editor (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1939), Vol. I, p. V.

������������������� 7. Glen Tucker,Dawn Like Thunder: The Barbary Wars and the Birth of the U. S. Navy

������������������� (Indianapolis: Bobbs‑Merrill Company, 1963), p. 127.

������������������� 8. A General View of the Rise, Progress, and Brilliant Achievements of the American Navy, Down to the

������������������� Present Time(Brooklyn, 1828), pp. 70‑71.

������������������� 9. Tucker, p. 50.

������������������� 10. President Washington selected Col. David Humphreys in 1793 as sole commissioner of

������������������� Algerian affairs to negotiate treaties with Algeria, Tripoli and Tunis. He also appointed Joseph

������������������� Donaldson, Jr., as Consul to Tunis and Tripoli. In February of 1796, Humphreys delegated power

��� ���������������to Donaldson and/or Joel Barlow to form treaties. James Simpson, U. S. Consul to Gibraltar, was

������������������� dispatched to renew the treaty with Morocco in 1795. On October 8, 1796, Barlow commissioned

������������������� Richard O�Brien to negotiate the treaty of peace with Tripoli. See, for example, Ray W. Irwin, The

������������������� Diplomatic Relations of the United States with the Barbary Powers (Chapel Hill: The University of

������������������� North Carolina Press, 1931), p. 84.

������������������� 11. J. Fenimore Cooper,The History of the Navy of the United States of America (Philadelphia:

������������������� Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co., 1847), pp. 123‑124; see also A Compilation of the Messages and

������������������� Papers of the Presidents: 1789‑1897, James D. Richardson, editor (Washington, D. C.:

������������������� Published by Authority of Congress, 1899), Vol. I, pp. 201‑202, from Washington�s Eighth Annual

������������������� Address of December 7, 1796.

������ ������������12. See, for example, the treaty with Morocco: ratified by the United States on July 18, 1787.

������������������� Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America: 1776‑1949,

������������������� Charles I. Bevans, editor (Washington, D. C.: Department of State, 1968‑1976), Vol. IX, pp.

������������������� 1278‑1285; Algiers: concluded September 5, 1795; ratified by the U. S. Senate March 2, 1796;

������������������� see also, "Treaty of Peace and Amity" concluded June 30 and July 6, 1815; proclaimed

������������������� December 26, 1815, Treaties and Conventions Concluded Between the United States of America

������������������� and Other Powers Since July 4, 1776 (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1889), pp.

������������������� 1‑15; Tripoli: concluded November 4, 1796; ratified June 10, 1797; see also, "Treaty of Peace

������������������� and Amity" concluded June 4, 1805; ratification advised by the U. S. Senate April 12, 1806.

������������������� Treaties, Conventions, International Acts, Protocols and Agreements between the United States

������������������� of America and Other Powers: 1776‑1909, William M. Malloy, editor (Washington, D. C.:

������������������� Government Printing Office, 1910), Vol. II, pp. 1785‑1793; Tunis: concluded August 1797;

������������������� ratification advised by the Senate, with amendments, March 6, 1798; alterations concluded March

������������������� 26, 1799; ratification again advised by the Senate December 24, 1799. Treaties, Conventions,

������������������� International Acts, Protocols and Agreements between the United States of America and Other

������������������� Powers: 1776‑1909, William M. Malloy, editor (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office,

���������� ���������1910), Vol. II, pp. 1794‑1799.

������������������� 13. Gardner W. Allen, Our Navy and the Barbary Corsairs (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company,

������������������� 1905), pp. 33, 45, 56, 60.

������������������� 14. Allen, p. 66.

�������� �����������15. Allen, p. 57.

������������������� 16. Allen, p. 56.

������������������� 17. (See general bibliographic information from footnote 17 for each of these

������������������� references)Morocco: see Articles 10, 11, 17, and 24; Algiers: See Treaty of 1795, Article 17, and

������������������� Treaty of 1815, Article 17; Tripoli: See Treaty of 1796, Article 11, and Treaty of 1805, Article 14;

������������������� Tunis: See forward to Treaty.

������������������� 18. Acts Passed at the First Session of the Fifth Congress of the United States of America

������������������� (Philadelphia: William Ross, 1797), pp. 43‑44.

������������������� 19. William Jay,The Life of John Jay (New York: J. & J. Harper, 1833), p. 80, from his "Charge to

��������� ����������the Grand Jury of Ulster County" on September 9, 1777.

������������������� 20. John Quincy Adams,An Oration Delivered Before the Inhabitants of the Town of Newburyport at

������������������� Their Request on the Sixty‑First Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (Newburyport: Charles

������������������� Whipple, 1837), p. 17.

������������������� 21. John Adams, The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, Charles Francis

������������������� Adams, editor (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1856), Vol. IX, p. 121, in a speech to both

������������������� houses of Congress, November 23, 1797.

������������������� 22 Noah Webster, History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1832), p. 339.

���������������� ���23. Daniel Webster, Mr. Webster�s Speech in Defence of the Christian Ministry and In favor of the

������������������� Religious Instruction of the Young. Delivered in the Supreme Court of the United States, February 10,

������������������� 1844, in the Case of Stephen Girard�s Will (Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1844), p. 52.

������������������� 24. John Adams, Works, Vol. VIII, p. 407, to Thomas Jefferson on July 3, 1786.

������������������� 25. John Adams, Works, Vol. X, pp. 45‑46, to Thomas Jefferson on June 28, 1813.

������������������� 26. Charles Prentiss, The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton: Several Years an Officer in the United

������������������� States� Army Consul at the Regency of Tunis on the Coast of Barbary, and Commander of the Christian

������������������� and Other Forces that Marched from Egypt Through the Desert of Barca, in 1805, and Conquered the City

������������������� of Derne, Which Led to the Treaty of Peace Between the United States and the Regency of Tripoli

����� �������������(Brookfield: Merriam & Company, 1813), pp. 92‑93, from General Eaton to Timothy Pickering,

������������������� June 15, 1799.

������������������� 27. Prentiss, p. 146, from General Eaton to Mr. Smith, June 27, 1800.

������������������� 28. Prentiss, p. 150, from General Eaton to Timothy Pickering on July 4, 1800.

������������������� 29. Prentiss, p. 185, from General Eaton to General John Marshall, September 2, 1800.

������������������� 30. Prentiss, p. 325, from Eaton�s journal, April 8, 1805.

������������������� 31. Prentiss, p. 334, from Eaton�s journal, May 23, 1805.

������������������� 32. Prentiss.

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