Is the Treaty of Tripoli taught in US Schools?

19 comments

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2. The Barbary wars are mentioned in the marine corp hymn

   Probably glossed over in school

3. The Barbary Pirate wars are certainly taught in American history, but the focus is surely not that John Adams stated the country was not founded as Christian while signing the treaty.

   We know this through the whole process of becoming a nation and the constitution. Religious freedom was important because many of the early settlers were basically religious refugees who were persecuted out of Europe.

   The way the Barbary wars are taught are more about how it was one of the first actions to enforce the sovereignty of the US.

4. We force kids to say the pledge of allegiance daily lol. It’s def not standard curriculum or a talking point.

5. Hard not to consider post 1898 America an Empire though. Hell arguably even before that due to the manifest destiny idea

6. Treaties aren’t “taught”. Sweeping historical events are taught. Treaties are involved in some of those. The only treaty you might say was “taught” was the Treaty of Versailles because of its perceived direct relevance as a trigger to World War II.

7. Not really. But Ian W. Toll’s *Six Frigates* is an awesome book that delves into the topic.

8. I remember hearing about it in school,but really debating it and getting into it in my American Political Philosophy class in college.

9. I remember learning about it in US History in 10th grade. I’m not sure if it was actually part of the required curriculum or not though.

10. I imagine it’d probably be glossed over at the secondary level of education, and likely given more depth in college courses exploring this part of history more.

11. No, I can’t say that the legal nuance of foreign treaties signed in the 18th century is a common topic in the K-12 education system. I’d also be surprised if any other country goes into this level of detail in grade school.

12. That text isn’t in the Arabic version of the treaty, and it’s frequently taken out of context:

    >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 tranquility of Musselmen and as the said States 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.

    It just meant that America wasn’t going to go on any crusades. This is from Gen. William Eaton, when he had to go to war with the Barbary States a few years later, as quoted in *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, 1805, and Conquered the City of Derne, Which Led to the Treaty of Peace between the United States and the Regency of Tripoli: Principally Collected from His Correspondence and Other Manuscripts.* (quite the title!):

    >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!

13. When I was in High School, the Treaty of Tripoli was definitely covered as a cornerstone event which established the United States as an active world player.

    And I remember the dark humor with my friends when Reagan bombed selected ports in Libya in retaliation for the downing of Pan-Am 103 that by bombing the “pirates” who had taken over “Tripoli”, that we were simply doing what our country was founded to do: to fight Barbary pirates.

14. The Treaty of Tripoli and the later Barbary Wars were taught briefly between the Revolution and the War of 1812 in my history classes and that particular nugget of information was mentioned at least once in one of those classes. I remember it was in a broader notion of freedom of religion, not part of the Barbary Wars section, and that teacher specifically wanted it drilled into our heads that the US was founded as a secular nation, even if the majority were Christian.

15. >US history is amazing in that it’s not about empires

    Not according to those of us on the left! 🙂

    >America was not founded as Christian

    Not according to the Christian right! 🙂

    But yeah, in the most widely used commercially-available textbooks, the Treaty of Tripoli and the Barbary Wars are mentioned. (There is no such thing as a US national curriculum. Any non-American who says otherwise is misinformed, and I’ve encountered some of them online.)

16. I don’t recall covering this in my public school education in the 80s and 90s. We may have, but it’s difficult to remember everything.

17. It was mentioned in APUSH but not expanded upon if I recall correctly. Mostly what I associate with Tripoli is the Marine’s Hymn, though.

18. Briefly, but I think they spent more time on the Barbary Pirates.

19. Graduated in 2007 and that’s a big fat nope from me. But we are taught from elementary school that our country was not founded in one religion. Although they are trying to roll that back in certain states now.