The Tripoli Treaty
An Amazing Document
The Barbary Pirates originated from African countries, including Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. They routinely attacked merchant ships from several nations, including America, in which they captured crews and vessels and held them hostage for ransom. Not all crew members were returned safely, and some ended up being sold as slaves in the Barbary States, known as the Barbary Slave Trade.
In an effort to prevent these constant attacks and loss of life, America agreed to pay tribute to the Barbary Pirates, but it can better be described as an extortion. As a result, America entered into an agreement known as the Treaty of Tripoli on February 10, 1797.
The Treaty of Tripoli is used by ardent atheists to prove that America was never a Christian country. However, America is a Christian country, not because a majority of Christians lived here at the time of its founding, but because America was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs, as our founders were inspired by the Bible.
The Treaty of Tripoli was signed by President John Adams, a man who has made many statements on the Christian nature of this country and its people. The Treaty states in part,
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, religious or tranquility of Musselmen, and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan 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.
According to an article by John R. Vile, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University,
The provision, which may have been written by Joel Barlow (one of the American negotiators), but which is missing from its Arabic counterpart, was not repeated in other treaties with other powers in the region, and the treaty itself was superseded by another treaty in 1805 (Crane 2020, 404-405).
The amazing part about this treaty is the Barbary Pirates recognized that America’s power, wealth, and strength came from Christ. If they could get America to deny Christ, then maybe their power, wealth, and strength would be taken away by Christ.
Not surprisingly, the Barbary Pirates, broke the treaty in 1801 because President Thomas Jefferson refused to increase their extortion payments, which led to war. Eventually, the Barbary Pirates acquiesced and entered into a second treaty with the United States on June 4, 1805.
The offensive and obviously false provision about the United States not being founded on the Christian religion in the first treaty was not included in the second treaty. Its removal was clearly a correction and reaffirmation that America was founded on the Christian religion, President Thomas Jefferson signed that treaty.
The history of America is packed with thousands of documents, artifacts, quotes, Supreme Court decisions, and other evidence that proves America is in fact a Christian nation. It is who we are and hopefully will always be. If Muslim nations understood that Christ was America’s source of power, wealth, and strength in 1797, why can’t more Americans understand that fact today.
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, religious or tranquility of Musselmen, and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan 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.
The provision, which may have been written by Joel Barlow (one of the American negotiators), but which is missing from its Arabic counterpart, was not repeated in other treaties with other powers in the region, and the treaty itself was superseded by another treaty in 1805 (Crane 2020, 404-405).
My prayer is that more Americans will come to understand the true founding of our country. Please join me in praying for our country and our fellow citizens, that they turn their lives over to Christ and he opens their eyes to see, what we already know.
God Bless you and God Bless America!
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About us
This website provides historical facts to dispel the lies that are being told about our country. My hope is that godly citizens will take the information, verify it with their own research and study, and then help teach their fellow citizens about the truth of our founding and the need to Restore America’s Foundation, Jesus Christ.
Our mission
The call to Restore America’s Foundation has been ignored for more than one hundred years, which is far too long. We have allowed politicians, activists, and rogue courts to remove God from our schools, agencies, and the public square. Look at what is being taught in many schools today. It’s unbelievable. We need to reverse all of this and the only way to accomplish that task is through prayer and education.