The treaty of tripoli:
For all who want to know was a 1797 treaty between the US and the muslim nation of Tripoli. The treaty was to pacify the government so our trade ships would stop being attacked by 'pirates.' articals 1-10 outline intent and tributes, the famous artical 11 is the one that does indeed say that the United States was not a Christian nations... The problem? we don't actually have the copy that was actually ratified in English. we only have Barlow's hand written suggestion of how the treaty should be written to pacify a Muslim nation.
But you do not have to take my word for it. Here is Purdue universities very own Frank Lambert:
In short what we promise in a trade treaty does not mean it's national policy.
For all who want to know was a 1797 treaty between the US and the muslim nation of Tripoli. The treaty was to pacify the government so our trade ships would stop being attacked by 'pirates.' articals 1-10 outline intent and tributes, the famous artical 11 is the one that does indeed say that the United States was not a Christian nations... The problem? we don't actually have the copy that was actually ratified in English. we only have Barlow's hand written suggestion of how the treaty should be written to pacify a Muslim nation.
But you do not have to take my word for it. Here is Purdue universities very own Frank Lambert:
Quote:According to Frank Lambert, Professor of History at Purdue University, the assurances in Article 11 were "intended to allay the fears of the Muslim state by insisting that religion would not govern how the treaty was interpreted and enforced. John Adams and the Senate made clear that the pact was between two sovereign states, not between two religious powers." Lambert writes,
"By their actions, the Founding Fathers made clear that their primary concern was religious freedom, not the advancement of a state religion. Individuals, not the government, would define religious faith and practice in the United States. Thus the Founders ensured that in no official sense would America be a Christian Republic. Ten years after the Constitutional Convention ended its work, the country assured the world that the United States was a secular state, and that its negotiations would adhere to the rule of law, not the dictates of the Christian faith. The assurances were contained in the Treaty of Tripoli of 1797 and were intended to allay the fears of the Muslim state by insisting that religion would not govern how the treaty was interpreted and enforced. John Adams and the Senate made clear that the pact was between two sovereign states, not between two religious powers.[14]
In short what we promise in a trade treaty does not mean it's national policy.
