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The Treaty of Tripoli (the Treaty of Peace and Friendship) was a 1796 peace treaty between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary. It was signed at Tripoli on November 4, 1796 and at Algiers (for a third-party guarantee) on January 3, 1797 by Joel Barlow, the United States consul-general to the Barbary states of Algiers, Tripoli and Tunis. The treaty was broken in 1801 by the Pasha of Tripoli and renegotiated in 1805 after the First Barbary War.

Main article: Barbary Pirate

At the time of the Treaty and for 300 years prior, the Mediterranean Sea lanes were largely controlled by the north African Muslim states of the Barbary Coast (Tripoli, Algiers, Morocco, and Tunis) through piracy. Hostages were either ransomed or sold into slavery. Over time, most countries found it expedient to simply pay a yearly tribute to the Barbary Sultans in exchange for safe passage through the Mediterranean. Following the American Revolution, the United States was no longer under the protection of the British tribute treaties, resulting in the crippling of U.S. commerce in the Mediterranean. Having no significant Navy, the U.S. decided to form tribute treaties with the Barbary states, such as this 1796 Treaty of Tripoli.

Main article: First Barbary War

In March 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli demanded more tribute than previously agreed upon. The newly inaugurated U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson, having long disagreed with the policy of paying tribute, refused the pasha's demand. On May 10, 1801, the pasha declared war on the United States. On June 4, 1805, under the imminent threat of U.S. action, Tobias Lear negotiated the Treaty of Peace and Amity with the Pasha Yusuf. To the dismay of many Americans, this included a ransom of $60,000 paid for the release of prisoners from the USS Philadelphia and several U.S. merchant ships. By 1807, Algiers had gone back to taking U.S. ships and seamen hostage. Distracted by the preludes to the War of 1812, the United States was unable to respond to the provocations until 1815, with the Second Barbary War, thereby concluding the encompassing Tripolitan Wars (1800-1815).

The official treaty was in Arabic text, and a translated version provided by Consul-General Barlow was ratified by the United States on June 10, 1797. Article 11 of the treaty was said to have not been part of the original Arabic version of the treaty, and was from a letter from the Dey of Algiers to the Pasha of Tripoli.^[1]

However it originated, it was undeniably a part of the treaty as approved by President John Adams and Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and ratified by the United States Senate by a unanimous vote.

Article 11 reads:

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 tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States 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.

Article 11 has been a point of contention regarding the proper interpretation of the doctrine of separation of church and state. Supporters of the separation of church and state contend that this article is significant in that it confirms that the government of the United States was specifically intended to be religiously neutral. Supporters of the "Christian Nation" theory dispute this, arguing that the article in the treaty carries little or no significance. ^[2]

Official records show that after President John Adams sent the treaty to the Senate for ratification in May 1797, the entire treaty was read aloud on the Senate floor, including the famous words in Article 11, and copies were printed for every Senator. A committee considered the treaty and recommended ratification, and the treaty was ratified by a unanimous vote of all 23 Senators. It was the 339th time a recorded vote was taken in the Senate and only the third time a unanimous result was obtained.^[3] The treaty was reprinted in full in three newspapers, two in Philadelphia and one in New York City. There is no record of any public outcry or complaint in subsequent editions of the papers.^[4][3]

1. ^ The Barbary Treaties : Tripoli 1796 - Hunter Miller's Notes. The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
2. ^ Issues and Articles - Treaty of Tripoli. WallBuilders. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
3. ^ ^{a b} Brooke Allen. "Our Godless Constitution". The Nation. Feb. 3, 2005.
4. ^ Ed Buckner, Ph.D (June 22, 1997). Does the 1796-97 Treaty with Tripoli Matter to Church/State Separation?. stephanjaygould.org - From a speech given to the Humanists of Georgia on June 22, 1997 and at the 1997 Lake Hypatia Independance Day Celebration. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Treaty of Tripoli

• Barbary treaties
• List of treaties

• Treaties with The Barbary Powers: 1786-1836
  • 1796 Treaty Text and Related Documents
  • 1796 Treaty - The 1930 Annotated Translation from Arabic
  • 1805 Treaty Text and Related Documents
• Arguments in support of view that Article 11 shows the United States was not a Christian nation:
  • Joel Barlow and The Treaty With Tripoli
  • Does the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli say that "The Government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion?"
• Arguments against the view that Article 11 shows the United States was not a Christian nation:
  • Treaty of Tripoli
  • What About Article 11 in the Treaty of Tripoli?