Thomas Jefferson envisioned a peaceful, agrarian society that used diplomacy, rather than military might, to execute America’s foreign policy. Jefferson believed that a large standing army was an invitation to dictatorship, and he drastically reduced the size of both the American Army and Navy. However, events in the Mediterranean quickly challenged Jefferson’s decision and forced him to re-evaluate his philosophy about the use of force.

On the Barbary Coast of North Africa, rulers of Algiers, Morocco, Tunis, and Tripoli extorted money from countries wishing to send cargo ships through their waters. For years, American shipping was safe because Britain regularly paid the pirates. However, after the Revolution, American vessels were no longer protected by British payments of tribute, and the leaders of the new American government agreed to take over payment of the protection money. Ironically, it was during this same time that the French demanded a bribe from America to meet with Foreign Minister Talleyrand. Colonists, angry at the attempted extortion, cried “millions for defense but not one cent for tribute.”

In 1801, the pasha of Tripoli increased the tribute demanded for safe passage. When Jefferson refused to pay, Tripoli declared war on the United States, and the president reluctantly sent warships to Tripoli. The American frigate Philadelphia was eventually captured and its men held hostage. After four years of sporadic fighting, Jefferson finally negotiated a treaty with Tripoli. For $60,000, the captured Americans were released. To make sure that the weapons on the Philadelphia could not be used against Americans, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur slipped on board the ship and set it ablaze.

Jefferson reassessed his decision to scale back the military and ordered several small gunboats that critics nicknamed “Jeffs” or the “mosquito fleet.” The undersized boats were fast but featured just one gun. Jefferson believed that the boats could effectively guard the American coastline but were not intimidating enough to lure the country into international incidents on the high seas.

In 1803, American shipping became entangled in European hostilities when Napoleon revived his war with England. The American Navy, which was no match for the heavily armed English and French, could offer only limited protection for American merchants. While both England and France captured American ships, it was the English who forced the detained American sailors to fight for the Royal Navy. For the next several years, England impressed more than one thousand Americans each year. The actions of the British angered United States citizens, and calls for retaliation intensified.

In the summer of 1807 off the coast of Virginia, the crew of the British frigate Leopard stopped the American ship Chesapeake and demanded to search it. When the captain refused to obey the orders, the British warship opened fire, killing three Americans and injuring several more. When Jefferson learned of the incident, he ordered all British ships to leave U.S. territorial waters. The British, however, responded with even more aggressive searches.

Jefferson set in motion his idea of “peaceable coercion” by encouraging Congress to pass the Embargo Act of 1807, which stopped all exports of American goods. Jefferson reasoned that both England and France relied heavily on American products and would be forced to work with the United States. Lax enforcement of the act along with alternate sources of products provided by Latin America ruined Jefferson’s plan. The embargo actually did more harm than good because American farmers and manufacturers had no outlets to sell their goods.

Jefferson’s popularity plunged and the Federalist Party began to make a resurgence as voters eyed the upcoming election. Critics shouted that Jefferson’s decisions damaged the economy and left America unprotected. The president finally conceded defeat and repealed the embargo during his last days in office. Congress then passed the Non-Intercourse Act, which reopened trade with all countries except France and England.

Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education