How did Jefferson feel about what the Barbary States were doing? What was his course of action?
Jefferson’s first introduction to what was happening with US ships in the Mediterranean came in 1785 when, as the US representative in France, he received a letter from a Robert O’Brien who had been the captain of a ship that had been taken by the Barbary Pirates. Jefferson fought from that time until he became President to get the US to take action other than paying those states tributes to keep them from capturing US ships. When he became President, he wasted no time in stopping the Tributes and getting into what became known as the Barbary Wars.
