A crucible of American Identity Essay

From the founding of the linked States to its keeping, wars have been fought- most lost some won- but by re-examining history, some decisions about freeing to war or capitulation have been learned and questions asked. Could they have been avoided and early(a) strategies sought? Analyzing the relation transmit between the linked States and the North Afri rump Barbary States in the 1800s conveys the authors main purpose in this article by showing how a young nation at that period in time was taken advantage of by the Barbary States and made to pay stalk ridiculous subsidys to sultans, yet its citizens imprisoned, killed or enslaved. The eventual consequence was the pursuit of reciprocity respect and honesty in trades. The author takes us on a journey from the beginning to the crest and the nadir through the experiences of some emblematical individuals of how the United States eventu every(prenominal)y got what it wanted. The story of William Bainbridge, famously described her e(predicate) as having pervasive bad luck, sets the tone of the fate which befell the Americans frequently but specifically on the George Washington.The anger that must have seethed from their thoughts from the humiliation they experienced when their track down was redirected to Istanbul under severe threats could not be tempered as Bainbridge himself swore that he would never take tribute to Algiers unless authorized to deliver it from the mouth of our en toyment. This told well of the humiliation as he once more quipped much(prenominal) mortifying degradations.makes me ponder on the words, independent United States. This meant that the lofty kitchen range the United States had of itself or the image it portrayed to some other nations as a sourceful nation that could defeat the British Empire in battle was false. How do you explain defeating a giant yet conceding to an ant? Nevertheless, this was a catalyst for a nation to create and affirm its identicalness, to live up to the image it portrayed, bring the abuse by the Barbary States to a stop and restore some pride. Dealing with the Barbary States from the home turf prove more difficult as the then President of the United States, doubting Thomas Jefferson was known for his vacillations.He promised to attack the Barbary States and not yield totheir vain promises or their incessant demands for more tributes but went around and lessened the number of naval forces ships that could wage war on those states. Something I call a backward progress. It later dawned on the President that inaction was not the best resoluteness so he bypassed the congress and instructed the navy to act on the earlier treaties they already had with the North African states. By bypassing the congress to authorize a military action on those states meant that the succeeding presidents of the United States could also do this during their tenure. It is what we popularly call Executive Action. Several individuals ran up the list of gallantry and cowardice. A notable example of the cowards was Richard Morris whose pitiful attempt at stupefyly the pasha by capitulating with a $5000 inducement had him scampering back to the safety of his ship for fear of being taken hostage when the pasha said his tribute was laughable at best. A further smear on the power of the United States as this signaled that the Barbary States had an upper hand in trades and negotiations.Here decrease the noteworthy braves i) Edward Preble, whose audacious approach to the emperor of Morocco resulted in the unconditional switch of the 1786 treaty between the two nations. ii) Stephen Decatur, whose conquest with Edward Preble in the burning of the grounded Philadelphia rang crossways Europe as a valorous deed of the age, an act of immortal glory. Lastly was Eaton, whose determination to dethrone Yusuf and enthrone Hamid though outnumbered was brought to an abrupt end when an American naval ship the USS Constellation sailed up and ad vised him that the President had settled issues with Yusuf.His efforts were gallant because Yusuf thought the Americans were gaining grounds on all flanks and that compelled him to yield to negotiations. Had Eaton not been determined, the pasha may not have yielded as he had often laughed off the advances of the Americans in the past. In summary, whatever the stars and chevron may come to symbolize nowadays to an individual, the price of war is ceaselessly greater than the price of reasonable negotiation but the price of identity may be the sum of both. The United states time and over has come to establish that identity across the world by declaring war or negotiating with nations whose actions have direct impact on its domestic affairs.Some OPEC countries can easily determine the price of barrels of crude embrocate on a whim but also readily come to negotiations with the United States if certain conditions are met. Theseconditions could be likened to the tributes of the 1800s. B ut on another hand, those countries whose bullheadedness to conform with pacts and whose foreign affairs affect the domestic affairs here could easily find themselves entrenched in a war with the United States. Most notable examples are Iraq, Syria and Libya the war in Iraq was shrouded under the debase of Weapons of Mass Destruction but it actually was for the control of Oil and Syria in like manner because the ISIS has control over critical oil installations and refineries. The Libyan war was base on support. To support the rebels to dethrone Ghaddafi who sat on an abundance of oil wells and was trying to galvanize the Muslim and all African countries to abridge dealings with the United States, proposing one currency and a United States of Africa an identity- had he succeeded, the authority of the United States would be threatened.