How would Americans back them have dealt with the radical islam problem we see today? I’m posing the question seriously.
They were a bit before the "progressive" 1920's but look into the barbary coast wars
Except for the Barbary Coast Wars which happened as a direct assault upon American interests—the US has tended to avoid any entanglements with any goal of the protection of Christians from Islamic terror.
In fact, the opposite is more true: the US has repeatedly attacked Christians when they have been threatened and attacked by Muslims. The most recent examples are in Cyprus, Kosovo and Bosnia.
When the genocide of 4 million Christians in Asia Minor occur ed between around 1900-1923 - the US did next to nothing. A terrible stain on the US. Just as we did nothing when the genocide against Southern Sudanese was occurring. 3 million dead there.
Well, I can tell you how it should be handled.
An American President should, after 9/11, have invited the King of Saudi Arabia to the White House as an honored guest at an official State Dinner and had this private exchange exchange with the him.
“Your Majesty, an act of gross, overt, and unprovoked aggression has been wrought on the United States by a group who were and are of aherents of Islam, in the name of Islam’s god. The leader of that group is one of your subjects, as were most of the perpetrators who carried out the plot.
There can be no doubt that there are those in the Muslim faith who wish to draw the United States into a war. I don’t want this, as I am sure neither do you.
This attack, however, has led me to conclude that we must at a minimum be prepared to fight a very unconventional war on very unconventional terms. I think we should understand each other on very plainly stated words.
It’s with that said that I must inform you the United States now has intercontinental ballistic missiles targeted on the Islamic Holy shrines at Mecca and Medina. These missiles are armed with 15 megaton theater-grade nuclear warheads.
If one more drop of innocent American blood is spilled by any Muslim for any reason, the United States will assume that we are indeed at war, and respond in a fashion so as to put a very immediate end to the hostilities, at their source.
Your Majesty, we can have war, or we can have peace. The choice of which is up to you. Please enjoy your dinner.”
Had radical Muslims posed a domestic threat at the time, the federal government and state as well as local police would have worked with the American Protective League to make short work of them--just as they did with the Bolsheviks, anarchists, syndicalists, and real or imagined German sympathizers.