[rktman]

Based on the following, where's my reparations? “....between 1530 and 1780 there were almost certainly a million and quite possibly as many as a million and a quarter white, European Christians enslaved by the Muslims of the Barbary Coast,....”. Just sayin'. If I recall correctly (questionable) there were about 300k africans brought to the US. So, quit whining and be thankful your ancestors were brought here. Otherwise, you might not exist.

[Yo-Yo]

"From the Halls of Montezuma To the shores of Tripoli"

The line "To the shores of Tripoli" refers to the First Barbary War, and specifically the Battle of Derne in 1805.

[SandRat]

USMC - The term “leatherneck” was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British Marines. In the United States, beginning in 1798, “one stock of black leather and clasp” was issued to each Marine every year.[2] Its use as a synecdoche for Marines began as a term of ridicule by sailors

[Petrosius]

I thought that our first military victory was the Revolutionary War.

[NonValueAdded]

A pivotal sea change in the early history of our country and a pre-cursor to the War of 1812.

I also find it ironic that Jefferson, the so-called founder of the Democratic Party, was the first to turn away from appeasement, and the Europeans (except for the Swedes) were all about paying tribute. Some things never change.

I would also say Trump found his inner Jefferson when he confronted the Rocket Man, also eschewing decades of appeasement and look what is about to happen.

Finally, I heartily recommend Kilmeade’s “Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War Than Changed American History.”