Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with ... - Bibliothèque

The recommendation of Madison was in fact a request for a formal
declaration of war by Congress on Algiers. He justified his request by the
termination of hostilities with Great Britain which opened the “prospect of an
active and valuable trade of their [sic] citizens within the range of the Algerine
cruisers.” 103 Congress, however, did not declare war on Algiers. The report
entitled ‘Report relative to Protection of American Commerce against Algerine
Cruisers’ merely stated that, upon the evidence provided by the executive, it
considered “that the dey of Algiers considers his treaty with the United States
as at an end, and is waging war against them.” 104 Legal arguments today are of
opinion that Madison carried an unjustified war against Algiers without
authorization from Congress, as it was the case in 1801 when Jefferson carried
an unjustified war and without authorization from Congress against Tripoli. 105
In fact, the report of Congress recognized the existence of a state of war but did
not declare one. 106
While the Dey acted legally in accordance with the laws and usage of
nations, Madison embarked on an illegal war even by the laws of the United
States. But the action of Madison was predictable. In essence, America’s New
Diplomacy was a combination of national interest and meliorism which was
103 [sic]: ‘their’ could refer to Americans, in this sense, the sentence is logical; if so, there is a print
error—it should be ‘our’—but this is improbable; or it could refer to ‘British’, if so, one may conclude
that Madison’ decision was more motivated by trade competition with Great Britain than the “hostiles
proceedings of the dey” against Lear.
104 SPPD, 9:438, Report Relative to Protection of American Commerce against Algerine Cruisers,
March 3, 1815. See also Appendix 12B.
105 In the Supreme Court of the United States. “Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Petitioner, v. Donald H.
Rumsfeld, et al., Respondents.” On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit. Brief of Lawrence M. Friedman, Jonathan Lurie, and Alfred P. Rubin, as
Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner [Barbary Wars Precedent], January 2006, n° 05-184, pp. 5-6.
106 Ibid., p. 5.
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