U.S. Politics
Jefferson’s Big Land Buy
Even before the U.S. had “digested” the land the fledgling United States acquired from England through the Treaty of Paris, its third president, Thomas Jefferson wanted more land. Known as…
Read MoreOrigin of the Scope of the First Amendment
During the years before the American Revolution and throughout the nine year-long conflict, our Founding Fathers had the support of most of the newspapers in the Thirteen Colonies. The Stamp…
Read MoreDifficulties Enforcing the Treaty of Paris
Once the Treaty of Paris became effective on May 12th, 1784, the Second Continental Congress now faced the challenge of enforcing its terms. The Articles of Confederation did not give…
Read MoreIndependence Equals Freedom to Expand Westward
The Treaty of Paris that granted the Thirteen Colonies independence also set our country’s initial boundaries. The new United States encompassed all the British territory south of the Canadian border…
Read MoreThomas Barclay and America’s Longest Standing Treaty
On June 26th, 1786, Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdullah (Mohammed III), the Sultan of Morocco, was the first to sign the 25 article Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the United…
Read MorePaying Loans Back is Hell When One Is Broke
he 1778 Treaty of Alliance between France and the U.S. bound the two countries together to fight a common enemy, i.e. England and, for the Founding Fathers the treaty achieved…
Read MoreL’Affaire de XYZ
By 1792, three years after the French Revolution began, Europe was again at war and President George Washington declared that the United States would remain neutral. Our position of neutrality…
Read MoreThe Republic of Vermont Versus the State of New York
In January 1777, Vermont’s citizens were having an identity crisis. The war in which we would ultimately gain our independence was still very much in down when representatives of 28…
Read MoreA Frigate for Tribute
Before the revolution, our merchant ships flew under the British flag and during the war, the French flag. Both were now gone once we won our independence and after the…
Read MoreWe Paid What for Tribute?
When the American Revolution ended in 1783, as a country we wanted to resume our trade with Europe and the duchies on the north shore of the Mediterranean. Before the…
Read More