The Aftermath of the Wars Against the Barbary Pirates (Aftermath of History)

"I know that nothing will stop the eternal increase from these pirates but the presence of an armed force." When U.S. president Thomas Jefferson wrote these words, pirates from the Barbary Coast had been attacking U.S. merchant ships for almost ten years. The United States was ready to fight and dispatched its new navy to confront the pirates. It was the first time the young nation had confronted an overseas enemy, the first use of covert military operations, and the first "small war" in U.S. history. In the years that followed, the United States would grow to become a superpower - fighting enemies around the world in both big wars and small ones. But no matter how big and powerful the United States became, it would never forget the lessons learned during that first small war against the Barbary pirates. Follow the dramatic story of war against the pirates - and the story of additional small wars that were often just as bloody and violent as the big ones.