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In the mid-1790s France and Britain went to war. French and British merchant ships stayed at home to avoid capture. The American merchants took advantage of this. and by 1800 the US had almost 1000 merchant ships traveling the world.

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The Barbary pirates demanded the US pay tribute to them. In 1801 Tripoli's ruler asked the US for more money than what they already had. Jefferson refused to pay and sent blockades toward them

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black and white paintings of 1785 warships traveling through the seas with partly cloudy and clear skys

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around 1804 pirates took over the US ship philadeplhia. They towed the ship toward Tripoli and put them in jail. Their captain Stephen Decatur snuck past the harbor and burned the captured ship so the the pirates couldn't take advantage of it but got killed after burning the ship.

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During the election Jefferson followed Washington's precedent and made it clear he couldn't be a candidate for a third term

the republicans ended up choosing James Madison as their candidate. The Federalists hoped that voters' anger over their embargo would help them win. they chose Charles Pickeny who carried most of New England. The Federalists however gained little support which led to Madison winning with 122 votes while Pickeny received only 43.

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In 1810, Congress passed a new trade law that would permit direct trade with France or Britain, depending on which country lifted its trade restrictions first. Britain did not change its rules, but Napoleon took action quickly. however, despite those promises, France continued to seize and sell American ships. on the verge of war, Americans were divided on who their main enemy was. Although they were angry at what the French were doing they decided that Britain was still their main enemy