[betty boop]

He is referring to the Treaty of Tripoli of 1797, Article 11 of which reads in full: “ Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

Thank you ever so much, Wallop the Cat! You remind me of the CONTEXT in which these lines of John Adams — already familiar to me from past readings, but I couldn't recall the details — were spoken.

I recall around that time, John Adams was deeply engaged in "diplomacy" with the Barbary States of North Africa — Algiers, Tripoli, Tunis, and Morocco — whose letter-of-marque pirates were seizing American shipping in the Mediterranean, commandeering their cargoes, and selling the captured American seamen into slavery.

Mainly Europe was willing to pay the exorbitant bribes it took for the Barbary pirates to leave their shipping alone. But America was not then rich. She tried instead to engage in diplomacy with the Barbary States.

It seems to me the best way to understand kosta50's out-of-context quotation from John Adams is to simply put it back into its historical setting.

Adams was not speaking of the foundation of American principles. He was trying to get as far as diplomacy could take him to successfully address Ali Baba and His Forty Thieves.

IIRC, diplomacy failed. The United States of America sent in the Marines instead.

To put it mildly, the Marines succeeded where diplomacy failed.

And that took care of that. :^)

[TXnMA]

"To put it mildly, the Marines succeeded where diplomacy failed.

And that took care of that. :^) "

~~~~~~~~~

LOL!

...and the expedition was memorialized in their "Marine Hymn"... '-)

[Alamo-Girl]

Outstanding essay-post, dearest sister in Christ, thank you!

[kosta50]

Adams was not speaking of the foundation of American principles

The letter John Adams wrote is as clear as it can be. It unmistakeably says that the "Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion".

In other words, the Government of the United States is not a theocratic government; it is not influenced by or based on, or promoting Christian (or any other) religion because this country was not implicity or explciitly defined as a Christian nation in the Declaration of Independence, nor is her Constitution in any way, shape or form identified with any religion or deity.