Jefferson Spent 20 Percent of Federal Budget Bribing Barbary Pirates Before War

What was said

"By 1797, the United States was paying roughly 20% of our entire federal budget in tribute and ransom to the Barbar States. $1 in5 to pirates to leave us alone. Because what gets rewarded gets repeated. Obviously, these bribes never brought reliable peace. The moment one demand was met, the next one arrived, demanding larger and larger sums."

The speaker reveals that under Washington and Adams, America paid nearly one-fifth of the entire federal budget to North African states as protection money to prevent seizure of ships and enslaving of sailors. Jefferson ended this policy when he became president, sending the Navy to blockade Tripoli instead. The speaker draws explicit parallels to modern payments to hostile regimes like Iran.