After the Revolutionary War, Americans desperately craved acceptance and even admiration on the world stage. Yet they lacked the resources and knowledge that might win them such recognition. This talk investigates American’s performances on the world stage through the experiences of Captain William Bainbrige, and his many failures leading up to his victory in the War of 1812.
Bainbridge showed up in major naval actions prior to 1812. He surrendered an American ship without firing a shot in the 1798 Quasi-War with France. He was forced to take the USS George Washington from Algiers to Istanbul, with the Algerian leader’s tribute for the Ottoman Empire in 1800. And he lost the American flagship USS Philadelphia in the 1801-1805 Barbary War with Tripoli. Learning about how he and others viewed his early failures provides insight to early Americans’ desires and aspirations for their new country.
