Financial Transaction Quotes
Interest is forbidden in all transaction, both business and personal.
Adams urged paying tribute to the Barbary Pirates who had an incredible extortion racket going in the Mediterranean. If nations would pay them an annual sum each year, they would not attack and seize merchant ships of that country and sell the ships and goods while holding the sailors for ransom. Most of the European powers were paying the annual tribute as they calculated that it was cheaper than patrolling the Mediterranean with warships or going to war with the Barbary States. More important for Adams was that he did not think that the country would support such a military action. See {640847} That was Adams’ thinking. Jefferson however, sent our Navy and Marines to our first foreign war, and they were very effective. However, despite the American military victories, and because of the inability for the European powers to collaborate and share the burden of naval patrol, the United States went back to the craven policy of paying the blackmail. See {640846} & {640848}.
The “gentleman” was Congressman Benjamin Butler former Civil War General, and Governor of Massachusetts who had a corrupt history of looting wealthy Louisiana. Brady had been a very successful photographer and had invested over $100,000 in photographing the civil war with the expectation that when the war was won, the government would buy his collection. They did not and he was financially ruined and had to accept anything the government would offer. Butler arranged the purchase and got the $12,500 kickback which was legal in those days. He became one of the wealthy men of America. Brady died an alcoholic in poverty. Without the Brady photographs, the great Ken Burns PBS documentary of the Civil War could never have been made.
