What did Americans mean when they said Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute?

Answer 1

Back in the day (around 1800 AD) there were pirates in Northern Africa (specifically Tripoli, Morocco, Libya, and Algiers). At the time this region was regarded as the Barbary coast (Note that the people in this region are Arab, not the traditional African). They were raiding American ships trading in that area. The simplest solution was to pay them off. Many were opposed to paying the pirates off and they created the slogan "millions for defense but not one cent for tribute". The slogan was so effective that America fought the Barbary wars.

There are a few popular mistakes in attributing this statement.

First, and least importantly, the actual expression seems to have been "not a penny" rather than "not one cent".

More significant are the errors about who said it and when.

It was not said by Thomas Jefferson, nor was it related to the Barbary Pirates. *The idea is understandable, in that one of the nation's early problems WAS that the U.S., no longer under the protection of the British navy, was subject to the "tribute" demands of the Barbary states who took American ships and sailors to enforce these demands. But it simply didn't happen like that.)

The older mistake is that this was what Charles Coatesworth Pinckney said in response to the 1797 French demand for a "gift" in exchange for negotiating a treaty with Talleyrand -- a demand made by three originally unidentified representatives dubbed "X, Y and Z", hence the name "XYZ Affair". And the French threat was much like that of the Barbary Pirates, that unless paid they would seize American ships. But Pinckney apparently DID at some point say "No! No! Not a sixpence!"

The expression was a reponse to the XYZ Affair. But the words were uttered by Robert Goodloe Harper, a South Carolina Federalist and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Harper uttered this at a dinner reception for John Marshall on June 18, 1798, upon Marshall's return from France . Marshall had been one of the three American diplomats sent to negotiate with the French. The other two were Elbridge Gerry and Charles C. Pinckney. Pinckney's involvement, together with his own response "No, no, not a sixpence!" explains the mistaken attribution.

Answer 2

It is about principle. Tribute is paying the enemy not to attack. The more economical deal would be to go ahead and pay the one cent in tribute, but the higher principle requires spending a million for defense instead of cowering before an enemy.

There are a few popular mistakes in attributing this statement.

First, and least importantly, the actual expression seems to have been "not a penny" rather than "not one cent".

More significant are the errors about who said it and when.

It was not said by Thomas Jefferson, nor was it related to the Barbary Pirates. (The idea is understandable, in that one of the nation's early problems was that the U.S., no longer under the protection of the British navy, was subject to the "tribute" demands of the Barbary states who took American ships and sailors to enforce these demands.)

The older mistake is that this was what Charles Coatesworth Pinckney said in response to the 1797 French demand for a "gift" in exchange for negotiating a treaty with Talleyrand -- a demand made by three originally unidentified representatives dubbed "X, Y and Z", hence the name "XYZ Affair". And the French threat was much like that of the Barbary Pirates, that unless paid they would seize American ships. But Pinckney apparently did at some point say "No! No! Not a sixpence!"

The expression was a response to the XYZ Affair. But the words were uttered by Robert Goodloe Harper, a South Carolina Federalist and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Harper uttered this at a dinner reception for John Marshall on June 18, 1798, upon Marshall's return from France . Marshall had been one of the three American diplomats sent to negotiate with the French. The other two were Elbridge Gerry and Charles C. Pinckney. Pinckney's involvement, together with his own response "No, no, not a sixpence!" explains the mistaken attribution.