jul 9, 1798 - Signs an “Act further to protect the Commerce of the United States,” authorizing US vessels “to subdue, seize and take any armed French vessel, which shall be found within the jurisdictional limits of the United States, or elsewhere, on the high seas. . .” [Link to pdf of the text of the Act.] This begins the two-year undeclared naval war called the Quasi-War.
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jul 9, 1798
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~ 227 years ago